Michael Szeto

Principal Areas of Practice:

• Employment, Privacy & Discrimination
• Regulatory & Compliance

Education:

• 1997        LLB (Hons), City University of London, England
• 1998        PCLL, The University of Hong Kong

Admission:

• 2000        Solicitor, Hong Kong
• 2018        Civil Celebrant of Marriages

Experience:

Michael Szeto is a litigation partner of ONC Lawyers and heads the firm’s Employment
practice. He has over 20 years of experience in handling complex commercial dispute
resolution, shareholders’ and joint venture disputes, bankruptcy and insolvency matters, debt recovery and mortgagee actions. He also routinely deals with regulatory actions and compliance matters under the Securities and Futures Ordinance, the Hong Kong listing rules and anti-money laundering laws and guidelines. 

On the employment side, Michael often advises on various contentious and non-contentious employment matters, covering contract reviews, termination disputes, injunctive relief, discrimination and harassment claims, data privacy matters, as well as advice on matters relating to team moves, remuneration packages and employee incentive schemes. He is an author to Hong Kong employment law manuals and frequently publishes employment law articles in industry publications. He frequently gives talks to legal and human resource professionals. Michael has been recognized as a Lexology Legal Influencer in Employment & Immigration (Individual Expert) for Q1, Q3, Q4 2021, Q1-Q4 2022 and Q2 2023.

Professional Affiliations

• Executive member of the Labor and Employment Executive Committee, the
  International Society of Primerus Law FirmsTM
• Member, Lexis Advance® Hong Kong Practical Guidance Employment Editorial Board

Publications
(Law manuals)

•  Author, Hong Kong Employment Law Manual (Issue 50), LexisNexis, August 2024
• Author, Hong Kong Employment Law Manual (Issue 49), LexisNexis, June 2024
• Author, Securities Law of HKSAR and PRC (Issue 70), LexisNexis, May 2024
• Author, Hong Kong Employment Law Manual (Issue 48), LexisNexis, September 2023
• Author, Hong Kong Employment Law Manual (Issue 47), LexisNexis, April 2023
• Contributor, Halsbury’s Laws of Hong Kong Current Service Issue 121 – Employment
  (Second Edition), LexisNexis, October 2022
• Contributor, ‘Employment’ (Volume 13), The Hong Kong Encyclopedia of Forms and
  Precedents, LexisNexis, March 2022 (Reissue)

(Articles)

• Author, ‘Hong Kong Employment Law 2023 Review’, ONC Lawyers, 31 January 2024
• Author, ‘Can an employer claw back discretionary bonus already granted to an
  employee?’, ONC Lawyers, 30 November 2023
• Author, ‘What is pregnancy discrimination and how to avoid it’, Human Resources
  Director Asia, 20 October 2023

Speaking Engagements
(Seminars and webinars)

• “Employment Law Uncovered: Critical Knowledge for HR Professionals” organized by
  The Hong Kong Institute of Bankers for its Talent Development Networking Group, 27
  August 2024
• “Hot Topics in Labor & Employment: A Global Perspective”, panel discussion with other lawyers from US and Europe organized by the International Society of Primerus Law FirmsTM, 10 July 2024
• “From Compliance to Culture: Cultivating a Sustainable DEIB Strategy in Business”
  jointly organized by ONC Lawyers and LexisNexis, 26 June 2024
• “Employment Ordinance and Talent Retention (僱員傭條例及保留人才)” jointly organized by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and The Hong Kong Institute of Directors for members of National Sports Associations, 31 January 2024
• “Senior Executive and Broad-level Employment Law (Part II)”, ONC Lawyers, 27
  October 2023
• “Overview of Employment Ordinance and Talent Retention” jointly organized by the
  Leisure and Cultural Services Department and Hong Kong Institute of Directors, for
  members of National Sports Associations, 18 March 2023
• “Legal Intricacies in M&A Due Diligence: Employment and Fraud/Corruption”,
  Association of Corporate Counsel, 15 December 2022
• “COVID-19 Special: Latest Changes to the Employment Ordinance that Employers
  Need to Know”, jointly organized by ONC Lawyers and LexisNexis, 13 April 2022
  Other speaking engagements
• “Australia’s ‘right to disconnect’ law for workers after working hours and its feasibility in Hong Kong”, RTHK Radio 3’s “Backchat”, 28 August 2024
• “Summer jobs/jobs scam”, RTHK Radio 3’s “Backchat”, 21 June 2024
• “‘Job hopping’ among foreign domestic helpers”, RTHK Radio 3’s “Backchat”, 16 April
  2024
• “Protection of part-time workers”, RTHK Radio 3’s “Backchat”, 5 February 2024
• “Protection of part-time workers”, RTHK Radio 3’s “Backchat”, 14 August 2023
• “勞資審裁處裁定物流平台配送工屬僱員”, RTHK’s “自由風自由 PHONE”, 11 July 2023