The Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57) is the principal statute on employment rights in Hong Kong. It covers all employees except four groups: a family member living in the same dwelling as the employer; an employee under the Contracts for Employment Outside Hong Kong Ordinance; a seafarer serving under a crew agreement or on a ship not registered in Hong Kong; and an apprentice under a registered contract of apprenticeship, other than certain provisions (Labour Department, Concise Guide). All employees, irrespective of hours, receive basic protection on wages, wage deductions and statutory holidays; employees under a continuous contract additionally receive rest days, paid annual leave, sickness allowance, severance payment and long service payment. From 18 January 2026 the continuous contract test is four weeks or more with the same employer and at least 17 hours worked each week, or 68 hours or more across a four-week period where fewer than 17 hours were worked in a week; before that date the threshold was 18 hours a week under the Employment (Amendment) Ordinance 2025. The employer bears the onus of proving that a contract is not continuous (Labour Department, Concise Guide).
Key terms at a glance
| Topic | Rule | Source reference |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage | All employees except four excluded groups | Concise Guide (Labour Department) |
| Continuous contract | From 18 January 2026: 17 hours a week, or 68 hours across four weeks | Concise Guide |
| Wages | Payable within seven days of the wage period | Concise Guide |
| Rest days | At least one rest day of 24 hours in every seven days | Concise Guide |
| Statutory holidays | 15 days in 2026 | Concise Guide |
| Annual leave | 7 to 14 days by service after each 12 months | Concise Guide |
| Notice | Minimum 7 days where agreed; one month where no probation and no agreed period | Concise Guide, Chapter 9 |
| Severance / long service payment | 24 months / 5 years; HK$15,000 a year cap, HK$390,000 maximum | Concise Guide |
| Minimum wage | HK$43.1 an hour from 1 May 2026 | Statutory Minimum Wage page |
Contract terms and records
Before employment begins, the employer must inform the employee of the wage rate, any overtime rate and allowances, the wage period, the notice period and, where applicable, the end of year payment. Contracts may be oral or written, and any term purporting to remove or reduce a right under the Ordinance is void. Absent express agreement, a continuous contract is deemed a one-month contract renewable monthly. Wage and employment records must be kept for the preceding 12 months and for six months after employment ends; failure carries a fine of HK$10,000 (Labour Department, Concise Guide).
Wages: definition, timing and deductions
“Wages” covers all remuneration, earnings, allowances, tips and service charges, however designated, including travelling and attendance allowances, commission and overtime pay. It excludes the value of employer-provided accommodation and food, the employer’s retirement scheme contributions, gratuitous commission or discretionary bonuses, gratuitous or discretionary end of year payments, and gratuities payable on completion or termination (Labour Department, Concise Guide). Wages are payable as soon as practicable and not later than seven days after the end of the wage period; interest is payable on late wages, and wilful non-payment carries a fine of HK$350,000 and three years’ imprisonment. Wages unpaid one month after the due date allow the employee to treat the contract as terminated by the employer without notice.
Deductions are permitted only for listed grounds: absence; damage or loss caused by neglect, capped at HK$300 a case and a quarter of the wages in the period; recovery of advances or overpayment, capped at a quarter of the wages; food and accommodation; scheme contributions or loan recovery at the employee’s written request; statutory deductions; and other permitted cases. Except for absence and maintenance orders, total deductions must not exceed half the wages payable in the period unless the Commissioner for Labour approves in writing. Illegal deduction carries a fine of HK$100,000 and one year’s imprisonment (Labour Department, Concise Guide).
Rest days, statutory holidays and annual leave
Under a continuous contract, an employee is entitled to not less than one rest day in every seven days, being a continuous period of at least 24 hours; whether it is paid is a matter for agreement. Compelling work on a rest day is prohibited except in emergencies, and failure to grant rest days carries a fine of HK$50,000 (Labour Department, Concise Guide).
Every employee, irrespective of length of service, is entitled to statutory holidays, which number 15 in 2026:
- 1 January
- Lunar New Year’s Day
- Second day of Lunar New Year
- Third day of Lunar New Year
- Ching Ming Festival
- Easter Monday (new from 1 January 2026)
- Labour Day (1 May)
- Birthday of the Buddha
- Tuen Ng Festival
- HKSAR Establishment Day (1 July)
- Day following the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival
- National Day (1 October)
- Chung Yeung Festival
- Chinese Winter Solstice Festival or Christmas Day, at the employer’s option
- First weekday after Christmas Day
Good Friday is added from 2028, giving 16 in total, and the day following Good Friday from 2030, giving 17 in total. Holiday pay requires a continuous contract for not less than three months immediately before the holiday, and pay in lieu of a holiday is not allowed; failure to grant a holiday carries a fine of HK$50,000 (Labour Department, Concise Guide).
After each 12 months under a continuous contract, paid annual leave entitlement is as follows.
| Years of service | Days |
|---|---|
| 1 | 7 |
| 2 | 7 |
| 3 | 8 |
| 4 | 9 |
| 5 | 10 |
| 6 | 11 |
| 7 | 12 |
| 8 | 13 |
| 9 or above | 14 |
The employer fixes the dates after consulting the employee, with at least 14 days’ written notice unless a shorter period is agreed. Leave is taken in an unbroken period; up to 3 days may be split where entitlement does not exceed 10 days, and at least 7 days consecutively where it exceeds 10 days. Payment in lieu is allowed only for the part above 10 days. Leave pay is the average daily wages of the preceding 12 months. On termination, untaken leave is paid where a leave year has been served, and pro rata pay is due for three but less than 12 months in a leave year, other than on summary dismissal for serious misconduct. Failure to grant or pay leave carries a fine of HK$50,000 (Labour Department, Concise Guide). A calculation aid is available in the annual leave calculator.
Sickness allowance, maternity and paternity leave
Sickness allowance is payable for sick leave of not less than four consecutive days supported by an appropriate medical certificate, at four-fifths of the average daily wages of the preceding 12 months, where sufficient paid sickness days have accumulated. Paid sickness days accrue at two days for each completed month in the first 12 months and four days for each completed month thereafter, up to 120 days at any one time. Non-payment carries a fine of HK$50,000 (Labour Department, Concise Guide).
Maternity protection gives an employee under a continuous contract who has given notice of pregnancy a continuous period of 14 weeks’ leave, plus extra days for late confinement and up to four further weeks for illness or disability due to the pregnancy. Maternity leave pay is four-fifths of average daily wages where the employee has served under a continuous contract for not less than 40 weeks immediately before the leave; pay for the 11th to 14th week is capped at HK$80,000. An employer must not dismiss a confirmed-pregnant employee who has served notice of pregnancy.
Paternity leave is 5 days for each confinement of the spouse or partner, and marriage is not required. Paternity leave pay is four-fifths of average daily wages where the employee has served under a continuous contract for not less than 40 weeks before the leave and has provided the required document (Labour Department, Concise Guide).
Notice periods, probation and termination
| Situation | Notice required |
|---|---|
| Within the first month of probation | None |
| After the first month of probation, contract specifies a period | Agreed period, but not less than 7 days |
| After the first month of probation, contract silent | Not less than 7 days |
| No probation or after probation, contract specifies a period | Agreed period, but not less than 7 days |
| No probation or after probation, contract silent | Not less than one month |
Payment in lieu is calculated from average daily or monthly wages in the preceding 12 months, excluding unpaid or partly paid days (Labour Department, Concise Guide, Chapter 9). Summary dismissal without notice or payment in lieu is permitted for wilful disobedience of a lawful and reasonable order, misconduct, fraud or dishonesty, or habitual neglect; strike action is not a lawful ground. An employee may resign without notice where he reasonably fears physical danger from violence or disease, is ill-treated, or has served not less than five years and is certified permanently unfit for the work.
An employer must not dismiss an employee who is pregnant and has served notice, is on paid sick leave, is giving evidence in enforcement proceedings, is engaged in trade union activities, or is injured before compensation is agreed or assessed; breach carries a fine of HK$100,000 (Labour Department, Concise Guide).
Termination payments comprise outstanding wages, payment in lieu of notice, untaken and pro rata annual leave pay, pro rata end of year payment, severance or long service payment where due, and other contractual sums. All except severance payment are payable as soon as practicable and not later than seven days after termination. Severance payment is payable not later than two months after the employer receives the employee’s written notice of claim, which the employee should serve within three months after dismissal or lay-off takes effect. Wilful non-payment carries a fine of HK$350,000 and three years’ imprisonment, and interest applies to wages unpaid after seven days (Labour Department, Concise Guide).
Severance payment and long service payment
| Entitlement | Qualifying conditions |
|---|---|
| Severance payment | 24 months or more under a continuous contract and dismissal by reason of redundancy, expiry of a fixed-term contract without renewal by reason of redundancy, or lay-off |
| Long service payment | 5 years or more under a continuous contract and dismissal other than summary dismissal for serious misconduct or redundancy, expiry of a fixed-term contract without renewal, death, resignation on grounds of ill health, or resignation at age 65 or above |
An employee cannot receive both, and one who unreasonably refuses a written offer of renewal or re-engagement made not less than 7 days before dismissal or expiry is not eligible (Labour Department, Concise Guide).
For employment not straddling 1 May 2025, or for an employee outside the MPF system, a monthly-paid employee’s payment is the last full month’s wages multiplied by two-thirds and then by reckonable years of service, with each year capped at HK$15,000 (two-thirds of HK$22,500) and an overall maximum of HK$390,000; incomplete years are pro rata. Where employment straddles 1 May 2025, the effective date of the abolition of MPF offsetting, the sum splits into a pre-transition portion on wages before that date and a post-transition portion from that date, against a combined HK$390,000 cap. Long service payment is payable within seven days of termination, and wilful failure carries a fine of HK$350,000 and three years’ imprisonment; failure to pay severance payment carries a fine of HK$50,000 (Labour Department, Concise Guide). An estimating tool is provided in the severance and long service payment calculator.
Statutory Minimum Wage
The rate rises to HK$43.1 per hour with effect from 1 May 2026, and the monthly cap on the employer’s duty to record total hours worked rises to HK$17,600 per month (Labour Department, Statutory Minimum Wage page).
Common misunderstandings
- “The Ordinance protects only full-time employees.” All employees, irrespective of hours, receive basic protection on wages, deductions and statutory holidays; the continuous contract test adds rest days, paid annual leave, sickness allowance, severance payment and long service payment (Labour Department, Concise Guide).
- “Part-time and casual staff can never qualify.” From 18 January 2026 the test can be met by working 68 hours or more across a four-week period where fewer than 17 hours were worked in a week (Labour Department, Concise Guide).
- “An employer may buy out statutory holidays or annual leave.” Pay in lieu of a statutory holiday is not allowed, and payment in lieu of annual leave is available only for the part above 10 days (Labour Department, Concise Guide).
- “Severance payment and long service payment can both be claimed.” An employee cannot receive both; they are alternative entitlements (Labour Department, Concise Guide).
- “Statutory holiday pay is payable from the first day.” Entitlement applies irrespective of service, but holiday pay requires a continuous contract for not less than three months immediately before the holiday (Labour Department, Concise Guide).
FAQ
Does Cap. 57 cover part-time and casual workers? The Ordinance covers all employees except four excluded groups. Those not under a continuous contract still receive basic protection on wages, deductions and statutory holidays; those under a continuous contract receive rest days, paid annual leave, sickness allowance, severance payment and long service payment (Labour Department, Concise Guide).
When does a continuous contract arise from 2026? Where the employee has four weeks or more with the same employer and at least 17 hours in each week, or 68 hours or more across a four-week period where fewer than 17 hours were worked in a week, effective 18 January 2026 (Labour Department, Concise Guide).
How much annual leave is due? After each 12 months of service, entitlement runs from 7 days at one year to 14 days at nine years or above, paid at the average daily wages of the preceding 12 months (Labour Department, Concise Guide).
How are severance and long service payments calculated? For a monthly-paid employee outside the 1 May 2025 transition, the last full month’s wages are multiplied by two-thirds and by reckonable years of service, subject to HK$15,000 a year and an overall HK$390,000 cap. Employment straddling 1 May 2025 is split into pre- and post-transition portions against the same combined cap (Labour Department, Concise Guide).
When are final payments due? All termination payments except severance payment are due within seven days of termination. Severance payment is due within two months of the employer receiving the employee’s written notice of claim, which should be served within three months of dismissal or lay-off (Labour Department, Concise Guide).
A note on authority
The Concise Guide states in its foreword that the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57) itself remains the sole authority, the Guide being a simplified reference only. Rates and rules may be revised without notice, and the Labour Department’s official pages prevail.
Sources
- A Concise Guide to the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57) — Labour Department; guide version finalised December 2025, with chapter PDFs last modified between December 2023 and 28 December 2025; fetched 2026-10-08.
- Statutory Minimum Wage — Labour Department; page Last-Modified 30 April 2026; fetched 2026-10-08.