Q: As a prospective employer am I entitled to ask the applicant to provide his/her ID card number or a copy of his/her ID card prior to the signing of the employment contract?
A: The Code on the ID Card Number and Other personal identifiers ("the Code") permits a data user to collect the copy of an ID card in order to provide proof of compliance with any statutory requirement. An example of such statutory requirement is given under that paragraph in section 17J of the Immigration Ordinance. Under that section, a person is required first to inspect the ID card held by another person before "entering into a contract of employment" with such other person. Since compliance with that section is required before a contract of employment is entered into, similarly, we take the view that the proof of compliance may be collected before such contract is entered into.
Paragraph 3.3.2, however, makes it clear that paragraph 3.2.2.1 does not permit the collection of a copy of the ID card merely in anticipation of a prospective relationship. We interpret this as meaning that where factors remain to be considered which would affect whether an offer would be made to a particular applicant, then the applicant¡¦s ID card copy should not be collected until those factors have been considered. On the other hand, if the remaining recruitment formalities would not affect the recruitment decision, then the ID card copy may be collected at that point to provide proof of compliance with the relevant statutory requirement prior to the signing of the employment contract.