The individual income tax ranges from 0% to 17%. Income tax is calculated according to progressive rates. Multiple additional factors may impact overall rates such as the household status and the number of children.

The employer cost is generally estimated at 5% of the employee salary.

• Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) - 5%

Standard working hours are 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week. The standard workweek is from Monday to Friday. 

Overtime payment is not mandatory. Overtime can be agreed upon between an employer and employee in an employment agreement. 

Employees are entitled to paid sick leave for up to 120 days if accrued. The first 4 days are unpaid and considered as a qualifying period.

Entitlement to sick leave is accrued at the rate of 2 paid days for each month of service during the first year of employment and at the rate of 4 paid sickness days for each month thereafter, up to a maximum of 120 paid sickness days. Leave is paid at different rates and by different payers depending upon length:

Terminations must respect complex rules and the rules of an employee’s employment country. The off-boarding is always handled by the Employer with the primary stakeholders. It may include ad-hoc fees as well as required or recommended steps on specific termination cases.

Terminations in Hong Kong can be complex. There is no at-will termination in Hong Kong for employers and termination must be done for just cause.

Compliant terminations include:

• Voluntarily by the employee
• By mutual agreement
• Unilaterally by the employer based on:
  • probation period
  • objective grounds
  • disciplinary dismissal
  • performance due to unsuitability for the job
• By the expiration of the contract

The minimum notice period is 7 days and will be increased according to the length of the employment.

• 7 days if the length of service is greater than 1 month and during the probation period
• 30 days if the outside of the probation period

Both full-time and part-time employees are entitled to 8-16 working days of paid time off (PTO) a year. PTO and accrual rate varies depending on the length of services. During the first year of employment, an employee is not allowed to take more than the number of days they have accrued while working.

Hong Kong celebrates 16 national holidays.

National public holidays include:

1. Lunar New Year's Day
2. The second day of Lunar New Year
3. The third day of Lunar New Year
4. The fourth day of Lunar New Year
5. Ching Ming Festival
6. Good Friday
7. The day following Good Friday
8. Easter Monday
9. The day following Labour Day
10. The day following the Birthday of the Buddha
11. Tuen Ng Festival
12. Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day
13. The second day following the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival
14. National Day
15. Chung Yeung Festival
16. The first weekday after Christmas Day
17. The second weekday after Christmas Day

Contracts must be in English and can be bilingual. A contract must include:

• Name
• Start date
• Length of the employment
• Job description
• Termination conditions