Social Media Posts Highlight Workplace Sexual Harassment

In January, the media noted social media posts about a female employee from a Korean chain restaurant who complained about an alleged sexual harassment by her branch manager and co-workers. This was said to involve nicknames and comments of a sexual nature about her physical appearance. Screenshots of the alleged harassment in the work chatgroups were posted online and reported.

This eventually caught the attention of the Hong Kong Equal Opportunities Commission ("EOC") who soon expressed concern over the incident and issued a press release in response to media enquiries. No further update about the incident appears to be publicly available since then.

In this article, we take this opportunity to revisit the key provisions and principles of anti-sexual harassment law in Hong Kong, particularly in a workplace setting.