Are all employees entitled to statutory holidays? Is it mandatory to give employees a day off on statutory holidays?

Contents

• Entitlement to Statutory Holidays
• Eligibility for Holiday Pay
• Calculation of Holiday Pay
• Deadline for Payment of Holiday Pay

Entitlement to Statutory Holidays　

All employees covered by the Employment Ordinance are entitled to statutory holidays. An employer must not make any form of payment to the employee in lieu of granting a holiday (except upon termination of employment contract). In other words, "buy-out" of a holiday is not allowed. An employer who fails to follow such restriction is liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, to a fine of $50,000. If the employer requires the employee to work on a statutory holiday, an alternative holiday or a substitute holiday must be arranged in accordance with the Employment Ordinance. For details of the required arrangement, please click here.

Eligibility for Holiday Pay

An employee having been employed under a continuous contract for not less than 3 months preceding a statutory holiday is entitled to the statutory holiday, as well as holiday pay on that day.

Calculation of Holiday Pay

The daily rate of holiday pay is a sum equivalent to the average daily wages earned by an employee in the 12-month period preceding the following specified dates.  If an employee is employed for less than 12 months, the calculation shall be based on the shorter period.

Note: 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, 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.  

You may refer to the "12-Month Average Wages Calculator" on Labour Departmet's website to calculate the 12-month average daily wage, or “ A Concise Guide to the Employment Ordinance - Appendix 1” (PDF) for more information.
 

Deadline for Payment of Holiday Pay

Holiday pay should be paid to employees not later than the day on which he/she is next paid his/her wages after the statutory holiday.

This is not a legal document. The Ordinance remains the sole authority for the provisions of the law explained.