An employee or an employer can terminate the employment contract by giving notice to the other party verbally or in writing. The length of the notice period is as follows:
Employment contract can be terminated without giving notice by making a payment equal to the wages for the number of days of notice agreed upon.
An employer can summarily dismiss an employee without notice or payment in lieu of notice in case of gross misconduct. However, an employee taking part in a strike is not a lawful ground for an employer to terminate the contract without notice or payment in lieu.
Short-term visitors are permitted to conduct business negotiations and sign contracts while on a visitor’s visa or entry permit. Eligibility requirements to apply for a work permit include:
The work permit is issued for a year and is renewable.
Employees who have worked under a continuous contract of at least 12 months are entitled to annual leave. An employee's entitlement to paid annual leave increases progressively from 7 days to a maximum of 14 days according to the length of service. Employers are required to pay the annual leave pay to the employee on the day of the next payday after the annual leave period. The payment is equal to 100% of the daily average wages of the employee in the 12 months before the start of the annual leave. The law generally prohibits remuneration in lieu of the annual leave; however, an employee may choose to accept payment in lieu of the part of leave that exceeds 10 days.
The Employment Ordinance of Hong Kong does not define standard working hours for employees. However, the law limits the number of working hours to 8 per day and 48 per week for young persons aged 15 to 18.
An employee who has worked for 4 weeks or more for the same employer is considered employed under a continuous contract if the employee has:
An employee under a continuous employment contract is entitled to at least 1 rest day every 7 days. A rest day is a continuous period of at least 24 hours during which an employee is entitled to abstain from work.
Female employees who have been working under a continuous contract immediately before the commencement of the maternity leave and have given notice of pregnancy (and the upcoming maternity leave) to the employer, are entitled to the following periods of leave:
Maternity leave is paid for 14 weeks on the typical payday of the employee. The daily rate of maternity leave benefit is a sum equivalent to 80% of the average daily wages earned by an employee in the 12 months preceding the first day of maternity leave, subject to a cap of HKD 80,000 (Hong Kong dollars). For employment under 12 months, the calculation shall be based on a shorter period.
The statutory minimum wage rate is HKD 42.10 (Hong Kong dollars) per hour.
Effective May 1, 2026, the SMW rate is HKD 43.10 (Hong Kong dollars) per hour.
Employment laws treat 1 month as the wage period unless otherwise agreed. Wages are due on the last day of the wage period and no later than 7 days after it. Employers are required to pay interest on any outstanding wages and are liable to prosecution if they fail to pay wages without a reasonable excuse.
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