The Employment Contract in Hong Kong

The Employment Ordinance in Hong Kong

The Employment Ordinance issued in 2010 is the main legal framework that provisions the regulations an employer and an employee must abide by when engaging into a labor relation in Hong Kong. The Employment Ordinance protects any employee regardless of the number of hours he or she has worked. Furthermore, an employee is considered to have a continuous employment contract if the person has worked for at least 18 hours within a week for a period of 4 weeks for the same employer.

Our company incorporation representatives in Hong Kong will help foreign investors wanting to hire personnel for their companies in drafting their employment contracts.

The contract of employment in Hong Kong

The employment contract is an oral or written agreement between an employer and an employee. The labor contract will stipulate the respective labor conditions. In Hong Kong the employer and the employee are free to negotiate the conditions of employment that must respect the provisions of the Employment Ordinance. The labor contract must contain specific informations such as the wages, the date the salary will be paid, the payment for overtime, the amount of time in which leaving notice must be given. The employment contract must also contain information about any end of the year payment, if such exists. The employment contract must also contain details about the Mandatory Provident Fund (MFP).The employee is entitled to a copy of the contract.

The employment record in Hong Kong

All employers are requested to keep and update a record with the salary and history of each employee for the last year. The record must contain

• the name and ID card number,
• the date the employment contract was enforced,
• the job title,
• the salary paid for each period,
• what the wage period is,
• the number of rest, medical and maternity leave days (where applicable) and the wage for those periods,
• the period of notice if the contract will be terminated
• the end period of an employment contract (for temporary contracts).

For details about company incorporation and hiring staff you can contact our specialists in company formation in Hong Kong. Our consultants will provide all required information about the newest provisions of the Employment Ordinance in Hong Kong.