Decree-Law
nº 24/89/M, 3 April
(With amendments introduced by the Decree-Law nº 32/90/M, 9
July)
(Object of the decree)
1. A working relation contract between direct employers and resident workers is of free will, however, it cannot be beyond the minimum conditions stipulated by law. The working relation is a result of usual practices freely adopted by related representative associations, or by regulations of company or the general customs and habits.
2. This decree establishes the minimum conditions that the contract between the direct employer and the resident worker should abide by, as well as other conditions already established in separate regulations or that will be established in future.
(Definitions)
For the effectiveness of this decree, unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions are as follows:
a) “Employer” means any person or association that directly employs a worker according to the contract of employment signed with the worker, no matter what form of the contract or the criterion of calculating the remuneration, that criterion can be dependent on the result effectively obtained;
b) “Worker” means a person who has the status of Macao resident, working for the direct employer as the regulations of the contract and under his/her supervision, no matter what form of the contract or the criterion of calculating the remuneration, that criterion can be dependent on the result of the work effectively achieved;
c)
“Labour
relation” means a complete set of conducts, rights and obligations established
between employer and worker related with services or labour activity rendered
or that should be rendered and the way those services should be performed;
d)
“Working
condition” means any rights, obligations or circumstances related to the
conduct or actuation of the employer and of the worker towards labour
relations, or in the place where the service is rendered;
e)
“Overtime
work” means extra services rendered to beyond the general working hours;
f)
“Long-term
service worker” means any worker with a continuously labour relation with the same
employer for one year or over;
g)
“Normal
working hours” means the period of time that the worker is responsible for
working;
h)
“Working
time” means the setting of the beginning and the ending of the normal daily
work as well as the interval for rest.
(Scope of application)
1. In this decree, all provisions are applicable to all labour relations of every activity, including public institutions and public capital enterprises.
2. This decree is not applicable to public administration, nor to all persons or institutions whose labour relation is ruled by regulations for civil service.
3. The provisions of this decree are not applicable to the following labour relations:
a) domestic working relations;
b) working relations between parties having lawful or actual family relations and cohabiting;
c) working relations emerged from a contract signed to provide a service concretely defined in terms of full autonomy and availability of the worker and through a gross price;
d) working relations between the employer and a non-resident worker, which are ruled by special regulations in force.
4. All the provisions in Chapters 3, 4, and 5 are not applicable to a labour relation where the worker renders the activity from his/her residence.
(Principle of equality)
No matter what race, colour, sex, religion, affiliation, political opinion, national extraction or social origin the workers are, they all shall have equal opportunities in employment and shall be treated equally in employment and service rendered as a recognized consequence of the right to work that all people have.
(Principle of the most favourable)
1. The provisions of this decree will not affect the most favourable working conditions that are observed and practiced between any employer and his/her workers, regardless of the origin of those most favourable conditions.
2. This decree cannot be understood or interpreted to reduce or eliminate the working conditions which are observed and practiced between the employer and the worker, and are originated in usual practices, regulations of the company or customs and habits of society, if those working conditions are more favorable than those of this decree.
(The privilege of the traditional system)
All agreements or conventions established between the employer and the worker, or the delegates of associations, are accepted even if the regulations are different from those of this decree, providing the work conditions arising from the application of the agreements or conventions are more favorable than those of this decree.
Rights, obligations and
guarantees of the parties
(Obligations of the employer)
1. The employer must:
a) respect and treat the worker with dignity;
b) pay the worker a fair and adequate salary, based on mutual benefits;
c) provide good working conditions to the worker, both physical and moral;
d) contribute to the increase of the worker’s level of productivity;
e) compensate the worker for losses arising from occupational injuries or work related diseases;
f) fulfill the obligations resulting from the labour relation and its regulations.
2. The employer is obliged to submit to the Labour and Employment Affairs Bureau during January and February, a form, which will be available in advance, filled in properly with data regarding the duration of work, way of render service, weekly and annual holidays, statutory holidays, occupational diseases, salaries, work of women and minors, and work of foreigners and of those who have no nationality.
(Obligations of the worker)
1. The worker must:
a) respect and treat the employer, superiors, colleagues and other persons related to the company with good manners and loyalty;
b) be assiduous at work and carry out the work with zeal and diligence;
c) obey the employer in what is involved in the execution and discipline of the work, unless the employer’s orders and requirements are contrary to the rights and obligations of the worker;
d) be loyal to the employer, namely, not compete against the employer in his/her name or any other persons, and not divulge information regarding the organization, production methods or business transactions;
e) maintain and use correctly work related property, that the employer puts under his/her charge;
f) promote or perform all action for improving the production of the company;
g) collaborate with the employer about health and safety at work through proper means;
h) fulfill the obligations resulting from the labour relation and its regulations.
2. The obligation defined in c) of the previous paragraph, involves not only the regulations and orders given directly by the employer, but also those given by the superiors with power assigned by the employer.
(Guarantees to the worker)
1. The employer is forbidden:
a) to force the worker to purchase or use the service provided by the employer or by persons he/she indicates;
b) to force the worker to use canteen, dinning hall, boarding service or other places directly related with work to supply goods or services to the workers;
c) to oppose the worker to exercise his/her rights by any forms, and to terminate the labour relation or to punish the worker as a consequence of complaints made regarding allegations of discrimination;
d) to decrease the worker’s salary, unless there is an agreement with worker and a previous authorization from the Labour and Employment Affairs Bureau.
2. When the ownership of the working place changes, the status of consecutive labour relations with the previous employer will follow the transfer, unless the labour relation has been terminated under legal terms before the change.
Chapter 3
Service Rendered
Section 1
Working time
(Working hours)
1. Normal working hours shall not exceed eight hours a day, nor forty eight hours a week. A normal working period shall have a break of not less than thirty minutes, so that workers will not work more than five consecutive hours.
2. Such limits may be extended by customs and habits, way of render service, mutual agreement between employer and worker, but cannot exceed 10.5 working hours per day, however, there is no obligation of rendering services for more than eight hours per day.
3. Over forty eight working hours per week may be allowed as overtime work, which must be understood as defined in Article 2 e).
4. The period set in paragraph 1 does not include the necessary time for preparation to start work and to conclude the business, activities and services which have not yet been finished, but that duration should not exceed thirty minutes per day.
(Exceptions to the limits of normal working hours)
1. The limits fixed in the previous article can be exceeded in the following conditions, without any agreement of the worker:
a) when the employer faces a great loss or cases of force majeure are verified;
b) when the employer faces an unforeseen increased amount of work, or the work cannot be finished even if other workers will be employed to deal with it.
2. In the case of rendering overtime work, the worker is entitled to receive an additional payment, which will be negotiated between the worker and the employer.
3. Except for the case mentioned in a), daily working hours over eleven hours is not obligatory.
(Operation time for the industry, business and services)
The regulations established for the working hours are not applicable and cannot be taken as a limit to the period of operation for industrial, commercial and service establishments.
Form of service rendered
(Duty of the employer)
1. Within the labour relation and its regulations, it is the duty of the employer to decide what work the worker should do, as well as to prepare internal regulations about the organization and the disciplines.
2. The employer should publicize the contents of the internal regulations, posting them at the working places, so that the workers can at any time read and understand them.
(Working conditions)
1. Service should be rendered in good conditions of health and safety, and the working places should provide all conditions required by law or regulations.
2. The workers and the employers shall observe vigorously the law and regulations, and the instructions of the authority regarding health and safety.
3. All the regulations about health and safety in all sectors of activity will be fixed in special decree.
(Occupational injuries and diseases)
1. In the case of occupational disease or occupational injury resulting from services rendered, workers are entitled to proper care, treatment and compensation.
2. The regulations of this decree are applicable to all situations of work and cannot be changed by agreement between employers and workers.
3. The employer has to provide the victim with rapid and efficient necessary help.
4. The guarantee and responsibility mentioned in the above paragraphs should be warranted either direct by the employer or through an insurance company.
5. The employer must inform the Labour and Employment Affairs Bureau about the occupational injuries occurred at places of work or during working time, within forty eight hours after the event happened.
(Probation)
1. The first three months of a labour relation are considered as a probationary period. During that period, either of the parties can terminate the labour relation without any previous notice or just cause and having no right to gain whatsoever compensation, unless there is a written agreement stating the opposite.
2. The seniority of the worker is counted from the start of the probationary period.
The suspension of
service rendered
Weekly leave and
holidays
(Weekly leave)
1. All workers are entitled to a paid rest period of twenty four consecutive hours for every seven days of work, and without any influence in the salary calculation under the terms of Article 26.
2. The weekly leave of every worker should be planned by the employer in advance and according to the needs of the company.
3. The worker who is enjoying his/her weekly leave shall be called to render service only under the following situations:
a) when the employer faces a great loss or cases of force majeure are verified;
b) when the employer faces an unforeseen increased amount of work, or the work cannot be finished even if other workers will be employed to deal with it;
c) when the service rendered is decisive to the company’s existence and it cannot be replaced.
4. If the worker renders service during the weekly leave, he/she shall have the right to another one-day leave as compensation within the thirty days after that.
5. Despite what is stipulated in paragraph 1, the worker can work during the weekly leave voluntarily, however, it is not obligatory.
6. When the worker renders services during the weekly leave, the employer should pay:
a) double the normal amount to those who are paid monthly;
b) the amount negotiated between the parties, within the limits of customs and habits, to those who get their payment according to the productivity or effective working hours.
(Exclusions)
Whenever the regulation of paragraph 1 in the previous article cannot be applicable to some sectors of activity, the employer shall give the worker a period of four consecutive days rest in every four weeks, or a fraction that cannot be less than the one that would result from a weekly average of twenty four hours.
(Statutory holidays)
1. Statutory holidays are as follow:
January 1,
Lunar New Year (3 days),
Cheng Ming Festival,
May 1,
The day after the Mid Autumn Festival,
October 1,
Chong Yeong Festival,
December 20.
2. The workers who have finished the probationary period shall not work during statutory holidays.
3. The workers mentioned in the previous paragraph have the right to receive a full day’s pay on January 1, Chinese New Year (3 days), May 1 and October 1.
(Exclusions)
1. The workers who render service on statutory holidays as stipulated in paragraph 3 of the previous article shall have a payment of not less than two times the normal pay as compensation, and it is limited to the following situations:
a) when the employer faces a great loss or cases of force majeure are verified;
b) when the employer faces an unforeseen increased amount of work;
c)
when
the rendered is essential to ensure the company’s sustenance, and that
particularly activity shall be dealt with on statutory holidays according to
customs and habits.
2.
When
service has to be rendered on a statutory holiday without pay, in accordance
with paragraph 1 b), the worker that has finished the probationary period has
the right to an additional payment, fixed by agreement between the parties, of
not less than 50% of the normal payment.
Section 2
Annual Leave
Article
21
(Acquisition of the right to annual leave)
1. Workers are entitled to six working days of paid annual leave for every calendar year.
2. When the duration of the labour relation is less than twelve months, but more than three months, the annual leave that the worker is entitled to have corresponds to a proportion of the labour relation period for each month and when there is less than a month, the holiday is counted as half day.
3. For the effectiveness of the previous paragraph, each month is considered complete on the last day of the following month.
(Settlement of annual leave)
1. The period or periods of annual leave of every worker shall be arranged by the employer at least thirty days in advance and in accordance with the requirement of the company.
2. When the labour relation terminates and the worker has not yet enjoyed any annual leave, he/she shall receive payment corresponding to that period of time.
(Engagement in other activities during the annual leave)
1. During paid leave, the worker cannot undertake in other activities with pay, except if he/she was already doing so before, or if allowed to by the employer.
2. If any worker breaks the stipulation in previous paragraph, the employer is entitled to take disciplinary action against the worker and have the amount of the annual leave pay returned.
(Violation
of the right to annual leave)
The employer who will prevent the worker from having annual leave shall pay the worker a compensation of three times the amount correspondent to the annual leave payment.
Salary
(General provisions)
1. The workers have the right to a reasonable salary for services or working activity rendered.
2. Salary means, irrespective of the designation and the form of calculation, all payment in money due in accordance with the service rendered by the worker and fixed by agreement between the employer and the worker or by regulations or usual practice or by law.
3. Salary may consist of just a payment made in local currency or a monetary contribution and goods or a contribution of other kind, but in the latter, the value of the monetary contribution shall not be less than 50% of the total amount of salary.
(Calculation of salary)
1. The salary shall include the payment of weekly leave, annual leave, and statutory holidays for monthly paid workers, and cannot be reduced as a result of no service rendered in those periods.
2. For workers whose salary is calculated according to the productivity or the effective working hours, the payment of weekly leave shall be included, however, these workers are entitled to receive an additional compensation for annual leave and statutory holidays.
3. For workers who receive the salary in both forms mentioned in the previous paragraphs, the payment of the weekly leave will be part of the salary agreed upon, and without losing the right to a compensation for annual leave and compulsory holidays as part of the variable salary.
4. For the purpose of paragraphs 2 and 3, the compensation due for annual leave and statutory holidays shall be calculated through the daily average of the work rendered in the last three months or rendered in a shorter period. In both cases, overtime work shall be included for the calculation of the above mentioned average.
(Settlement of salary)
1. Salary will be set by negotiation between the employer and the worker, and shall observe the limits established by customs and habits, company regulations, usual practice or legal regulations.
2. Salary shall be decided in consideration of the workers’ needs and interests, the evolution of the cost of living, the economical capability, financial situation and economical competitive conditions of the company or its economic sector.
(Forms of observation)
1. The obligation of payment of the salary shall be carried out in equal and fixed periods, established by agreement between the employer and the worker.
2. The payment of the salary shall be made in local currency on a working day and during the working period, or just before or after that period.
3. The payment of the salary shall be done within three working days just after the last day of the period correspondent to the salary, except for the situation established in the next paragraph.
4. When the worker receives the salary according to the effective working period, the productivity or the quantity of work, the payment shall be made within three working days after the settlement of accounts, which shall be finished within six working days after the last day of the period correspondent to the salary.
(Places of observation)
1. The salary shall be paid at the working place, or at any other places mutually agreed.
2. When the salary is not paid at the working place, the employer shall facilitate the worker to obtain the salary.
3. It is forbidden to pay the salary in places where alcoholic drinks are sold or in casinos, unless the people work at those places.
4. If there are any sound reasons and whenever possible with the agreement of the worker, the salary can be paid by cheque, postal order, or be deposited into a bank account in his/her name, unless those ways of payment bring the worker serious difficulties or are hard to overcome to get the salary.
(Document to be given to the worker)
When paying the salary, the employer shall give the worker a document containing his/her full name, the period or job to which it corresponds, all discounts and deductions, as well as the net amount to be received.
(Compensation and deductions)
1. The employer cannot take the worker’s debt, when existing, to credit a compensation of his/her payment, nor make any discounts or deductions in the salary.
2. The following discounts or deductions are allowed:
a) deductions in the behalf of the territory ruled by law, regulation, or judicial decision transited in rem judication;
b) compensations the worker owes the employer due to judicial decision transited in rem judication or as justification for termination of the labour relation, under Article 48 of this decree.
c) allowances or advance payment at the expense of the salary.
3. The deductions referred in b) and c) of the previous paragraph shall not, under any circumstances, exceed one sixth of the salary, except for the second part of b).
(Priority of the right of creditor)
In case of bankruptcy or judicial liquidation of assets, the worker as a creditor has priority over other creditors.
(Transference of the right of creditor)
The worker cannot
transfer or alienate the right of creditor, except to the credit of the social
security fund, provided the allowances given by the fund are equal or higher
than the credits.
Regarding the work of women
(General Provisions)
1. The right to work and the principle of equality stipulated in Article 4 imply, directly or indirectly, the absence of any sexual discrimination, especially in marital status or familiar position.
2. As a consequence of the principle mentioned in the previous paragraph, women have the guarantee of equality with men in opportunities and treatment at work and employment.
3. The temporary regulations, which give preference based on gender due to the need to rectify an inequality or to protect maternity as a social value, are not deemed to be discrimination.
(Forbidden or restricted work)
1. Women are prohibited or restricted to render services that cause effective or potential harm to their genetic function, because of the nature of service or the place where the service is rendered.
2. During pregnancy or up to three months after childbirth, women shall not take any job which is inappropriate to their health.
(Equal salary)
1. An equal salary is ensured for men and women working for the same employer and performing an equal work or a work of equal value.
2. When salary is paid per piece or productivity, the calculating unit must be equal for men and women doing an equal work or a work of equal value.
(Special rights)
1. Pregnant women who have been employed for more than one year are entitled to thirty five days maternity leave, without losing their job and salary as stipulated in paragraph 5.
2. Of those thirty five days mentioned in the previous paragraph, thirty days must be taken obligatory and immediately after childbirth. The other five days can be taken, wholly or partially, before or after childbirth.
3. Female workers have the right to be absent over the period of maternity leave on grounds of illness or disability arising out of pregnancy or confinement, without losing their job, but with no right to receive any salary for the period of absence.
4. During maternity leave, female workers have the right to receive the following salary:
a) when the female worker has a fixed salary, she shall receive a salary equal to that of her effective work in the week before maternity leave;
b) when the female worker has a salary calculated according to effective working hours, productivity or quantity of work, she shall receive a salary equal to the average salary of the last three months worked for the same employer.
5. The payment for maternity leave is ensured by any employer, but limited to three births per worker.
6. For the effectiveness of this article, the employer has the right to ask the female worker to present a medical certificate of her pregnancy or confinement.
7. When the required medical certificate is not presented, the employer has no obligation to give maternity leave and the correspondent payment nor guarantee the job to the absent worker.
8. A female worker cannot be dismissed, except with just cause, during her pregnancy or within the three months after childbirth, if the employer is aware of the situation.
9. The employer who does not observe the previous paragraph will be obliged to pay the dismissed female worker a compensation correspondent to thirty five working days of salary and other compensations due.
(General provisions)
Employers must give suitable working conditions to minors at their service, especially to avoid any harm to their physical, spiritual and moral development.
(Minimum age)
1. No employer may have at work children under sixteen years of age.
2. Children between the ages of fourteen and sixteen may, under exceptional circumstances, be authorized to work providing the employer observes paragraph 1 of Article 42.
(Forbidden or restricted works)
1. The employment of minors to perform works that, due to the nature or work conditions, are harmful to their physical, spiritual or moral development, can be forbidden or restricted by administrative rule.
2. It is forbidden to employ children under sixteen years of age for domestic work.
3. Domestic work means all work performed for a family involving tasks related with the house maintenance and cooking, namely:
a) house cleaning and tidying;
b) cooking;
c) laundering and clothes handling;
d) babysitting and elderly caring;
e) outside work for the above;
f) gardening;
g) tailoring;
h) other similar work according to customs and habits;
i) coordination and supervision of the above works.
(Exclusions)
1. In order to protect the healthy development, security and life of minors, the service rendered by minors in some professions or sectors of activity can be prohibited or restricted by administrative rule.
2. The age limits mentioned above can be raised by administrative rule for some forms of work, professions and sectors of activity.
(Conditions of work)
1. The employers cannot employ children under the age of sixteen years before getting a health certificate to prove they have the necessary robust physique to engage in a professional activity.
2. During the service rendered, the minor shall undergo a health and physical check regularly and periodically at least once a year, proving competence for work.
3. The medical check up should be done by a qualified doctor and its cost will be paid by the employer.
4. The confirmatory documentation mentioned in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be sealed and authenticated by the person or institution that made the check up and available at any time to be presented to the related authorities for inspection.
Termination of labour
relations
(Termination of labour relations)
1. When there is just cause, either of the parties can terminate the labour relation without paying any compensation.
2. In general, the just caus