Employers may encounter a sudden increase in orders and require employees to work on holidays. However, do you know whether an employee could be paid or not? We will list common FAQs to solve the question.
Difference between statutory holidays and rest days
Effective from 2022, The Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57) requires all employees in Hong Kong could enjoy 13 statutory holidays, regardless of their working experience.
In The Employment Ordinance, rest days are defined as “a continuous period of not less than 24 hours” which are applicable to employees employed under a “continuous contract”. The effect of rest days is: that employees have the right to not work for the employer for 24 hours. The employer can decide whether the rest day is fixed or not. If the rest day is fixed, the employer will notify the rest day arrangement one time. For irregular rest days, the employee will be notified monthly.
Difference between statutory holidays and public holidays
According to General Holidays Ordinance (Cap.149), public holidays include all Sundays and 17 festivals (e.g. Ching Ming Festival, Easter Monday). However, the Employment Ordinance lists that only 13 statutory holidays are allowed.
In 2022, the Legislative Council passed Employment (Amendment) Bill 2021. The statutory holidays will increase one day every two years, such that the difference is being eliminated in 2030. The Birthday of the Buddha has been made a statutory holiday in 2022. Other days include:
- the first weekday after Christmas Day
- Easter Monday
- Good Friday
- the day following Good Friday
Rights to work on a statutory holiday?
If the employer requires the employee to work on statutory holidays, they must serve notice at least 48 hours before that day. Additionally, the employee must be substituted a holiday within 60 days before/after the working statutory holiday. If both parties agree, the employer can arrange a substitute holiday before/after the working alternative holiday.
If the employee has been employed under a “continuous contract” for no less than 3 months, then they are entitled to pay in statutory holidays. “Continuous contract” means being employed for a consecutive 4 weeks and working for at least 18 hours per week. Employees under a continuous contract are entitled to statutory holiday pay (i.e. the daily rate of holiday pay is equivalent to the daily average of the wages earned by the employee during the period of 12 months immediately before the holiday) and substituted holiday.
Please note that employers cannot replace the substituted holiday with other means.
Rights to work on a rest day?
If the statutory holiday happens to be a rest day, then the employer should arrange a substituted holiday the day after the rest day. The substitute holiday cannot be a statutory holiday, alternative holiday, alternative holiday or rest day.
However, the employee may not get any pay working on a rest day.
Rights to work on a public holiday
Public holidays do not fully cover the benefits of statutory holidays. When the public holiday is a Sunday, a substituted holiday will be arranged on Monday. That means when working on a public holiday (which is a Saturday), the employee will not enjoy any substituted holiday or other compensation.
Conclusion: an Overview of employment rights
| Statutory Holidays | Rest Day | Public Holidays | |
| Substituted Holidays | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ (When public holiday is a Saturday) |
| Monetary Compensation | ✅ | ❓(Depends on company policy) | ❌ (When public holiday is a Saturday) |
To conclude, the employment rights of a statutory holiday are the most comprehensive. Most importantly, employees have to look carefully at their company policy and be aware of their own employment rights!
References:
The Legislative Council of HKSAR. (2015). General holidays and statutory holidays in Hong Kong. https://www.legco.gov.hk/research-publications/english/essentials-1415ise19-general-holidays-and-statutory-holidays-in-hong-kong.htm
The Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57)