Facing racial discrimination in Hong Kong? Here’s what you need to know

A former HSBC employee last week sued the bank for alleged racial discrimination, maintaining that he was ultimately sacked, among other instances of mistreatment, because of his black heritage, bringing the topic into the media spotlight.

Former senior business analyst Robert Ngugi Tomkinson claimed an unspecified amount of damages for reputational damage, emotional distress and financial loss from HSBC Global Services (Hong Kong), with the legal action under the Race Discrimination Ordinance to commence at the District Court on Friday.

The Post breaks down what sort of protections Hong Kong offers against racial discrimination and looks at the challenges of trying to prove race-related unfair treatment.

1. What is the basis for Tomkinson’s lawsuit?

According to the writ, Tomkinson became the subject of “sustained and differential treatment” after the arrival of a new manager in April 2024, prompting him to file a formal internal complaint five months later.

In the writ, he alleged that he faced a bonus reduction, poor performance review and an early redundancy due to discrimination.

An earlier internal investigation by the bank partially upheld Tomkinson’s complaint after finding his manager had acted “inappropriately”, including disclosing his performance status to irrelevant third parties.

But the bank had said the probe also did not find signs of racial discrimination.