HK employment agencies warned on illegal collection of placement fees

Employment agencies in Hong Kong recruiting Filipino workers could lose their accreditation with the Philippine Consulate and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration if found collecting placement fees, in some form or other, from household service workers.

Administrator Hans Leo J. Cacdac said there were information that some Philippine-accredited agencies in HK collect placement fees from HSWs through “imaginary” loan or an ATM account.

Labor Attaché Manuel C. Roldan of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Hong Kong reported that through the “imaginary” loan, the worker is brought to a lending company either in the Philippines or Hong Kong to sign a loan agreement but does not receive the loan proceeds.

The worker is then issued a card and advised to pay the loan on installment basis through a convenience store. The agency keeps the worker’s passport or employment contract and returned to the worker upon full payment.

In an ATM account, the agency assists the worker in opening a savings account and keeps the ATM card. The employer is then advised to deposit the salary of the worker to that account. The agency withdraws the worker’s salary, and after getting its share as monthly
payment for placement fee, gives the remaining cash to the worker.

Roldan said these practices are highly irregular and illegal as they violate the ‘no placement fee policy’ of the Philippine government as well as the legally allowed agency commission in Hong Kong which is only 10 percent of the monthly salary of the worker.

Cacdac said the Philippine Consulate in Hong Kong has already issued a memorandum to all accredited HK agencies with a warning that the Philippine government will not tolerate these malpractices.

“Any violation committed by the Hong Kong agency will be dealt with seriously and this office (Consulate General of the Philippines) will apply the full force of Philippine laws that may eventually lead to the suspension or cancellation of the agency’s accreditation with the Philippine Consulate and the POEA,” Roldan stated in the memo.

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