
1. Introduction
In Hong Kong, employment laws play a crucial role in protecting the rights of workers. Such a regulation is Ordinance 418, which governs various aspects of employment. This includes leave pay entitlement. However, there may be confusion regarding whether employers need to offer leave pay to part-time employees.
Ordinance 418 in Hong Kong classifies employees based on their “continuous employment” status. The law consider employees in continuous employment when they have worked for the same employer for four or more consecutive weeks. In addition, they should have worked at least 18 hours per week during that period. This is the reason behind the name “418.”
While employees in Hong Kong are guaranteed fundamental benefits and protections by the law, individuals who meet the criteria of being in a state of “continuous employment” are eligible for supplementary measures or additional provisions.
3. Is there any example to explain more?
Kiki worked 18, 18, 20, and 25 hours in a Japanese restaurant from the first week to the fourth week due to insufficient income.
Therefore, he is entitled to the above entitlements under Ordinance 418 because he has been employed for 4 consecutive weeks and has worked more than 18 hours per week.
4.What are the Protections and Benefits that “Continuous employment” Workers have?
Employees who meet the criteria of a continuous contract of employment not only enjoy essential labor protection, but also gain additional statutory benefits. This includes sick leave with pay.
- End-of-year payment
- Rest Day
- Long-service payment
- Maternity protection
- Minimum termination notice
- Annual leave with pay
- Statutory holidays with pay
- Severance Payment
- Sickness allowance
A) Rest day
Under a continuous contract, employees can get a minimum of one rest day within every seven-day period. A rest day is a continuous period of at least 24 hours.
B) Statutory holidays
- Statutory holidays in Hong Kong include:
- the first day of January,
- Lunar New Year’s Day,
- The second and third day of Lunar New Year,
- Ching Ming Festival, Labour Day (May 1st),
- The Birthday of the Buddha,
- Tuen Ng Festival,
- Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day (July 1st),
- The day following the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival,
- Chung Yeung Festival, National Day (October 1st),
- Chinese Winter Solstice Festival, and
- Christmas Day.
- In case the first, second, or third day of the lunar year falls on a Sunday, the fourth day of the first lunar year serves as an alternative holiday. Similarly, if the day following the Mid-Autumn Festival falls on a Sunday, Monday becomes the alternative holiday.
- If a statutory holiday falls on an employee’s rest day, the employer must grant a holiday on the following day. For instance, if a statutory holiday falls on a Sunday, the employer should arrange an alternative holiday on Monday.
- If an employer requires an employee to work on a statutory holiday, the employer must arrange an alternative holiday within 60 days before or after the statutory holiday.
- Employees who have been employed under a continuous contract for at least three months are entitled to holiday pay. The payment is calculated based on the average daily wage of the employee for the 12 months preceding the statutory holiday.
And employees who meet specific conditions are eligible for additional benefits, including:
C) Paid sick leave:
Employees under the 418 rule can accumulate two days of paid sick leave for each completed month of employment during the first 12 months, and four days for each completed month thereafter, up to a maximum of 120 days. If an employee provides a medical certificate by a registered medical practitioner in Hong Kong for a sickness lasting four days or more, the accumulated sick leave pay should be 80% of the average daily wage earned in the 12-month period prior to the sickness.
For instance, if an employee hasn’t taken any sick leave in the first two months of employment, they can take paid sick leave for four or more days with a medical certificate from the third month onwards. If the employee’s daily salary is HK$600, the daily sickness allowance would be calculated as: HK$600 * 80% = HK$480.
D) Paid maternity protection
I) Maternity leave:
Female employees under a continuous contract of at least 40 weeks are entitled to 14 weeks of paid maternity leave. With the employer’s agreement, a pregnant employee can choose to start maternity leave two to four weeks prior to the expected date of childbirth. The daily rate of maternity leave pay is four-fifths of the average daily wages in the 12-month period preceding the start of maternity leave.
If a pregnant employee provides a medical certificate indicating her inability to perform heavy, hazardous, or harmful work, the employer must reassign her within 14 days of receiving the request.
II) Paternity Leave:
- Allows male employees to take time off from work to care for their newborn child.
- Employed for at least 40 weeks before the expected delivery date are entitled to five days of paternity leave.
- Male employee can take the leave within a specified period before or after the actual date of delivery. Entitled to four-fifths of his average daily wages.
E) Annual leave pay
Employees can have a paid annual leave under a continuous contract lasting more than 12 months.
The entitlement to paid annual leave progressively increases from seven days to a maximum of 14 days, depending on the length of service. Employees must take their paid annual leave within a 12-month period.
However, different companies may calculate annual leave differently—some based on the employee’s start date, while others use a standard calendar year (January 1st to December 31st).
The daily payment for annual leave should be at least equal to the average daily wages earned in the preceding 12-month period.
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