Employment contract in Hong Kong: Template, Key Clauses and Local Law (2026)

What an employment contract in Hong Kong is An employment contract in Hong Kong is the agreement between an employer and an employee, governed mainly by the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57). The Ordinance applies to employees regardless of their hours or length of service, but many of its most important protections, such as paid annual leave, sickness allowance, severance and long service payments, apply only to employees under a continuous contract. A contract does not have to be in writing to exist, but if any term is in writing the employer must give the employee a copy, and clear written terms are the sensible norm. This page is general information, not legal advice. Confirm the current position in the Employment Ordinance and, for anything unusual, ask a Hong Kong employment lawyer. ## What local law requires The continuous contract (the 4-18 rule). An employee is on a continuous contract once they have worked for the same employer for four weeks or more, with at least 18 hours in each week. This threshold is the gateway to most statutory benefits, so it is the first thing to check when you set hours. Written particulars. Before employment starts, the employer should inform the employee of the conditions of employment, covering wages and the wage period, the length of notice to end the contract, and any end-of-year payment and the payment period. If the terms are in writing, the employee gets a copy. Probation and notice. Probation is common and is treated specially. During the first month of a probation period, either side may end the contract without notice, whatever the contract says. After that first month, during the rest of a probation period, the notice cannot be less than seven days. For a continuous contract that is not in a probation period, the notice is the period agreed in the contract, but not less than seven days; if the contract says nothing, the default is one month. A notice period other than one month must be stated in a contract signed by both parties to be enforced. Summary dismissal. An employer may dismiss without notice or payment in lieu only for serious misconduct, such as willful disobedience of a lawful and reasonable order, fraud or dishonesty, or habitual neglect of duties. This is a high bar. Protected situations. Notice of termination cannot be given in certain protected circumstances, for example while an eligible employee is on statutory maternity leave or paid sick leave. Statutory entitlements. Depending on continuous service, employees may be entitled to rest days, statutory holidays, paid annual leave, sickness allowance, maternity and paternity leave, and, on certain terminations, severance payment or long service payment. Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) enrollment and contributions also apply to most employees. ## A simple structure you can adapt ```

CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT (Hong Kong) Employer: [name, address] Employee: [name, address] 1. POSITION AND DUTIES [Job title and duties.] 2. COMMENCEMENT AND PROBATION Start date [date]. Probation [length]. During the first month of probation either party may end the contract without notice; after that, not less than seven days' notice. 3. HOURS [Working hours and rest days. Note the 18-hour test for continuity.] 4. WAGES [Amount, wage period, payment date, and any end-of-year payment.] 5. NOTICE OF TERMINATION [Agreed notice, not less than seven days; one month if silent and continuous. Any non-standard period stated here and signed by both.] 6. LEAVE AND BENEFITS Statutory holidays, annual leave, sickness allowance and other entitlements per the Employment Ordinance; MPF enrollment. 7. CONFIDENTIALITY The employee keeps the employer's confidential information and trade secrets secret during and, for genuine trade secrets, after employment. Date: [date] Employer ______________ Employee ______________

- A notice clause that conflicts with the seven-day floor, or a non-standard period that is not in a signed contract.
- Treating ordinary underperformance as grounds for summary dismissal.
- A post-employment restraint dressed up as confidentiality. Hong Kong courts decline to enforce overbroad clauses that act as hidden non-competes.
- Forgetting MPF enrollment for eligible employees. ## A short checklist before you sign - Set hours knowing the 4-18 continuity test, since it gates most statutory benefits.
- Give the employee the conditions of employment and a copy of any written terms.
- Match the probation and notice clause to the Ordinance: no notice in the first month of probation, then at least seven days.
- State any notice period other than the one-month default in a contract signed by both parties.
- Keep summary dismissal tied to serious misconduct, and use proper notice or payment in lieu otherwise.
- Enroll eligible employees in the Mandatory Provident Fund and respect statutory leave entitlements.
- Keep any post-employment confidentiality reasonable, so it is not read as a hidden non-compete. ## Where this sits with your other contracts An employment contract in Hong Kong comes with written particulars, any bonus or commission terms, MPF paperwork, and amendments as roles change. The lasting work is keeping those consistent and knowing which version is current, especially around the continuity and notice rules. That is the same challenge a company faces across every contract, in each place where it hires. Drafting from a sound structure, catching a clause that conflicts with local rules, editing a term in plain language, and holding every version with its date can live in one AI workspace tuned to how your company contracts. [Adira](https://adiralaw.com) is built around that single workspace idea. Its depth is greatest in Indian corporate law today, with Hong Kong-specific coverage on its roadmap rather than shipped, so a Hong Kong hire still needs the law above and local advice. The idea to keep is that contracts are easier to trust when drafting, review, editing and version history live in one place.