Under Hong Kong’s laws and regulations, if an employee sustains an injury from an accident arising out of and in the course of his employment, there is a high chance that the employer will be liable to pay financial compensation. The scope of this strict employer’s liability is not limited by the place of employment. As a result, if your employee suffers an accident while working from home, the employer might be liable to pay.
To lower the financial consequences of an accident, companies in Hong Kong must buy an employees’ compensation insurance. Because working from home is a common practice, it is therefore, important to check that your employees’ compensation insurance covers your company’s liability in this situation.
I – What is the insurance market practice in Hong Kong?
It is a bit of a grey area here and there is not a common market practice between insurers. However, what is certain is that your employees’ compensation insurance does not automatically cover the work-from-home situation. At Clema Risk Solutions, we have encountered 3 situations:
- Some insurers grant cover anywhere in Hong Kong
- Others limit the cover to the employment address(es) mentioned in the renewal/application form
- Some others will exclude accident arising at home unless the policy includes a specific work from home extension.
II – What is our best advice?
First, if you are about to renew your employees’ compensation insurance, we strongly advise you to mention in the employees’ compensation insurance application the work from home situation beside the main employment address.
Then, if you have just renewed your insurance, we strongly advise checking with your insurance company whether the working from home situation is covered. If it is not, then you should ask to include a work from home extension.
Depending on the situation, some insurers will ask for more information about the working from home policy/guideline and might apply a higher rate of premium.
III – Do you have a work from home guideline?
If your insurance company requests a work from home guideline, at Clema Risk Solutions, we have designed a template with important information about the risks at home, the employees’ rights, and obligations. Please send us an email and we will share it with you so that you could send it to your insurer.
Still having question about EC insurance,
If you are still unclear whether your employees’ compensation insurance covers your company when your employees are working from home, please send us an an email with your contact details.
You can also visit our website to find out about the other insurance services we offer
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