The Employment Ordinance, Cap. 57

Content

An employee, irrespective of his length of service, is entitled to the following statutory holidays :

1. the first day of January
   
2. Lunar New Year's Day
   
3. the second day of Lunar New Year
   
4. the third day of Lunar New Year
   
5. Ching Ming Festival
   
6. Labour Day, being the first day of May
7. the Birthday of the Buddha
8. Tuen Ng Festival
   
9. Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day, being the first day of July
   
10. the day following the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival
    
11. National Day, being the first day of October
12. Chung Yeung Festival
    
13. Chinese Winter Solstice Festival or Christmas Day (at the option of the employer)
    
14. the first weekday after Christmas Day（Newly added from 2024）*
    

*Effective from 1 January 2024

The additional statutory holidays from 2026 and thereafter are tabulated as follows:

An employee having been employed under a continuous contract for not less than 3 months is entitled to pay on statutory holidays.

The daily rate of statutory holiday pay is a sum equivalent to the average daily wages earned by an employee in the 12-month period preceding the day of the statutory holiday or the first day of the statutory holidays (if more than 1 consecutive statutory holiday). If an employee is employed for less than 12 months, the calculation shall be based on the shorter period.

In calculating the average daily wages, an employer has to exclude (i) the periods for which an employee is not paid his wages or full wages, including rest day, statutory holiday, annual leave, sickness day, maternity leave, paternity leave, sick leave due to work injuries or leave taken with the agreement of the employer, and any normal working day on which the employee is not provided by the employer with work; together with (ii) the sum paid to the employee for such periods.

Statutory holiday pay should be paid to the employee not later than the day on which he is next paid his wages after that statutory holiday.

Yes. An employer is required to give his employee at least 48 hours' prior notice for work on a statutory holiday. The employer must then arrange an alternative holiday within 60 days before or after the statutory holiday. If the employer and employee agree, any day within 30 days of the statutory or alternative holiday may be taken by the employee as a substitute holiday. In this situation, an employer is advised to keep clear records of the alternative or substitute holiday taken by an employee.

The employer who contravenes this provision is liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, to a fine of HK$50,000.

Yes.  If the statutory holiday falls on a rest day, a holiday should be granted on the day following the rest day which is not a statutory holiday or an alternative holiday or a substituted holiday or a rest day.