Q1.What should be included in the Employment Contract?
- Contract period should be aligned with academic year and usually it will start from September. (Actual contract period would be informed later)
- Monthly Salary
|
| $4,500/month |
$4,500/month |
| $5,400/month |
$5,400/month |
| $6,000/month |
$6,000/month |
|
$6,600/month |
|
$7,100/month |
- Total working hours (including paid meal time) : not more than 117 hours / month
- Schedule a workplace roster: 3-days workplace + 3-days classroom at VTC per week
- Annual Leave and Statutory Holiday : in accordance with the Employment Ordinance.
Q2. Participating employer is required to sponsor tuition subsidy to each student-worker. Should it be included in the employment contract?
Participating company is required to sponsor each student-worker’s tuition fee of HKD$1,300 per month (applicable to Diploma of Foundation Studies) or HKD$2,900 per month (applicable to Higher Diploma). The tuition subsidy will be paid directly from employer to VTC. It is suggested not to include in the employment contract.
Q3. What is the payment procedure to settle the education subsidy with VTC?
Tuition fee should be paid by participating employers to VTC by installments at the beginning of each semester. Details will be announced by VTC.
Q4. Under the Employment Ordinance, student-workers are entitled to annual leave (AL) and statutory holiday (SH). If the student-workers take the AL or SH, their working days will be less than 3 days per week. Will the participating employers breach the terms and conditions of the Scheme?
Participating employers would not violate the Scheme if the number of working days is less than 3 days per week due to taken AL and SH. The arrangements of AL and SH should be provided in accordance with the Employment Ordinance.
Q5. Are there any standard guidelines on termination of student-workers of student-workers?
Where a student-worker fails to follow lawful instructions of the employer or the performance at the workplace is continuously unsatisfactory despite of various reminders and warning, the employer has the discretion to terminate his/her employment in accordance with the laws and contract of employment. The student-worker will be disqualified from the Scheme once his/her employment is terminated.
Q6. When will the student-workers be ceased from the Scheme?
A student-worker who has withdrawn from study or resigned/terminated from work will automatically be withdrawn from the Scheme.
Q7. What action the participating employers have to take when the employment contracts with the student-workers are terminated?
Participating employers should inform VTC within 7 days by writing when the employment contracts are terminated.
Q8. Can student-workers switch among the participating employers?
No. A student-worker is obliged to stay with the same participating employer during the 18-month contract period. Any change of employment is regarded as dropping out from the Scheme.
Q9. What are the responsibilities of employers' mentors and VTC's class tutors?
Participating employer has to assign a mentor for each student-worker. VTC has to assign a class tutor for each group of 30 student-workers.
Employers' mentors are required:
- to maintain close communications with VTC on the learning and working progress of the participating student-workers
- to schedule workplace roster to allow the student-workers to attend class at IVE three days per week
- to provide standardized practical working and learning objectives for the student-workers in the workplace and to ensure that the work assigned to the student-workers is related to the retail industry
- to train, give feedback and assess the performance of the student-workers at the workplace
- to inform HKRMA and VTC if any student-workers resign or being terminated due to breach of the employment contract
- to provide to the VTC remuneration records as well as duly certified attendance records of the student-workers within a reasonable timeframe, for the VTC’s verification before disbursing the Government allowance
- to update VTC if there is any change in mentor of student-workers.
Working and Learning Objectives:
On completion of the modules, students are expected to be able to:
- relate learnt knowledge and technical/professional skills to practices in a real retail environment;
- handle assigned tasks in the workplace with appropriate work attitude and key skills, such as interpersonal skills and teamwork skills, management skills, logical thinking, problem solving skills and communication skills; and
- identify their own strengths and weaknesses (in relation to working in a workplace) through reflection on experience gained in the attachment.
VTC's class tutors are required:
- to give academic and personal support to student-workers
- to inform employers of the learning progress of the student-workers
- to update employers if the student-workers are withdrawn from study
- to visit the workplace of student-workers regularly, check out their learning progress at work, their working environment etc;
- to give advice to student-workers, seek help for them and/or report to the Steering Group promptly.
Q10. The Government will offer each student-worker with satisfactory attendance in class and workplace (80% respectively) an allowance of an average of $2,000. For this purpose, do the participating employers need to provide regular attendance record of the student-workers to VTC?
The minimum attendance rate for study and workplace is 80% respectively for a semester for the Government allowance.
Student-workers not meeting both rates are not eligible for the allowance for the semester in question.
Student-workers failing to satisfy the minimum attendance requirement of a module will not be allowed to sit for the final examination nor be awarded module mark/grade.
Employers are required to provide to the VTC remuneration records as well as duly certified attendance records of the student-workers within a reasonable timeframe, for the VTC's verification before disbursing the Government allowance
Q11. Will the employment contracts continue upon graduation of student-workers?
Upon graduation of student-workers, the employment contracts will be ended. Participating employers can enter a new employment contract with the graduates subject to mutual agreement.
Q12. If participating employers continue to employ the graduates, do the participating employers have any obligations?
Upon graduation, if participating employers continue to employ the graduates, participating employers have to offer the graduate of Diploma of Foundation Studies a monthly salary inclusive of commission and allowances of no less than HKD$11,000. For graduates of Higher Diploma, the monthly salary inclusive of commission and allowances should not less than HKD$13,000.
