Maternity Leave in Hong Kong 2026: A Foreign Employer's Guide

Introduction

The moment a Hong Kong employee tells you she’s pregnant, a set of legal obligations activates. Dismissal protection kicks in immediately. Documentary requirements start. Pay calculations and a government reimbursement claim need to be planned before leave begins.

Maternity leave in Hong Kong looks simple on the surface (14 weeks, 80% pay), but there’s more to it for employers. There’s a 40-week tenure threshold that determines whether leave is paid or unpaid. There’s a salary cap on the last four weeks. There’s a government reimbursement scheme that covers most of the added cost, but only if you file correctly with the right paperwork. And from January 2026, the definition of “continuous contract” changed, which affects which employees qualify in the first place.

Who Qualifies for Paid Maternity Leave in Hong Kong?

Maternity leave in Hong Kong is governed by the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57). The law covers female employees working under a contract of employment, including part-time employees and non-residents.

However, being covered by the Employment Ordinance does not automatically mean an employee qualifies for paid maternity leave.

What Are the Requirements for Paid Maternity Leave?

An employee must meet two conditions to qualify for paid maternity leave:

• She must work under a continuous contract.
• She must have worked for the same employer for at least 40 weeks before the expected delivery date.

If she meets both conditions, she qualifies for the statutory paid maternity leave entitlement.

What Changed for Part-Time Workers in 2026?

From 18 January 2026, the Employment (Amendment) Ordinance 2025 changed how Hong Kong determines whether an employee works under a “continuous contract”. The new “468 Rule” can bring more part-time and irregular workers into the scope of the continuous contract requirement.

Under the new test, a worker can qualify if they:

• Work for the employer for four consecutive weeks, and
• Either work at least 17 hours per week during those four weeks, or complete 68 hours or more across the four-week period for workers with variable hours.

This change matters for employers with part-time or irregular workers because an employee who previously fell outside the continuous contract definition may now qualify.

What If the Employee Has Not Worked for 40 Weeks?

An employee who meets the continuous contract requirement but has worked for the employer for less than 40 weeks still has a right to 14 weeks of maternity leave. The difference is that the leave remains unpaid because she has not yet reached the 40-week service requirement for paid maternity leave.

So, employers need to check two separate things:

1. Does the employee meet the continuous contract test?
2. Has she completed at least 40 weeks of continuous employment before the expected delivery date?

The answers determine whether the employee qualifies for maternity leave and whether that leave must be paid.

Leave Duration, Timing and Maternity Leave Pay in Hong Kong

Hong Kong provides 14 continuous weeks of statutory maternity leave to eligible employees. Employers also need to understand when the leave can start and how to calculate the employee’s maternity leave pay.

How Long Is Maternity Leave in Hong Kong?

Eligible employees receive 14 continuous weeks of maternity leave. In most cases, maternity leave can start up to four weeks before the expected delivery date. If the employee does not take leave before the birth, the leave starts on the day of delivery. An earlier start may also be possible if a medical reason supports it and the employer and employee agree.

How Is Maternity Leave Pay Calculated?

Eligible employees receive 80% of their average daily wages during maternity leave. The employer calculates the average using wages earned during the 12 months before the maternity leave begins, divided by the number of days the employee worked during that period.

Regular wages count towards the calculation, while certain non-contractual bonuses and irregular payments do not.

Is There a Cap on Hong Kong Maternity Leave Pay?

A special cap applies to weeks 11 to 14 of maternity leave. For those four weeks, maternity leave pay cannot exceed HKD 80,000 divided by 28 days, which works out to approximately HKD 2,857 per day.

This means:

• Employees below the cap continue to receive 80% of their average daily wages.
• Higher-paid employees may receive less than 80% of their actual average daily wages during weeks 11 to 14.

The employer must still pay the employee on their normal payday during maternity leave. It cannot delay the payment until the employee returns to work.

In practice, employers pay all 14 weeks of maternity leave upfront. The government can then reimburse the eligible portion of weeks 11 to 14 under the RMLP scheme.

The Government Reimbursement Scheme (RMLP) Explained

When maternity leave was extended from 10 to 14 weeks in 2020, the government introduced the Reimbursement of Maternity Leave Pay (RMLP) Scheme to offset the new cost for employers. The employer pays all 14 weeks upfront, then applies to the Labour Department to recover weeks 11 to 14, capped at HKD 80,000 per employee. Applications go through the Reimbursement Easy Portal.

To get reimbursed, you need to have kept the right paperwork:

• Salary slips and bank transaction records for all 14 weeks of maternity leave pay
• Wage records covering the 12 months before leave started
• The employee’s medical certificate specifying the expected date of confinement

A missing salary slip or a gap in wage records can block the claim. These documents are worth keeping from the moment pregnancy is notified, not just from the start of leave.

For employees whose daily rate falls below the cap, the reimbursement covers the full cost of weeks 11 to 14. For higher earners, there’s a gap between what’s paid and what’s recovered. The HKD 80,000 cap limits how much comes back.

Dismissal Protections: What Employers Can and Cannot Do

Once you’ve been notified that an employee is pregnant, you can’t dismiss her. The Employment Ordinance prohibits dismissal from that point through the end of maternity leave, and unlawful dismissal isn’t a civil matter. It’s a criminal offence. Penalties range from fines to imprisonment in serious cases.

Payment instead of notice can’t be used to end the employment during this period, except on summary dismissal grounds. And even then, the employer has to show the dismissal had nothing to do with the pregnancy. That burden sits with the employer in any dispute.

If performance or restructuring issues come up while an employee is pregnant, get legal advice before doing anything. The protections are strong, the burden of proof is on the employer, and the consequences of getting it wrong are serious.

Medical Appointments, Hazardous Work, and Paternity Leave

Medical appointments

An employee attending pregnancy-related medical appointments may be entitled to paid sick leave for those days, if she provides a certificate of attendance from a medical professional. This sits separately from the 14-week entitlement.

Hazardous roles

If her job involves conditions that are harmful during pregnancy, the employer must reassign her duties within 14 days of receiving a pregnancy medical certificate.

Miscarriage and stillbirth

The full 14-week entitlement and pay applies if a pregnancy ends in miscarriage or stillbirth at or after 24 weeks of gestation. The threshold was updated from 28 weeks to 24 weeks in the 2020 amendment.

Paternity leave

Male employees who have 40 weeks of continuous employment are entitled to five days of paid paternity leave. It can be taken within a window running from four weeks before to 14 weeks after the birth.

What to Do the Moment an Employee Announces Her Pregnancy

Obligations start immediately, so it helps to have a clear sequence:

• Confirm how long she’s been employed to determine paid or unpaid entitlement
• Check whether the 2026 “468 Rule” changes the picture for any part-time or flexible workers
• Review her role for hazardous conditions and act within 14 days if relevant
• Tell line managers that dismissal protection is now active
• Start retaining all documentation for the RMLP reimbursement claim
• Plan cover for the 14-week absence

Galaxy APAC’s EOR service in Hong Kong handles Employment Ordinance compliance, including maternity leave administration for companies without a local entity. For those already incorporated, the payroll outsourcing service takes care of the calculation, payment, and RMLP reimbursement process.

Maternity leave in Hong Kong has a clear structure once you know the pieces: 14 weeks, 80% pay, a government reimbursement that covers most of the extra cost, and dismissal protections that start from the notification. The part that catches employers is the paperwork: the documentation needed for the RMLP claim and the 2026 contract eligibility rules. Get in touch with the Galaxy APAC team to talk through how your Hong Kong employment setup handles statutory leave.