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SALARY PAYMENT IN Hong Kong Dollars (HKD, $)
CONTRACT LANGUAGES Chinese / English
PAYROLL TAX 5% + 1,500 HKD
PAYROLL CYCLE Monthly
TIME TO HIRE 12 hours
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The Employment Ordinance (EO) recognises the following as “valid reasons” to terminate employment:
Employers in Hong Kong may dismiss an employee immediately and without notice (referred to as “summary dismissal”), where the employee:
Summary dismissal is also allowed in some cases according to common law. This means that if the employee’s conduct clearly demonstrates they do not want to be bound by the employment contract, they can be dismissed.
There is no law that requires you to give an employee a reason for dismissal. However, if the employee has been employed continuously for two years, a Labour Tribunal may require the employer to demonstrate a valid reason for terminating the employee’s employment.
The EO protects employees in the following circumstances, and an employer cannot dismiss:
It is not legal to dismiss any employee for any of the following reasons:
To dismiss, the EO only requires employers to give the relevant period of notice (or payment in lieu). However, best practice is that:
There is no statutory requirement for the notice of termination to be provided in writing. However, most employers do provide notice in writing, and employment contracts may require written notice. If an employee is supposed to get a severance payment or long service payment, the employer must
Resignation is generally given in writing, but unless stipulated in the employment contract, it can also be given verbally. Unless the employment contract stipulates otherwise, the minimum notice period is usually 1 month.
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No, as long as you have a valid reason, the process is relatively straightforward. There is no requirement to provide a reason for termination, but you may need to demonstrate validity if a Labour Tribunal is involved.
To avoid any risks, you should ensure that your reasons for termination are valid – as outlined above. In cases of unfair dismissal, the employee may be entitled to be reinstated, or pay the employee a further sum of three times the employee’s average monthly wage, subject to a maximum of HKD72,500 This is in addition to any other entitlements payable in respect of the dismissal.
