A Hong Kong court has ordered an employer to pay HK$251,653 (about P1.97 million) in damages to the family of a Filipina domestic worker who was dismissed after being diagnosed with cervical cancer.
The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) welcomed the District Court’s ruling issued on Friday, July 3, in the disability discrimination case involving Baby Jane Teodoro Allas, who died in 2021.
The claim was pursued by Mary Ann Allas Pereira, Baby Jane’s sister and administrator of her estate.
According to the EOC, Baby Jane’s employment contract was terminated by her former employer just days after she was diagnosed with Stage IIIB cervical cancer. The termination letter expressly cited her illness and related sick leave as the reason for her dismissal.
Following a default judgment in favor of the claimant, the court ordered the respondent to pay HK$33,367 (around P261,000) for loss of income, HK$120,000 (around P940,000) for injury to feelings, and HK$98,286 (around P770,000) for medical expenses incurred after the termination of Baby Jane’s employment.
The respondent was also ordered to cover the claimant’s legal costs for the assessment of damages.
The EOC said the dismissal constituted unlawful disability discrimination under Hong Kong’s Disability Discrimination Ordinance, which protects persons with disabilities from discrimination, harassment, and vilification.
EOC Chairperson Linda Lam Mei-sau said the ruling serves as a reminder that employers cannot dismiss workers, “including foreign domestic workers, on the grounds of his/her disability and sick leave.”
She added that employers should first consider reasonable accommodations when an employee’s disability affects job performance.
The EOC noted that the case became more complicated after Baby Jane died in the Philippines, following legal assistance from the commission and after the case had already begun.
Mary Ann later had to undergo separate probate proceedings to administer Baby Jane’s estate in Hong Kong and continue the discrimination claim.
The legal proceedings lasted nearly three years because of procedural requirements.
Lam said the ruling should encourage more victims of unlawful discrimination to come forward and seek legal redress. (Hannah Nicol)
