4. Types of leave
Paid time off
Every 12 months, an employee is entitled to paid annual leave if they have been working on a continuous contract. According to years of service, annual leave allowance grows from 7 days to a limit of 14 days:
1 year – 7 days
2 years – 7 days
3 years – 8 days
4 years – 9 days
5 years – 10 days
6 years – 11 days
7 years – 12 days
8 years – 13 days
9+ years – 14 days
Public holidays
Statutory vacations are available to all staff. Most bosses, on the other hand, offer employees access to all general holidays. There are 12 formal holidays and 5 non-statutory holidays in the year.
Sick days
Employees with a fixed contract have the right to paid sick leave. Employees are entitled to two paid sick days per month for the first 12 months of work, rising to four paid sick days per month after one year of service.
Sick pay is determined at 80% of the average daily wages in the previous 12-month period, prior to the first day of illness. If the employee has been with the company for less than a year, the computation is based on the employee's average earnings since the start date of employment.
Employees can accrue sick days for the duration of their employment, up to a maximum of 120 days at any given time.
Maternity leave
A pregnant employee is entitled to 14 weeks of maternity leave, which may be extended to 18 weeks for complex or multiple deliveries provided the employee has been working under a continuous contract for at least 40 weeks before to the start of planned maternity leave. Maternity leave should begin two to four weeks before the due date.
The employer pays the maternity payment based on a four-fifths calculation of their average daily income (from the previous 12-month period, up to a maximum of 80,000 HKD) and is repaid by the government.
Paternity leave
Employees with a fixed contract have the right to paid sick leave. Employees are entitled to two paid sick days per month for the first 12 months of work, rising to four paid sick days per month after one year of service.
Sick pay is determined at 80% of the average daily wages in the previous 12-month period, prior to the first day of illness. If the employee has been with the company for less than a year, the computation is based on the employee's average earnings since the start date of employment.
Employees can accrue sick days for the duration of their employment, up to a maximum of 120 days at any given time.
Parental leave
There are currently no statutory laws or regulations regarding parental leave in Hong Kong.