Hong Kong PEO Services

Working Hours

Hong Kong generally has no statutory standard working hour system, as well as no statutory maximum number of working hours. However, these limits should still be set in an employee’s contract, along with provisions of overtime pay if needed. The employee is also under the protection of the Employment Ordinance Act regardless of the actual contract the employee signs with the employer, and hence the employee should still receive regular protection and coverage such as entitlement to paid annual leaves, medical leaves etc.

Holidays / Sickness Allowances

Hong Kong has 17 public holidays, 12 of which are considered statutory holidays. An employee having been employed under a continuous contract for not less than 3 months preceding a statutory holiday is entitled to the statutory holiday, as well as holiday pay on that day.

Holidays and dates

• New Year’s Day, 1 Jan
• Lunar New Year, 1 Feb
• The 2nd day after Lunar New Year, 2 Feb
• The 3rd day after Lunar New Year, 3rd Feb
• Good Friday, 2 April
• The day following Good Friday, 3 April
• Ching Ming Festival, 5 Apr
• Easter Day, 18 April
• Labor Day, 1 May
• Buddha’s Birthday, 8 May
• Tuen Ng Festival, 3 June
• Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day, 1 July
• The day following the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, 12 Sept
• National Day, 1 Oct
• Chung Yeung Festival, 4 Oct
• Chinese Winter Solstice Festival or Christmas Day (at the option of the employer), 22/25 Dec
• The day following Christmas Day, 23/26 Dec

Parental Allowances

Maternity leave pay is calculated according to four-fifths of the average daily wages earned by an employee in the 12-month period preceding the first day of the maternity leave.

Maternity leave lasts for 14 weeks, with four weeks eligible for government sponsorship upon application.

Fathers are eligible for paternity leave with either an advance notice of 3 months before the expected due date, or 5 days prior to that. They have around 5 days of paternity leave.

Taxation

Personal income tax rates start from 2% onwards, before increasing incrementally to 17% for annual income above 150 000HKD onwards.

Visas

Professionals who are not from the mainland generally obtain their work visas via General Employment Policy (GEP), with no sector limitations. Some key requirements include: securing a job with relevant qualifications and/with work experience that cannot be readily taken up by the local workforce prior to application

Cultural Information

While English is used for commercial activity, in terms of writing and speaking, Hong Kong people largely go by Cantonese. Plenty also speak Mandarin Chinese in order to facilitate communications with the mainland. Writing can be divided down into Cantonese Chinese, traditional Chinese, and simplified Chinese. Most Hong Kong people of Chinese descent tend to practice either Chinese folk religion, Taoism, or Buddhism.

Other Information

When employing workers in Hong Kong, employers are required to contribute to Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF), a social security fund for their employees in Hong Kong. Depending on the job scope, the identity of the employee, even the industry and sector, the employee may qualify for different schemes out of the multiple the system provides.

Partnering with a Hong Kong PEO provider can also simplify the global expansion process further, providing an intricate understanding on every aspect of Hong Kong's employment legislation.

Impacts from COVID-19

Employment in the luxury and retail industry has generally been affected by COVID-19, as Hong Kong loses customers both internationally and from the mainland. However, other sectors such as information technology are blooming, and actively looking for talents. Hong Kong’s recent budding interest in FinTech also means that talents specializing in both will become more attractive than ever. As the pandemic eases up, employment in even luxury and retail is slowly looking up once more.