Tourists visit Tsim Sha Tsui district under Typhoon Saola in Hong Kong, Sept 2, 2023. (EDMOND TANG / CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG – With extreme weather events becoming more common due to climate change, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said on Wednesday that employers will have to compensate any employee injured while working under adverse weather conditions.

Answering a query at the Legislative Council, Sun said the Employees' Compensation Ordinance also protects employees, in terms of compensation, if they have any accident while traveling to and from work under bad weather.

Sun also noted that the ordinance specifies that no employers shall have any employee unless there is in force a policy of insurance to cover his liabilities under the law for injuries at work

“According to the Employees' Compensation Ordinance, if an employee sustains an injury or dies as a result of an accident arising out of and in the course of his employment irrespective of the weather conditions under which the work is performed, his employer is in general liable to pay compensation under the ordinance,” Sun said.

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He also noted that the ordinance specifies that no employer shall have any employee unless there is in force a policy of insurance to cover his liabilities under the law for injuries at work.

“The policy of insurance taken out by employers must cover his liabilities under the ordinance and the common law, including his liabilities for the work injury protection to employees who sustain injuries in accidents when Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 8 or above or a Red/Black Rainstorm Warning Signal is in force,” he said.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government said in October that it was reviewing its contingency plans in the wake of the extreme weather events that battered the city in recent months.

Hong Kong experienced extreme weather in September with the city lashed by the second most intense typhoon in the South China Sea since 1950 and a rainstorm described by the Hong Kong Observatory as “phenomenal” and which saw the highest hourly rainfall since records began in 1884.

On Oct 9, many commuters were stranded after strong winds and heavy rains brought by Typhoon Koinu lashed the city.