Minimum Wage Ordinance, Chapter 608
The Minimum Wage Ordinance establishes a Statutory Minimum Wage (SMW) regime aimed at striking an appropriate balance between forestalling excessively low wages and minimising the loss of low-paid jobs while sustaining Hong Kong’s economic growth and competitiveness.
SMW provides a wage floor to protect grassroots employees.
SMW has come into force since 1 May 2011. The prevailing SMW rate is $40 per hour effective from 1 May 2023.
The Legislative Council has approved the subsidiary legislation on the revised SMW rate. The SMW rate will increase from its prevailing level of $40 per hour to $42.1 with effect from 1 May 2025.
The monthly monetary cap on the requirement of employers recording the total number of hours worked by employees is also revised to $17,200 per month in tandem with the effective date of the new SMW rate. For details, please click here.
SMW is expressed as an hourly rate. In essence, wages payable to an employee in respect of any wage period should be no less than the SMW rate on average for the total number of hours worked.
The major provisions of the Minimum Wage Ordinance - e.g. definition of wages - are aligned as closely as possible with those of the Employment Ordinance to ensure consistency and effective enforcement, avoid confusion to employers and employees and minimise the compliance cost for employers.