In Hong Kong, a written employment contract should include:

• the names of the employer and employee,

• the location of the employer and where the work is to be performed,

• salary, payment intervals and any bonuses,

• vacation and other leave entitlements,

• duration (if for a fixed term),

• probation period (if applicable), and

• the notice period and other requirements related to termination of the employment contract.
  

The employment contract must be signed by both the employer and employee.

The hourly minimum wage is 40.00 HKD.

Common Benefits

• Private medical insurance

• Bonus

• Additional annual leave

• Housing/Rental allowance

• Company Car

• Holiday Journey Allowance (vacation allowance)

• Equity options

Working hours are typically 9 am to 6 pm Monday to Friday, however, there are no legislative requirements or limits on the maximum working hours except for a young person (age 15 to 18) in industrial settings who is limited to an 8 hour working day between the hours of 7 am to 7 pm with a maximum of 48 hours per week.

Overtime

Overtime regulations are not set out in law; the company policy is usually stated in either the employment contract or Collective Bargaining Agreement.

During the first 12 months of employment employees accrue 2 paid sick days per month, increasing to 4 paid sick days per month after reaching one year of service, up to a maximum of 120 paid sickness days.

Sick pay is calculated at 80% of the average daily earnings earnt in the preceding 12-month period, prior to the first day of sickness. For employees with less than 12 months service, the calculation is based on the average earnings received since the employment start date.

A medical certificate must be issued by a medical practitioner or registered dentist as proof of any sickness day the worker is claiming.

Maternity Leave

A pregnant employee who has been employed under a continuous contract for at least 40 weeks immediately before the commencement of scheduled maternity leave is entitled to 14 weeks of paid maternity leave. An additional 14 weeks of leave might be available for cases of complicated or multiple births . Maternity leave should commence between two to four weeks before the due date.

The employer pays the maternity leave period based on a calculation of four-fifths of their average daily wages earned in the 12-month period preceding the first day of the maternity leave (for those with less than 12 months service the shorter calculation period will be used). The 11 t0 14 weeks of maternity leave is capped at 80,000 HKD and the employer can apply to the Government for reimbursement of these 4 weeks.

Paternity Leave

Male employees are entitled to 5 days of paternity leave providing they have been employed under a continuous contract for no less than 40 weeks before the first day of Paternity leave. Leave may be taken in one go or on separate days, within the period of four weeks prior to the expected date of delivery and 10 weeks following the actual birth of the child.

Paternity pay is at a rate of four-fifths of the average daily wages earned in the 12-month period preceding the first day of paternity leave (for those with less than 12 months service the shorter calculation period will be used).

Advance notice must be given before taking paternity leave. Where at least 3 months notice before the expected date of delivery has been given the father may take paternity leave immediately after informing his employer of the actual leave dates. However, if 3 months advance notice was not given, the employee must notify the employer of his dates of paternity leave at least 5 days before taking leave.

Parental Leave

There is no additional statutory parental leave in Hong Kong.

Employees who have been employed for at least 12 months are entitled to 7 days of paid annual leave. This increases by one day per additional year of employment until the total annual leave entitlement of 14 days is reached in the 9th year of employment.

There is no additional statutory other leave e.g. Marriage or Bereavement in Hong Kong, though some companies choose to create their own policy.

Public holidays that fall on a Sunday are moved to a weekday as a day off in lieu. Public holidays that fall on a Saturday are usually lost.

The number of statutory holidays under the employment ordinance will increase from 13 days to 17 days by 2030, with one additional statutory holiday added every 2 years.

The new statutory holidays will be: Easter Monday (starting from 1 January 2026) , Good Friday (starting from 1 January 2028), The day following Good Friday (starting from 1 January 2030).

Date Day Holiday Notes

1 Jan 2024 - Monday -New Year’s Day

10 Feb 2024 - Saturday -The first day of Lunar New Year

11 Feb 2024 -Sunday -The second day of Lunar New Year

12 Feb 2024 -Monday -The third day of Lunar New Year

13 Feb 2024 -Tuesday -The fourth day of Lunar New Year -Day Off in Lieu

29 Mar 2024 -Friday -Good Friday -Optional -some companies choose to give it as a day off

30 Mar 2024 -Saturday -The day following Good Friday -Optional -some companies choose to give it as a day off

1 Apr 2024 -Sunday -Easter Monday -Optional -some companies choose to give it as a day off

4 Apr 2024 -Thursday -Ching Ming Festival

1 May 2024 -Wednesday -Labour Day

15 May 2024 -Wednesday -The Birthday of the Buddha

10 Jun 2024 -Monday -Tuen Ng Festival

1 Jul 2024 -Monday -HKSAR Establishment Day

18 Sep 2024 -Wednesday -The Day following the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival

1 Oct 2024 -Tuesday -National Day

11 Oct 2024 -Friday -Chung Yeung Festival

21 Dec 2024 -Saturday -Chinese Winter Solstice Festival -The Employer choose one of the two holidays, Chinese Winter Solstice Festival or Christmas Day

25 Dec 2024 -Wednesday -Christmas Day -The Employer choose one of the two holidays, Chinese Winter Solstice Festival or Christmas Day

26 Dec 2024 -Thursday -The first weekday after Christmas Day

Hong Kong has a mix of public and private healthcare systems. Employers often offer health insurance.

Under the Employment Ordinance, a list of valid termination reasons are provided including the conduct of the employee, the capability or qualifications of the employee to perform their job (a PIP process will usually be required first), redundancy and any other reason of substance which in the opinion of the court or the Labour Tribunal would be sufficient cause to warrant the dismissal of the employee or a variation to the terms of that contract of employment.

Notice Period

Notice periods within Hong Kong are generally 30 days, although employers can specify longer notice periods within the employment contract.

During the probation period, no notice needs to be given by the employer or worker in order to terminate.

Severance Pay

Statutory severance payment is payable to redundant employees with continuous service for 2 years or more. Calculated using a base amount per year of service or 2/3 of the employee’s last full month’s wages (being the monthly average of the wages earned by the employee during the previous 12 months – or a shorter period where the employee has been employed for less than 12 months – or 2/3 of HKD22,500, whichever is less). Total severance payment is capped at HKD 390,000.

Employers are entitled to offset liability to pay a severance payment, any gratuity, or retirement scheme payment that has been made to the employee in respect to any years of service for which the severance payment is payable.

For the purposes of a severance payment, there is a statutory presumption that the termination arose by reason of redundancy. This presumption may only be rebutted by an employer who proves that the employment was terminated for reasons wholly unrelated to redundancy.

From May 2025, The Employment & Retirement Schemes Legislation (Offsetting Arrangement) will come into force, which seeks to abolish the arrangement that allows employers to offset Severance Payment/Long Service Payment against the employer’s mandatory Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) contributions. Employers will still be able to offset these payments against the employer’s voluntary MPF contributions and gratuities. The arrangements under this bill will also apply to other occupational retirement schemes.

Probation Period

The probation period in Hong Kong for permanent employees is generally set between 1 week to 1 month. The exact length must be stipulated in the Employment Contract.

Employer Payroll Contributions
5.00% - Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) applied on salary up to HK$ 30,000 monthly.
Up to 2.00% - Employment Insurance – the rate varies depending on the industry.

7.00% -Total Employment Cost

Employee Payroll Contributions
5.00% -Provident Fund (MPF) applied on salary between 7,000.00 to 30,000 HK$ monthly.

5.00% -Total Employee Cost

Employee Income Tax
2.00% -Up to 50,000.00 HKD Annually
6.00% -50,001.00 HKD – 100,000.00 HKD Annually
10.00% -100,001.00 HKD – 150,000.00 HKD Annually
14.00% -150,001.00 HKD – 200,000.00 HKD Annually
17.00% -200,001.00 HKD and over Annually

Payroll Cycle

The payroll cycle in Hong Kong is monthly with payments usually being made on the last working day of the month.

13th Salary

In Hong Kong, it is customary to pay a 13th salary before the Chinese Lunar New Year or at the end of the year.

Authority Payments

Authority Payment Dates Methods

MPF trustee (depending on the MPF provider selected by the Company)
-Monthly; 10th of the following month
-Payments can be made from ICP’s trust account or local account owned by client. Direct debit can be set up by using local account owned by client.

Foreign nationals normally require a visa before entering Hong Kong to take up employment. A local sponsor, usually the employing company, is required to support the employment visa application.

Under the existing immigration policy, a person seeking to enter Hong Kong for employment should possess a particular skill, knowledge, or value experience, which is not readily available in Hong Kong.

Applicants who wish to possess a working visa for Hong Kong need a graduate degree unless they are considerably experienced in a specialized field or have relevant experience in the position they are applying for.

If the person’s spouse and dependent family also decide to relocate to Hong Kong, they will require dependent visas. A spouse entering Hong Kong on a dependent visa can now take up employment in Hong Kong and no longer requires a separate employment visa if they wish to work in Hong Kong.

The standard rate of VAT in Hong Kong is 0%.