Hong Kong
Min. wage
(x12 payments)
HKD 43.10 /hr
About the minimum wage
Employer tax
5% (MPF)
Understand employer tax
Annual leave
7 days
Learn about annual leave
Notice period
1 month min
Termination and notice info
Updated
Sep 2026
The default, indefinite, ongoing employment contract under the Employment Ordinance with no fixed end date, terminable by either party with statutory/contractual notice. Most benefits require a 'continuous contract' — as of 18 Jan 2026 defined by the new '468 rule' (17+ hrs/week over 4 weeks OR 68+ hrs aggregate over 4 weeks), replacing the former '418 rule'.
No maximum duration or cap on renewals, and no automatic conversion to indefinite status after repeated renewals. Expiry without renewal is not automatically a dismissal, though non-renewal due to redundancy can still trigger severance, and non-renewal resembling termination can be scrutinized under unreasonable/unlawful dismissal provisions.
Standard local practice is ~40-48 hours/week (5-6 days), but a matter of contract not statute. The Employment Ordinance guarantees at least one rest day per 7-day period for employees under a continuous contract. Statutory hour/rest protections exist only for specific groups (young persons/children in industrial undertakings); a general 'Standard Working Hours' policy has been discussed but not enacted as of Aug 2026.
The Employment Ordinance does not fix a mandatory probation length — set by contract. In the first month, either party may terminate without notice or payment in lieu. After the first month, at least 7 days' notice (or payment in lieu) required, unless contract specifies longer (subject to 7-day floor).
A 13th-month payment ('double pay' or discretionary year-end bonus) is widespread market custom, especially around Lunar New Year, but not mandated by the Employment Ordinance. Where contractual or a regular non-discretionary practice, it can become enforceable as part of wages.
None — Hong Kong does not statutorily regulate job titles for private-sector roles.
MPF: employers must contribute 5% of an employee's monthly relevant income, subject to a maximum relevant income cap of HKD 30,000/month (max mandatory employer contribution HKD 1,500/month). No minimum income threshold for the employer's obligation — employers must contribute even below the minimum income level.
MPF: employees contribute 5% of relevant income, only once monthly income reaches HKD 7,100/month minimum level; below that, employees are not required to contribute (employers still must). Above the HKD 30,000/month cap, employee contribution also capped at HKD 1,500/month.
In addition to statutory leave, employees are entitled to the following statutory benefits:
Hong Kong has no general social security tax. The only mandatory scheme is the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF), a defined-contribution retirement savings system funded jointly by employer and employee.
Under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance (Cap. 282), all Hong Kong employers must take out employees' compensation insurance covering injuries or death arising out of and in the course of employment, regardless of headcount or hours worked.
Failure to maintain valid insurance is a criminal offence; compensation amounts (temporary/permanent incapacity, disfigurement, or death) are calculated per statutory formulas based on earnings and injury nature/degree, independent of fault.
Severance payment applies to employees with 24+ months of continuous service dismissed by reason of redundancy or laid off, or whose fixed-term contract expires without renewal due to redundancy. Calculated as 2/3 of the last full month's wages (or 18 days' wages for daily/piece-rated workers) x reckonable years of service, capped at a monthly wage of HKD 22,500 (max monthly factor HKD 15,000) and a total payment cap of HKD 390,000.
Long Service Payment applies similarly to employees with 5+ years dismissed other than for redundancy/summary dismissal, resigning due to ill health, dying in service, or aged 65+ resigning, using the same formula/caps.
As of 1 May 2025, Hong Kong abolished the mechanism allowing employers to offset accrued mandatory MPF contributions against severance/long service payments. A government subsidy scheme helps employers cover part of the resulting cost — a recent and evolving change to reverify.
A 13th-month payment or 'double pay,' typically distributed around Lunar New Year or contract anniversary, is a widespread market custom in Hong Kong but not required by the Employment Ordinance or any other statute.
Where stated in the employment contract or an established non-discretionary practice, it may be treated as a contractual entitlement (part of 'wages') rather than a purely discretionary gift, affecting calculations such as severance/long service payment and statutory leave pay.
P.S. our team speaks multiple languages and we'd love to chat in your preferred language if requested.
Your employee's hours, time off, holidays, bonuses, and commissions are automatically calculated into payroll. RemoFirst will invoice you in either US Dollars (USD), Euros (EUR), British Pounds (GBP), Canadian Dollars (CAD), Australian Dollars (AUD), or Singapore Dollars (SGD) around the 15th of each month to make sure your employees are paid on time. To make it even easier, you can summarize your entire global team's salaries to aggregate them into one payment (instead of many individual payments).
Unlike full-time employees, contractors work on projects with multiple companies at a given time and are technically self-employed. Full-time employees are solely focused on their employer and usually receive benefits (such as health insurance, equity or stock options, and time off) as an additional form of compensation. While it can be cheaper to work with international contractors instead of paying benefits to a full-time employee, you run the risk of misclassification. It's recommended to work with an EOR for contractor onboarding and payments, so you can know that your international contractors are paid compliantly and on time.
Whenever the employee or employer has a question about, or anything else related to international employment, they can speak with our customer support team to get answers from our team of experts.
