Hong Kong’s Labour Department announced on 1 January 2022 that the 8th of May would be the first of four new statutory holidays, celebrating the Birthday of the Buddha.
Hong Kong citizens would progressively experience an increase to 17 days of statutory holidays from 13.
The following statutory holidays will take effect biennially:
| Newly Added Holidays |
Effective Year |
| The first weekday after Christmas Day |
2024 |
| Easter Monday |
2026 |
| Good Friday |
2028 |
| The day following Good Friday |
2030 |
All employees covered under the Employment Ordinance are entitled to statutory holidays. If a statutory holiday falls on a rest day, employees should be granted a holiday on the next day which is not a statutory holiday, alternative holiday, a substituted holiday or a rest day.
Employees who have been employed under a continuous contract for more than 3 months are entitled to the holiday pay which is equivalent to the daily average wage earned by the employee in the 12 month period before the holiday.
Employers must not make any form of payment to employees in lieu of statutory holiday, the practice of “holiday buy-out” is strictly prohibited. Penalty for non-compliance is a fine of HK$50,000.
For more information, read over at:
https://www.labour.gov.hk/eng/news/latest_holidays2022.htm
https://www.labour.gov.hk/common/public/pdf/FAQ_on_Statutory_Holidays_en.pdf