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Under the Employment Ordinance, statutory holidays will increase to 17 days in future, and 1 day was added in 2024. As an employer, you naturally need to know the difference between labour holidays and general holidays so that you can plan this year's work better and avoid breaching the Employment Ordinance. This article sets it all out for you.
The difference between labour holidays and general holidays
If you are an employee, of course you would hope for a good job with ‘bank holidays’. But if you are a business owner, especially in the start-up stage, being able to take time off on ‘red days’ is already pretty good!
People in different roles and at different stages all have different expectations for holidays. But what exactly are ‘bank holidays’ and ‘red days’? And what are statutory holidays and general holidays?
Statutory holiday
Statutory holidays (Statutory Holiday), that is, labour holidays, are often called “red days” or “labour holidays”. Under the Employment Ordinance, all employees are entitled to statutory holidays each year (14 days in 2024), regardless of length of service or whether they are employed under a “continuous contract”, and foreign domestic helpers are also entitled to statutory holidays.
Employers should note that in 2024 Hong Kong's statutory holidays increased to 14 days, the main addition being the first weekday after Christmas Day (Boxing Day), which falls on 26 December 2024.
Public holiday
General holidays (General Holiday) are provided for under the Public Holidays Ordinance, which entitles employees to 17 days of holiday a year. The employees referred to here are those of banks, educational institutions, public bodies' offices and government departments, which is why they are also called “bank holidays”.
Hong Kong currently has 17 general holidays, more than the statutory holidays. Note that the law also provides that every Sunday is a general holiday.
Hong Kong increases statutory holidays to 17 days
The Legislative Council passed the Employment (Amendment) Bill 2021 at third reading. Statutory holidays will increase gradually from 12 days to 17 days, with 1 more statutory holiday added every two years. The new statutory holidays are the general holidays that are not yet statutory holidays, so from 2030 statutory holidays and general holidays will be the same 17 days.
Phased implementation
| Effective date | Statutory holiday |
|---|---|
| 2022/1/1 | The Buddha's Birthday |
| 2024/1/1 | First weekday after Christmas Day (Boxing Day) |
| 2026/1/1 | Easter Monday |
| 2028/1/1 | Good Friday |
| 2030/1/1 | The day following Good Friday |
Table of the 14 statutory holidays in 2024 (labour holidays)
| Statutory holiday | Date |
|---|---|
| The first day of January | 1 January (Mon) |
| Lunar New Year's Day | 10 February (Sat) |
| Third day of Lunar New Year | 12 February (Mon) |
| Fourth day of Lunar New Year* | 13 February (Tue) |
| Ching Ming Festival | 4 April (Thu) |
| Labour Day | 1 May (Wed) |
| The Buddha's Birthday | 15 May (Wed) |
| Tuen Ng Festival | 10 June (Mon) |
| Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day | 1 July (Mon) |
| The day following the Mid-Autumn Festival | 18 September (Wed) |
| National Day | 1 October (Tue) |
| Chung Yeung Festival | 11 October (Fri) |
| Christmas Day | 25 December (Wed) |
| The first weekday after Christmas Day | 26 December (Thu) |
*The second day of Lunar New Year falls on a Sunday, so the fourth day is the statutory holiday in its place
2024 general holidays and bank holidays
*The second day of Lunar New Year falls on a Sunday, so the fourth day is the statutory holiday in its place
Statutory holidays FAQ - employers
Who are statutory holidays available to?
All employees, regardless of length of service or whether they are employed under a continuous contract, are entitled to 14 statutory holidays. However, under the Employment Ordinance, an employee who has been employed under a continuous contract for 3 months is entitled to holiday pay, equal to the employee's average daily wages in the 12 months before the holiday.
Continuous employment
Under the Employment Ordinance, an employee who has been continuously employed by the same employer for 4 weeks or more, and who works at least 18 hours each week, is employed under a continuous contract.
Note that part-time employees who meet the continuous employment requirement are also entitled to paid holidays.
Can employees be required to work on a statutory holiday?
For some industries, such as catering, many statutory holidays are their busiest days. If an employer needs employees to work on a statutory holiday, the employer must arrange a separate day off or a substitute holiday for them.
This is called arranging an “alternative holiday”, which replaces the statutory holiday within 60 days before or after it.
Points to note:
- The employer must give employees not less than 48 hours' notice of the statutory holiday or the “alternative holiday”, which may be given in writing, orally, or by posting a notice in a prominent place at the workplace.
- An “alternative holiday” must not coincide with another statutory holiday.
- An “alternative holiday” must not coincide with Substituted holiday must not coincide either. (If the employer and employee agree, the employer may arrange a substituted holiday for the employee within 30 days before or after the statutory holiday or alternative holiday.)
Can overtime pay be given instead of a substitute holiday for a statutory holiday?
No. If an employee works on a statutory holiday, the employee must be given a substitute holiday. The employer must not give any payment in place of the statutory holiday, which is also known as “buying out holidays”. On conviction, the employer can be fined HK$50,000.
Do employees need to be given a substitute holiday if a statutory holiday falls on their original rest day?
Yes. If a statutory holiday falls on an employee's rest day, the substitute holiday should be given on the day after the rest day; if the day after the rest day is itself a statutory holiday, an alternative holiday must be arranged.
Statutory holidays FAQ - employees
Can an employer withhold pay for an employee's rest day?
Whether a rest day is paid is agreed between the employee and the employer. Under the rules, employees are entitled to one rest day for every 7 days worked. However, an employer may not include in an employment contract a condition that an employee must work on rest days to receive an annual bonus or year-end payment; such a condition is void.
Can an employer require employees to work continuously without taking their rest days?
Under the Employment Ordinance, an employee is entitled to not less than 1 rest day for every 7 days worked, and on the rest day the employee need not work for 24 hours.
However, with the employee's consent, the employer may set a different rest day in place of the original one. If an employer, without reasonable excuse, does not give an employee a rest day or forces the employee to work on a rest day, the employer may be prosecuted and, upon conviction, fined up to HK$50,000.
Summary
Whether you are an employer or an employee, a clear understanding of the requirements for statutory holidays and general holidays helps everyone strike a healthy balance between work and rest, so everyone is happy! Want to learn more about the latest business information in Hong Kong? Enter your email address now to subscribe to our newsletter! SetupHK helps you go further and grow bigger!
