Hiring in Hong Kong

A foreign company can employ people through its own Hong Kong entity, appoint an employer of record as the legal employer, or engage a genuinely independent provider under a contractor arrangement.

4dev.com's Contractor Platform works with independent contractors in Hong Kong.

Three ways to hire in Hong Kong

Start with the legal relationship: direct employment and an employer of record each have an employer, while an independent service contract requires genuinely independent work.

Route	Legal employer	What you pay on top of salary	How you end it
Your own entity	Your Hong Kong entity	Employer MPF: 5% of relevant income, capped at HK$1,500 a month for a monthly-paid employee; compulsory employees' compensation insurance is separate	7 days – 1 month, subject to the probation, continuous-contract and contractual-notice rules
Employer of record	The EOR	The agreement should identify the statutory employment costs and commercial terms allocated to you	The employment arrangement follows its applicable notice and contract terms; the detailed route is on the EOR page
Contractor	No employer where the provider is genuinely independent	The service contract sets the commercial amount; employee MPF is not the cost model for a genuinely independent engagement	The service contract governs the end of the engagement, rather than employee notice rules

For a monthly-paid employee, employer MPF reaches HK$1,500 at HK$30,000 of relevant income and stays at that amount above the ceiling. Compulsory employees' compensation insurance carries a separate, market-priced premium, so the MPF figure is not an all-in employment cost.

The 7 days – 1 month notice range depends on probation, continuous-contract status and the agreement. No notice is required in the first month of probation; statutory minimums differ later when the contract does not state a notice period. For an EOR arrangement, any employment-agency licence or exemption question depends on what the provider actually does.

The Hong Kong labour market

Hong Kong's official wage enquiry gives occupation-level reference points, without a supported district or city ranking. Set a hiring budget for the role and seniority you need.

Salary reference points

These June 2026 figures cover selected industry sections and occupations up to supervisory level.

All selected industry sections	HK$20,060 / month	C&SD June 2026 wage report
Supervisory and technical workers, both sexes	HK$27,461 / month	C&SD June 2026 wage report
Clerical and secretarial workers, both sexes	HK$19,494 / month	C&SD June 2026 wage report
Services workers, both sexes	HK$17,043 / month	C&SD June 2026 wage report

How to read a salary figure

The HK$20,060 / month figure averages the survey's selected industry sections and occupations; it is not an economy-wide employee mean. The HK$27,461 supervisory-and-technical figure combines roles and gives no stand-alone software-engineer or developer rate. Use the role's responsibilities and seniority to set a hiring budget.

Registering as an employer, step by step

A complete electronic incorporation filing may produce certificates in an hour. Insurance, employment terms, MPF enrolment and tax reporting have separate triggers, so that hour does not measure the time to make a first hire.

Step	What happens	Takes
Incorporate the entity	A complete electronic filing for a private company limited by shares normally produces its incorporation and business-registration certificates through the Companies Registry	Normally 1 hour for the certificates
Agree the employment terms	An employment contract may be oral or written; if it is written, give the employee a copy	Plan before the start date
Put insurance in force	Hold compulsory employees' compensation insurance before employing the person	Before employment; the premium is market-priced
Enrol an eligible employee for MPF	Enrol a full-time or part-time employee aged 18–64 who is continuously employed for at least 60 days	Within the first 60 calendar days of employment
Administer MPF through eMPF	All MPF schemes had been onboarded to eMPF by 30 April 2026; scheme onboarding does not show that an individual employer has completed its own registration	Check employer registration separately
File the first employment return when the condition applies	File IR56E if the employee is likely chargeable to salaries tax	Within 3 months of employing the person

The normally one-hour certificate service time begins after a complete electronic filing. The later employment duties have separate deadlines. Do not use the certificate issue time as a first-payroll or visa-approval timeline.

Hiring and onboarding

Before the start date, put the agreed terms and compulsory insurance in place. MPF and tax reporting then follow their own eligibility rules and deadlines.

Contract terms and legal limits

An employment contract may be oral or written; where it is written, the employer must give the employee a copy. From 18 January 2026, a continuous contract requires service with the same employer for at least four weeks and either at least 17 hours in each week, or—where a week falls below 17 hours—at least 68 hours across that week and the three immediately preceding weeks.

The hours test determines additional continuous-contract entitlements. Employees covered by the Employment Ordinance retain its core protections regardless of weekly hours.

Onboarding checklist

Use the start date to check the applicable duties:

• Record the agreed terms and give the employee a copy where the contract is written.
• Put employees' compensation insurance in force before employment begins.
• Check whether the statutory minimum-wage hours-recording exemption applies: the monthly threshold is HK$17,600 for the wage period.
• For an eligible employee aged 18–64 who is continuously employed for at least 60 days, complete MPF enrolment within the first 60 calendar days and administer the scheme through eMPF.
• File IR56E within 3 months of employing a person only if the employee is likely chargeable to salaries tax.
• For a General Employment Policy application, assess its own genuine-vacancy, confirmed-offer, local-workforce and market-remuneration conditions; the foreign-hire section explains that route in detail.

Foreign hires and work permission

An overseas candidate needs a work-authorisation route that fits the employing entity and the role; a Hong Kong employment offer alone does not settle the application. Under the General Employment Policy, the application must show a genuine vacancy, a confirmed offer for work not readily taken by the local workforce, and remuneration broadly in line with the market.

The employing company supplies its Business Registration Certificate, evidence of financial standing and company-background details. Normal GEP processing is about four weeks after all required documents and the fee have been received. The timing still depends on the application and application volumes, so it cannot be used as a guaranteed start date.

The narrower technical-professionals route

The Technical Professionals Stream runs from 30 June 2025 through 29 June 2028 for eligible non-degree professionals aged 18–40 in specified skilled trades, including information technology technicians. It requires the relevant qualifications, a confirmed Hong Kong employment offer and a place within the applicable quota: 10,000 overall during the pilot's first three years and 3,000 for each trade.

The stream covers specified skilled trades, not every technology role or contractor engagement. An application to change employer during the permitted stay is considered only if the person remains in the same skilled trade.

Minimum wage

Hong Kong's statutory minimum wage is HK$43.1 / hour from 1 May 2026. It is an hourly floor, so a monthly minimum depends on the hours worked in the wage period rather than on an assumed standard month.

The HK$17,600 monthly figure is the monetary cap on the requirement to record an employee's total hours worked. It is an hours-recording exemption threshold, not a wage cap or a universal monthly minimum.

1 May 2025	HK$42.1 / hour	Hong Kong Government 2025 wage-rate notice
1 May 2023	HK$40 / hour	Hong Kong Government 2023 wage-rate notice
1 May 2019	HK$37.5 / hour	Hong Kong Government 2019 wage-rate notice

For a monthly wage check, apply the hourly floor to the hours actually worked in the wage period; there is no supported universal monthly-hours figure to use instead.

Taxes and contributions

Salaries tax and MPF are separate calculations: salaries tax uses the lower of the progressive and standard-rate calculations, while MPF is a contribution based on relevant income.

The progressive salaries-tax range is 2–17%: 2%, 6%, 10%, 14% and 17% apply to successive HK$50,000 bands and the remainder. The standard-rate calculation is 15% on the first HK$5 million of net income and 16% on the remainder.

For monthly-paid employees, the relevant-income band runs from HK$7,100 to HK$30,000. The employer contributes 5% from the first day of employment, including below HK$7,100; the employee contributes nothing below that threshold and has a contribution holiday for the first 30 days. At and above HK$30,000, the monthly employer MPF contribution is HK$1,500; monthly contributions are generally due by the 10th day of the following month.

What an employee actually costs you

For an eligible monthly-paid adult, these totals add employer MPF to gross monthly salary. The first two salaries come from selected occupations in the official survey; the third illustrates the MPF ceiling, and the fourth is hypothetical.

Selected-occupation survey reference, HK$20,060 gross monthly	Employer MPF HK$1,003; monthly total HK$21,063	C&SD June 2026 wage report; MPFA mandatory contributions
Supervisory and technical survey mix, HK$27,461 gross monthly	Employer MPF HK$1,373.05; monthly total HK$28,834.05	C&SD June 2026 wage report; MPFA mandatory contributions
Illustrative pay at the HK$30,000 monthly MPF ceiling	Employer MPF HK$1,500; monthly total HK$31,500	MPFA mandatory contributions
Hypothetical HK$40,000 gross monthly, above the MPF ceiling	Employer MPF HK$1,500; monthly total HK$41,500	MPFA mandatory contributions

These monthly totals include only gross salary and employer MPF. They exclude compulsory market-priced employees' compensation insurance, voluntary benefits, provider fees and any contingent severance or long-service payment. The 12-equal-month calculation convention does not make them all-in annual costs.

Working time and overtime

Working hours and overtime compensation are set by the employment terms, subject to the Employment Ordinance and the Minimum Wage Ordinance. Set the normal schedule, any overtime arrangement and its compensation in the employment terms rather than assuming one universal hours cap or overtime multiplier.

For variable-hour schedules, apply the HK$43.1 hourly minimum to the hours worked. The HK$17,600 monthly threshold concerns the duty to record total hours, not allowable working time.

A continuous-contract employee receives at least one rest day in every seven days: a continuous period of at least 24 hours in which the employee may abstain from work. The contract test, including the same-employer and rolling-hours conditions, appears under hiring and onboarding.

Leave, sick pay and parental leave

A statutory holiday and paid statutory-holiday entitlement have different conditions. Annual, sickness and family leave also have their own service and pay rules.

Rest, annual leave and statutory holidays

An employee under a continuous contract receives at least one rest day in every seven days. After a completed year of continuous service, paid annual leave is 7–14 days: seven days in years one and two, then eight through 13 days in years three through eight, and 14 days from year nine.

Hong Kong has 15 days of statutory holidays in 2026. Statutory holiday pay requires at least three months of continuous employment immediately before the holiday, which is a separate condition from the holiday calendar itself.

Sickness and family leave

For an employee under a continuous contract, paid sickness days accrue at two for each completed month in the first year and four for each completed month thereafter, up to a 120-day bank. The sickness allowance rate is four-fifths of average daily wages.

Eligible employees receive 14 weeks of maternity leave; maternity leave pay requires at least 40 weeks of continuous employment before scheduled leave and the required pregnancy notice, and is four-fifths of average daily wages. Eligible employees receive five days of paternity leave, while paternity leave pay also requires 40 weeks of continuous employment before the day of leave and the required document; its rate is four-fifths of average daily wages.

Bonuses and end-of-year payments

A 13th-month payment is not a universal statutory extra salary in Hong Kong. An end-of-year payment can be contractual double pay, a 13th-month payment or an end-of-year bonus, but a gratuitous or employer-discretionary payment falls outside that contractual definition.

If you offer an end-of-year payment, state its calculation, eligibility conditions and treatment on termination in the contract. Its amount is not included in the MPF-only cost illustrations above.

Termination: notice and payments

Notice and exit payments run on different tests in Hong Kong: the notice period follows the probation and contract branch, while severance or long-service payment requires separate qualifying grounds and service.

Hong Kong has No statutory maximum probation period. The practical notice range is 7 days – 1 month, but its application depends on the contract and stage of employment.

Employment stage	Required notice
First month of probation	No notice required
After the first probation month, where the contract specifies notice	The agreed period, but not less than 7 days
After probation under a continuous contract	The agreed period, but not less than 7 days; 1 month where the contract has no notice provision

Ask whether the employee will leave Hong Kong after termination. If not, file IR56F one month before termination. If the employee will leave Hong Kong for good or for a substantial period, file two copies of IR56G (or file electronically) one month before the expected departure and withhold amounts due until the IRD issues a letter of release after tax clearance. The ordinary wage-payment deadline is no later than seven days after the end of the wage period; the IR56G tax-clearance hold is a separate duty.

When severance or long-service pay arises

Severance payment normally requires at least 24 months under a continuous contract and redundancy or lay-off. Long-service payment requires at least five years under a continuous contract and a qualifying termination, so neither is a universal payment on every exit.

For a monthly-paid employee, the formula is two-thirds of the last full month's wages for each year of reckonable service. The per-year amount is capped at two-thirds of HK$22,500, or HK$15,000, and the total severance or long-service payment at HK$390,000.

For service from 1 May 2025, accrued benefits from mandatory employer MPF contributions cannot offset the post-transition portion of severance or long-service payment. Pre-transition service is treated separately, which is another reason not to budget one universal exit-cost total.

Recent changes

The changes below have different effective dates. The holiday additions for 2028 and 2030 are scheduled; the 2027 wage-review calendar does not set a new rate.

• 1 May 2025: Mandatory employer MPF contributions can no longer offset the post-transition portion of severance or long-service payment. Pre-transition service remains subject to separate treatment.
• 30 June 2025: The Technical Professionals Stream began as a pilot for specified skilled trades. It runs through 29 June 2028 and remains a conditional route rather than a general technology permission.
• 18 January 2026: The revised continuous-contract test took effect: same employer for at least four weeks, then either at least 17 hours in each week or the 68-hour rolling alternative after a short week.
• 30 April 2026: All MPF schemes had been onboarded to eMPF. This marked full scheme onboarding, not individual employer registration or a change to contribution amounts.
• 1 May 2026: The statutory minimum wage rose to HK$43.1 per hour.
• 2026: Hong Kong has 15 statutory holidays, including Easter Monday.
• From 2028: Good Friday becomes the sixteenth statutory holiday; from 2030, the day following Good Friday becomes the seventeenth.

The Minimum Wage Commission must submit its next recommendation by 28 February 2027, and the government expects a next-rate start on 1 May 2027. Neither statement enacts a 2027 wage rate.

What a mistake costs and who pays

Penalties depend on the duty breached and who breached it. For a misclassified contractor, the employment consequences depend on the facts of the relationship.

Party	Risk	Amount
Employer	Wilful failure to pay wages without reasonable excuse, after wages fall due	Maximum HK$350,000 fine and 3 years' imprisonment
Employer	Employing a person without compulsory employees' compensation insurance in force	Maximum HK$100,000 fine and 2 years' imprisonment
Employer	Failing to pay mandatory MPF contributions after deducting the employee share	Maximum HK$450,000 fine and 4 years' imprisonment
Entity conducting employment-agency activity	Operating without a valid licence or certificate of exemption	Maximum HK$350,000 fine and 3 years' imprisonment
Employer whose labelled contractor is found to be an employee	Labour-law benefits may be owed and criminal liability may arise	Depends on the benefits owed and the breach

Employment-agency activity includes supplying personnel to an employer, while an exemption exists for contractors or subcontractors employing people on work for others. Check the provider's activity and any exemption before using the licensed-agency search; an EOR label alone does not settle the licence question.

A worker's label does not settle employee or contractor status. Control, equipment, integration, financial risk and other features all matter; a court gives the final interpretation in a dispute. The contractor guide covers the test and its consequences.

Questions people actually ask

What is the minimum wage per month in Hong Kong?

There is no single statutory monthly minimum because the current floor is HK$43.1 / hour and the result depends on hours worked in the wage period. The HK$17,600 monthly figure is the cap on the requirement to record total hours worked, not a monthly wage cap.

Is HK$20,060 the average salary of every worker?

No. HK$20,060 is the June 2026 average for selected industry sections and occupations up to supervisory level in the official wage enquiry. It is not an economy-wide average for every employee or a role-specific hiring rate.

Does a part-time employee qualify for statutory protections?

Employees covered by the Employment Ordinance receive core protections regardless of weekly hours. Additional continuous-contract entitlements use a separate test: same employer for at least four weeks plus either 17 hours in every week or 68 hours across a short week and the prior three weeks.

How much employer MPF applies to a hypothetical HK$40,000 monthly salary?

For an eligible monthly-paid adult, employer MPF is HK$1,500 because the relevant-income ceiling is HK$30,000. The resulting HK$41,500 monthly illustration is gross salary plus employer MPF only; it excludes compulsory market-priced employees' compensation insurance, voluntary benefits, provider fees and contingent exit payments.

Can a foreign company hire directly without incorporating in Hong Kong?

Incorporation status alone does not settle whether a foreign company can employ someone directly: identify the proposed legal employer and the Hong Kong duties it must meet. An employer of record arrangement still calls for an activity-specific agency licence or exemption review, while genuinely independent services follow the separate contractor route.

How long does an overseas hire take?

For a General Employment Policy application, normal processing is about four weeks only after all required documents and the fee have been received. The timing remains subject to the individual application and application volumes, so it is not a fixed approval or start-date promise.

Is a 13th-month salary mandatory?

No universal statutory 13th-month payment is established. An end-of-year payment may be contractual double pay, a 13th-month payment or a bonus, while a gratuitous or discretionary payment falls outside that contractual definition.

When does severance or long-service payment apply?

Severance normally requires at least 24 months under a continuous contract and redundancy or lay-off. Long-service payment requires at least five years under a continuous contract and a qualifying termination, so neither follows automatically from every employment ending.

Sources

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