What Are The Public Holidays in Hong Kong in 2026?

List of Public Holidays in Hong Kong (2026)

Hong Kong sets its public holidays territory‑wide, so the same dates apply to all regions and districts. The table below lists the 2026 general public holidays that most employers use for planning staffing, leave, and pay.

Do Employers Have to Provide Paid Leave on Public Holidays?

Yes – Hong Kong employment law requires employers to provide paid statutory holidays to eligible employees, and most employers also follow the full list of general holidays above for operational and market‑practice reasons. Statutory holidays are a defined subset of public holidays; employees who have been employed continuously for at least 3 months are entitled to statutory holiday pay, calculated based on their average daily wages over the prescribed reference period.

When a statutory holiday falls on a rest day (usually Sunday), you must grant an alternative holiday or a substituted holiday on another day, following the rules in the Employment Ordinance. You cannot simply pay extra and ask the employee to forgo the holiday – the day off itself must be given, and it must be taken within the legally allowed window around the original holiday date.

Part‑time and shift‑based employees are also entitled to statutory holidays if they are employed under a continuous contract, which generally means working at least 18 hours per week for 4 consecutive weeks. Holiday pay for these employees is still based on the average daily wage formula, so you need accurate time and pay records to avoid underpayment.

There are no regional differences within Hong Kong – the same statutory holidays apply across the whole territory. However, some employers offer all 17 general holidays as paid days off as a contractual benefit above the statutory minimum, so you should check your employment contracts and policies to ensure you are meeting both legal and contractual obligations.

Legal Penalties for Not Providing Paid Holiday Leave

Failing to grant statutory holidays or to pay statutory holiday pay correctly is a breach of the Employment Ordinance and can expose your company to criminal liability. The Labour Department enforces these rules, and prosecutions are handled through the courts, with fines that can reach tens of thousands of Hong Kong dollars per offence, plus potential orders to pay outstanding wages and holiday pay.

Common mistakes include misclassifying employees so they are treated as casual workers instead of continuous‑contract staff, using a flat daily rate instead of the statutory average daily wage calculation, and not arranging a substitute or alternative holiday when a statutory holiday falls on a rest day. Another frequent issue for global employers is assuming that a cash payment in lieu of a holiday is acceptable – in Hong Kong, this is generally not allowed except on termination, when you must pay for any untaken statutory holidays that have already accrued.

Employees can complain to the Labour Department, which may investigate, mediate, and, where necessary, prosecute. In addition to financial penalties, non‑compliance can damage your reputation in the local labour market and complicate future visa and regulatory interactions, so it is safer to build robust processes around holiday scheduling and pay calculations.

How Do Holidays Affect Overtime Thresholds?

Hong Kong law does not prescribe a special overtime premium rate for work performed on public holidays, but holidays still affect how you manage working hours and compensation. If an employee works on a statutory holiday, you must provide a substituted or alternative holiday in accordance with the Employment Ordinance, and you must pay wages for the hours worked as normal, in addition to the statutory holiday entitlement.

Overtime rates and thresholds are largely a matter of contract in Hong Kong. Many employers choose to pay a higher rate or provide time off in lieu for work on public holidays to stay competitive and to reflect the disruption to employees’ rest time. Whatever approach you adopt, it should be clearly documented in employment contracts and internal policies, applied consistently, and aligned with the statutory rules on maximum deductions and timely payment of wages.

For employees whose pay varies with hours worked, public holidays can affect the average daily wage used to calculate holiday pay and other entitlements. You must exclude certain periods and payments, such as non‑full‑pay sickness days, from the reference period when calculating the average daily wage, so accurate payroll data is essential to avoid inadvertent underpayment.

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