Irrespective of an employee’s length of service, they are entitled to 12 statutory holidays: 1st JanuaryLunar New Year’s Daythe second day of Lunar New YearThe third day of Lunar New YearChing Ming Festival1st May (Labour Day)Tuen Ng Festival1st July (HKSAR’s Establishment Day)The day after the Chinese Mid-Autumn FestivalChung Yeung Festival1st October (National Day)Chinese Winter Solstice Festival or Christmas Day (the employer can choose which one) Working on statutory holiday(s) If the employer wants their employee to work on statutory holiday(s), the employer should do certain things: Alternative holiday arrangement: An alternative holiday should be arranged within 60 days before or after the statutory holiday.Prior notice to the employee on the date of the alternative holiday: The notice should be given at least 48 hours before the alternative holiday or the statutory holiday. An employee can also take a substituted holiday on any day within 30 days before or after the alternative holiday or the statutory holiday upon an agreement between the employer and the employee. Bibliography: Labour Department, ‘Chapter 4: Rest Days, Holidays and Leave’: https://www.labour.gov.hk/eng/public/wcp/ConciseGuide/04.pdf

If an employer intends to shut down their business or part of it for granting annual leave to their employees, they should make a written inform to the affected employees at least one month in advance. If an employee is not entitled to any paid annual leave for any day during the shutdown period but they must stop working due to the shutdown, they should be given paid annual leave during that entire period. If an employee is entitled to annual leave that exceeds the number of days of the shutdown, they may immediately take the remaining annual leave after the shutdown. The annual leave shutdown should not affect the common leave year that is to be elected by the employer. The annual leave should be granted in respect of the leave year that immediately precedes the shutdown period. Bibliography: Labour Department, ‘Chapter 4: Rest Days, Holidays and Leave’: https://www.labour.gov.hk/eng/public/wcp/ConciseGuide/04.pdf

During their period of employment, employees are entitled to enjoy statutory holidays, rest days and paid annual leave. Annual leave refers to paid time off work given by employers to employees. In Hong Kong, an employee is entitled to paid annual leave every 12 months if they have been employed under a continuous contract. Calculation of annual leave The number of days of annual leave depends on an employee’s length of service: Length of Service (years)Annual Leave (days)172738495106117128139 or more14 If a rest day or a statutory holiday falls within the period of annual leave, they will be counted as annual leave. Hence, another rest day or holiday must be appointed by the employer. If an employee has completed service of at least 3 months but less than 12 months within a leave year, they are entitled to pro-rata annual leave pay unless the employee is summarily dismissed by the employer. There are certain steps that an employer must take when granting paid annual leave: Consult with your employee or their representative regarding the appointment of the time of the leaveConfirm the leave by issuing a written notice to your employee at least 14 days in advance, unless a shorter period has been agreed between you and your employee However, you must not include a term to forego any or all of your employee’s annual leave entitlement in their employment contract (including payment of wages in lieu of any or all annual leave days), unless your employee chooses to accept payment in lieu of a part of their annual leave entitlement that exceeds 10 days. Bibliography: Labour Department, ‘Chapter 4: Rest Days, Holidays and Leave’: https://www.labour.gov.hk/eng/public/wcp/ConciseGuide/04.pdf

On the last day of your employee’s wage period, their wages become due and you should pay wages to them as soon as possible. In any case, you should pay wages to your employees not later than seven days after the end of their wage period. If you fail to pay wages to your employees within these seven days, you will be required to pay interest on the outstanding amount. The interest will be calculated at the rate fixed by the Court of Final Appeal’s Chief Justice. Besides being liable to pay interest, you may also be liable to prosecution and to one-year imprisonment and a HK$200,000 fine upon conviction if you fail to pay wages to your employees. If you fail to pay the interest on the outstanding wages, you may be liable to prosecution and to conviction and a HK$10,000 fine upon conviction. If you, as an employer, are no longer able to pay wages to your employees, you should terminate the relevant employment contract according to its terms. If you still have not paid wages to your employees after one month from the due date, your employees may deem their employment contracts as being terminated by you without notice. They may then be entitled to wages in lieu of notice as well as other contractual and statutory termination payments.

Generally, an employer is prohibited under section 32 of the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57) from deducting their employee’s wages. However, if damage or loss has been caused to the employer’s equipment, goods or property by the employee’s default or neglect, the employer can deduct the employee’s wages. In any one case, the sum to be deducted from the employee’s wages should be equivalent to the value of the loss or damage, but it cannot exceed HK$300. The total of the deductions also cannot exceed one quarter of the employee’s wages payable during that wage period. An employer may be liable to prosecution and to one-year imprisonment and a fine of HK$100,000 upon conviction if they make any illegal deduction from their employee’s wages (section 32 of the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57)). Bibliography: Labour Department, ‘Chapter 3: Wages’: https://www.labour.gov.hk/eng/public/wcp/ConciseGuide/03.pdf1823.gov.hk, ‘In what circumstances can an employer deduct the salary of an employee?’: https://www.1823.gov.hk/en/faq/in-what-circumstances-can-an-employer-deduct-the-salary-of-an-employee

Wages refer to all earnings, tips, allowances, remuneration and service charges payable to an employee for the work done or to be done by them. In Hong Kong, the statutory minimum wage is currently set at HK$37.50 per hour by the Minimum Wage Ordinance (Cap. 608). Generally, the Ordinance applies to every employee, their employer and the contract of employment under which they are engaged. Exemptions from paying the minimum wage Certain student employees are exempted from receiving the statutory minimum wage. They include: Student interns; andWork experience students. You are exempted from paying interns and/or students the minimum wage as they do not have any employment relationship with your organisation or company. However, the specified student employees must be attending the types of education programmes specified under the Minimum Wage Ordinance (Cap. 608). There are also some significant differences between the nature and the requirements of an internship and a work experience: InternshipWork ExperienceTypes of Education Programmes Enrolled inStudents attending full-time accredited programmes provided by local education institutions (see Schedule 1 of the Minimum Wage Ordinance (Cap. 608)); or Hong Kong resident students enrolled in full-time programmes at degree or higher level for non-local academic qualificationSame as internshipNatureEndorsed or arranged by the education institutions that provide the programmes; and the internship forms an elective or compulsory part of the programmesDoes not have to be endorsed or arranged by the education institutions; and does not have to be curriculum-relatedAge and DurationNo restriction on both age and duration of the internshipAge: below 26 years old at the time of the commencement of the employmentDuration: A continuous period of up to 59 days can be treated as exempt student employment upon agreement between the student and their employer; one exempt student employment at most may commence