Macau’s reputation as a place that is not so much boss-friendly as boss-centric has been bolstered by reports reaching AGI.
In anticipation of a new labour law guaranteeing overtime pay that took effect at the end of December, some employers have reportedly been asking their staff to sign new contracts—waiving their right to overtime pay.
This tactic may work in Macau, where employees tend to be a little reticent in standing up for their rights and the courts are not greatly exercised with employment cases. It would probably leave employment lawyers in the US and the European Union helpless with mirth.
In the EU, workers are generally deemed incapable of signing away their rights to overtime. In many EU countries employers are actually fighting to retain the right to ask staff to work any extra hours at all.
Macau’s decidedly less ambitious new labour law states that employers should pay their employees double-time for voluntary overtime and five-times the basic rate if they are obliged to work overtime.
Welcome to the early 20th century.
