【明報專訊】TODAY (1 MAY), on Labour Day, the abolition of the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) offsetting mechanism comes into force. Employers can no longer use their MPF contributions to offset severance or long service payments owed to employees hired on or after this day. They must adapt to the new rules of the game and shoulder their rightful responsibilities in good faith, rather than seek ways to circumvent them.
Introduced in 2000, the MPF scheme mandates contributions from both employees and employers. Under existing law, an employee who has served the same company for at least 24 months and is subsequently made redundant is entitled to a severance payment according to their years of service. Those who remain for five years or more may also receive a long service payment—together capped at $390,000. Yet under the offsetting mechanism, employers have hitherto been able to deduct these statutory payments from their own MPF contributions.
To be precise, the reform does not completely abolish offsetting. Rather, the authorities have designated today as the "transition date" and drawn a clear demarcation: for existing employees, severance and long service payments will be split into pre-transition and post-transition portions. Employers may still offset the pre-transition portion using their MPF contributions, while offsets are prohibited for the post-transition portion. As officials have made clear, the reform has no retrospective effect.
To cushion the impact on businesses, the government has also introduced a $33.5 billion subsidy scheme over 25 years to help employers adjust to the additional costs resulting from the abolition of offsetting.
The fact that the reform is non-retrospective means that strategies such as dismiss-and-rehire offer no financial benefit. Nonetheless, trade unions have stated that some employers remain under the mistaken belief that restarting the employment clock provides a viable workaround. There are also concerns from the labour sector that certain industries may resort to fixed-term contracts—such as 23-month agreements—or sham self-employment arrangements to sidestep their obligations under both the MPF regime and broader labour laws.
In response to abolishing the offsetting mechanism, some employers may seek to reduce their reliance on permanent staff and instead turn to freelancers or casual workers to lower their severance and long service payment and MPF expenses. However, the definition of self-employment is not solely determined by employers. Courts have consistently held that substance takes precedence over form: even if a worker is formally classified as self-employed, the courts may still find an employment relationship exists. In such cases, companies remain legally bound by the Employment Ordinance and related statutory protections, including providing statutory employee benefits.
Two years ago, the government launched the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme, allowing certain industries to import low-skilled workers for frontline roles. However, trade unions have reported that, following the hiring of imported labour, some employers have drastically cut the working hours of local employees, effectively forcing them out. In recent years, the business sector has repeatedly called for a further relaxation of foreign labour rules in a bid to contain wage pressures. However, once wages fall and unemployment rises, consumer spending will inevitably decrease. Ultimately, it is local businesses that will suffer the consequences.
明報社評2025.05.01：五一取消對冲新里程 提防無良僱主鑽空子
今天五一勞動節，取消強積金對冲安排正式實施，僱員在今天或之後開始受僱，僱主的強積金供款將不可用來對冲遣散費及長期服務金。僱主須接受新的「遊戲規則」，承擔應有責任，而不是想方設法鑽空子。
強積金2000年推出，僱員及僱主均須供款。根據法例，打工仔若在同一公司工作滿24個月，一旦遭解僱，可按年資獲得遣散費，做夠5年還可得到長期服務金，最多合共39萬元，可是在對冲機制下，資方卻可以用僱主強積金供款，抵消向僱員支付的遣散費及長期服務金（下稱兩金）。
嚴格來說，今天起實施的取消對冲安排，並不是完全禁絕對冲。當局只是以今天作為「轉制日」劃線，現職僱員的兩金，將分為「轉制前」及「轉制後」兩部分計算，轉制前的部分，僱主仍可繼續用其強積金供款對冲，轉制後才不容對冲。若用當局的說法，就是取消對冲安排「不具追溯力」。
另外，政府為了「協助企業適應政策轉變」，還向僱主提供為期25年、總額335億元的資助，分擔取消對冲後所增加的兩金支出。
取消對冲安排不具追溯力，意味「解僱後再聘請」的做法，其實無法幫僱主省錢，然而有工會表示，部分僱主仍有誤會，以為從頭計過數「更好」。另外，勞工界關注，部分行業僱主會否利用23個月合約等方式規避支付兩金，又或以假自僱方式規避強積金供款。
取消對冲安排，部分僱主可能會減少聘用長工、多用自由工作者等，從而減少兩金及強積金供款開支。不過自僱的定義，也不是僱主單方面說了算。根據法庭案例，就算某人被稱為自僱人士，若法庭認為實質上存在僱傭關係，公司仍須履行《僱傭條例》或其他勞工法例下的責任，包括支付法定僱員權益。
政府前年推行補充勞工優化計劃，容許部分行業就前線基層工種輸入外勞，惟有工會反映，有僱主在引入外勞後，要求本地員工大減工時，變相逼人離職。近年工商界常有聲音，要求政府進一步放寬輸入外勞，從而壓低人工成本，然而當打工仔薪酬水平下降、多了人失業，消費自然也會下降，到頭來損失的，還是一般商戶。
■ Glossary 生字 /
demarcation : a line or limit that separates two things, such as types of work, groups of people or areas of land
retrospective : intended to take effect from a particular date in the past rather than from the present date
sham : not what sb claims it is but intended to seem real
■休刊小啓：英文社評 將於5月5日（星期一）休刊一天。編輯部