Increase of Statutory Holidays

Starting from 2026, Easter Monday will be a newly added statutory holiday under the Employment Ordinance. A list of statutory holidays for 2026 can be found at www.labour.gov.hk/eng/news/latest_holidays2026.htm.

Other relevant provisions in relation to the statutory holidays under the Employment Ordinance remain unchanged:

• All foreign domestic helpers (FDHs), irrespective of their length of services, are entitled to statutory holidays.

• If an FDH has been employed continuously by the employer for not less than 3 months immediately preceding a statutory holiday, he/she is entitled to the holiday pay.

• Regardless of whether an FDH is entitled to statutory holiday pay, the employer must not make any form of payment to the FDH in lieu of granting a holiday.

• If the statutory holiday falls on a rest day, a holiday should be granted on the next day which is not a statutory holiday or an alternative/substituted holiday or a rest day.
  

  Taking 2026 as an example, if an FDH is granted rest days on Sundays, as the Ching Ming Festival (5 April) falls on Sunday, the employer should grant a holiday on the next day (i.e. 6 April). However, as 6 April is also a statutory holiday (Easter Monday), the employer may consider granting a holiday on the following working day (i.e. 7 April), but this day should not be an alternative holiday or a substituted holiday or a rest day. Hence, an FDH will have three consecutive days of holidays.

• An employer may, instead of granting an employee a holiday on a statutory holiday, grant the employee an alternative holiday on another day (which is not a statutory holiday or a substituted holiday); or if an employer requires the FDH to work on a statutory holiday, the employer should make the following arrangement:

  Alternative Holiday Arrangement

  Prior Notice to Employee on the Date of Alternative Holiday

  An alternative holiday should be arranged within 60 days before the statutory holiday; or

  To be given not less than 48 hours' prior notice before the alternative holiday

  An alternative holiday should be arranged within 60 days after the statutory holiday

  To be given not less than 48 hours' prior notice before the statutory holiday

• If the employer and employee agree, any day within 30 days before or after the statutory or alternative holiday may be taken by the employee as a substituted holiday.

Arrangements for disbursing special subsidy of $20,000 to foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) affected by the fire at Wang Fuk Court, Tai Po

The Government will disburse a special subsidy of $20,000 to FDHs who have originally worked at Wang Fuk Court, Tai Po, to help them cope with the difficulties arising from the lack of family support in Hong Kong and the total loss of personal belongings in the fire. The Labour Department (LD) is liaising with the relevant consulates-general in Hong Kong and the affected employers to arrange applications for the subsidy by the affected FDHs. In addition, the FDHs concerned may download the application form (https://www.fdh.labour.gov.hk/res/pdf/applicationform-fdhsubsidy.pdf) and return the completed form by fax (3101 0604), email (fdh-subsidy@labour.gov.hk), by post or in person to the Foreign Domestic Helpers Division of the LD (Address: 16/F, One Mong Kok Road Commercial Centre, 1 Mong Kok Road, Kowloon). For enquiries about the subsidy for FDHs, please call the LD hotline at 3582 8987.

The LD appeals to eligible FDHs to submit their applications as soon as possible. The department will process and verify the applications expeditiously and disburse the subsidy.

The following translated application forms are for reference only, please submit the abovementioned English application form.

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