Employment Ordinance

• Employment Protection
• Payment of Wages
• End-of-Year Gratuity and Bonus
• Compensation
• Provision of Information about Changes in the Conditions of Employment
• Termination of Contract
• Enquiries

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Employment Protection

Under the Employment Ordinance, all helpers, irrespective of their weekly working hours, are entitled to basic protection, as follows:

• rest days
• paid statutory holidays
• paid annual leave
• sickness allowance
• maternity leave
• severance payment or long-service payment
• employment protection

Besides, employers are required to take out employees' compensation insurance policies to cover their liabilities for any work-related injuries or fatalities for employees (including Smart Helpers, irrespective mode of employment).

Payment of Wages

Employers must negotiate with their helpers concerning the length of the wage period. Wages shall become due at the end of the last day of the wage period and shall be paid as soon as practicable thereafter, but in any case no later than seven days after the end of the wage period.

End-of-Year Gratuity and Bonus

An end-of-year gratuity (including double pay, year-end bonus, etc.) is not expressly provided for under the Ordinance. Employers should comply with the relevant terms and conditions set out in the contract of employment, if any. If the end-of-year payment is of a gratuitous nature, or payable solely at the discretion of the employer, this must be specified expressly in the contract.

Compensation

Employers may make deductions from the wages of their Smart Helpers in case of any damage to or loss of goods or property attributable to the helper's fault or negligence. In any one case, the sum to be deducted shall be equivalent to the value of the damage or loss, but may not exceed $300, and the total of such deductions may not exceed one quarter of the wages payable to the helper for that wage period.

Provision of Information about Changes in the Conditions of Employment

If an employer changes, or proposes to change, any condition of employment, he/she must inform his helper in an intelligible manner. If such a change is in writing, or made after a written request from the helper a copy of the written amendment must be provided to the helper.

Termination of Contract

If a person is employed under a continuous contract of employment, in which the probation period is not specified, the length of notice required for termination of the contract may not be less than seven days. If a probation period is specified, either party may terminate the contract at any time without notice within the first month of probation, or by giving the other party notice of not less than seven days after the first month of probation. If the length of notice is not expressly stated, notice of not less than one month is required to terminate a contract.

On termination of a contract, Smart Employers must pay Smart Helpers all outstanding wages, taking into account such factors as length of service and the reason for the termination. Specifically, employers should pay:

• wages in lieu of notice, if any
• payment in lieu of any untaken annual leave, and any pro rata annual leave pay for the current leave year
• long-service payment or severance payment, where appropriate
• any outstanding year-end gratuity and a pro rata year-end gratuity for the current payment period
• any other payments as stipulated in the employment contract

Enquiries

This section is a digest of A Concise Guide to the Employment Ordinance and the website of the Labour Department, and is for reference only. Copies of A Concise Guide to the Employment Ordinance are available from all Offices of Labour Relations Division of the Labour Department. Employment Contract sample is available here.

If you have any enquiries about labour legislation, you may:

• call the 24-hour telephone enquiry service hotline of the Labour Department on (852) 2717 1771
• visit the website of the Labour Department at www.labour.gov.hk
• visit any district offices of the Labour Relations Division of the Labour Department, or obtain A Concise Guide to the Employment Ordinance for information about the Employment Ordinance