Working Hours and Overtime in Hong Kong

What Are The Standard Working Hours In Hong Kong?

An employee whose age is 15 or younger has a maximum of 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week. An employee whose age is 16 or older is allowed to work 48 hours per week. A minimum meal interval of 30 minutes must be observed by employees who work more than 5 hours in a day. In typical working hours, Monday through Friday, the hours are 9:00 to 18:00.

Maximum Working Hours In Hong Kong

Hong Kong law does not prescribe a universal statutory cap on daily or weekly working hours for most adult employees, but standard practice is around 8 hours per day and 44–48 hours per week. Employers must clearly state normal working hours, overtime arrangements, and rest days in the written employment contract. You should avoid excessively long working days and ensure that total hours are reasonable and consistent with occupational safety obligations.

For employees covered by the Employment Ordinance, you must provide at least one rest day in every period of seven days, which effectively limits continuous work. Where working hours are set by internal policy or collective agreements, you must comply with those limits and keep accurate attendance and overtime records. If you regularly require staff to work beyond 48 hours per week, you should review staffing levels and job design to mitigate fatigue and health risks.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

Companies hiring in sectors like healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, or hospitality may be subject to special scheduling rules under sectoral guidelines, codes of practice, or licensing conditions. Healthcare institutions often rely on longer shifts but must manage fatigue risks and ensure that total weekly hours and rest periods remain reasonable. Transport operators must comply with local driver hours rules and safety standards, even though Hong Kong is not bound by EU regulations.

• Healthcare professionals may work 12-hour shifts with extended rest periods.
• Transport workers must comply with EU-aligned rest and driving limits.
• Manufacturing and security staff often rotate through night or weekend shifts.

Even in these sectors, you must ensure the average weekly limit is respected over a reference period. You should document any special shift patterns, obtain employee consent where required, and monitor overtime levels closely.

Managerial And Exempt Employees

Senior managerial and highly autonomous employees in Hong Kong often have more flexible or undefined working hours, with expectations tied to responsibilities rather than a fixed daily schedule. While there is no blanket exemption from the Employment Ordinance, many statutory protections such as rest days and wage payment rules still apply. You should avoid assuming that managers can work unlimited hours without regard to health and safety.

For such roles, clearly define expected working patterns, availability outside normal office hours, and any overtime or time-off-in-lieu arrangements in the contract. Where you offer a fixed salary that is deemed to cover reasonable overtime, you should specify the number of hours this is intended to cover, for example an additional 8–12 hours per week, and review workloads regularly.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Hong Kong

There is no single statutory definition of full-time working hours in Hong Kong, but full-time roles commonly range from 40 to 48 hours per week, usually spread over five or six days. Many employers adopt a 5-day week of 8 hours per day, while others use a 5.5- or 6-day pattern with shorter days. Whatever pattern you choose, it must be clearly set out in the employment contract.

Part-time, shift-based, and flexible arrangements are permitted as long as statutory entitlements such as rest days, statutory holidays, and wage protections are respected. When determining whether an employee is full-time for benefits eligibility, you should use objective thresholds, such as 40 hours or more per week, and apply them consistently across your workforce.

Overtime Regulations In Hong Kong

Overtime in Hong Kong is primarily governed by the Employment Ordinance and the terms of the individual employment contract rather than by a single statutory overtime framework. As an employer, you must clearly define normal working hours, overtime triggers, and overtime pay rates in writing before work is performed. You are also required to keep accurate records of hours worked and wages paid for at least 12 months to demonstrate compliance in the event of inspections or disputes.

What Counts As Overtime In Hong Kong?

Overtime generally means hours worked in excess of the employee’s contractual normal working hours, for example beyond 8 hours per day or 44–48 hours per week, depending on the contract. Work performed on a statutory rest day or statutory holiday is also treated as overtime or special work and attracts specific pay rules under the Employment Ordinance. You should obtain prior approval for overtime and avoid informal practices where staff work extra hours without clear authorization or compensation.

For monthly-rated employees, overtime is often calculated by converting the monthly wage into an hourly rate and then applying the agreed overtime multiplier, such as 1.25x or 1.5x. For employees paid on a daily or piece-rate basis, you must ensure that the total pay for overtime hours at least equals the agreed hourly rate and does not fall below the statutory minimum wage. All overtime arrangements should be transparent and acknowledged by the employee.

Maximum Overtime In Hong Kong

There is currently no specific statutory numerical cap on overtime hours for most adult employees in Hong Kong, so the law does not prescribe a maximum number of overtime hours per day, week, or year. In practice, many employers informally limit overtime to around 2–3 hours per day and 10–15 hours per week to manage fatigue and cost. You should treat these internal limits as hard caps and require senior approval for any exceptions.

For young persons aged 15 to under 18 employed in industrial undertakings, the Factories and Industrial Undertakings legislation effectively limits total working hours to 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week, which leaves no room for regular overtime beyond these figures. If you exceptionally require additional hours from young workers, you must first confirm that the arrangement is lawful and does not breach the 8-hour daily and 48-hour weekly limits. Where operational needs create sustained overtime above 15 hours per week for adults, you should consider hiring additional staff or restructuring shifts.

Overtime Payout Rates In Hong Kong

Hong Kong law does not set a universal statutory overtime premium such as 150% or 2x for all overtime hours, so there is no mandatory across-the-board overtime rate for ordinary weekdays. Instead, overtime pay rates are determined by the employment contract or collective agreement, and many employers adopt rates between 1.25x and 1.5x of the basic hourly wage for overtime hours. You must ensure that the effective hourly rate for overtime never falls below the statutory minimum wage, which is HKD 40 per hour as of 1 May 2023.

For work on statutory holidays, the Employment Ordinance requires payment of at least 100% of the average daily wages for the holiday itself and, if the employee is required to work, an additional day off or an extra day’s wages, effectively resulting in a minimum of 2x the average daily wages for that day. When an employee works on a statutory rest day, you must either provide a substitute rest day or pay an agreed premium, which many employers set at 1.5x to 2x of the basic rate. Clearly documenting separate rates for weekday overtime, rest-day work, and statutory holiday work will reduce disputes and support compliance.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Hong Kong

Employees in Hong Kong commonly work around 8 hours per day and 44–48 hours per week, and rest periods are structured around these standard patterns. The Employment Ordinance requires at least one rest day in every seven-day period and expects employers to provide reasonable meal and rest breaks within the working day. You should design schedules so that breaks and rest days effectively mitigate fatigue arising from longer or irregular working hours.

• Meal Break: While there is no universal statutory meal break length for adults, most employers provide at least 30–60 minutes when a shift exceeds 5 hours, and this should be clearly stated in the contract. For operational roles, you should ensure that meal breaks are uninterrupted and not routinely cut short by workload.
• Daily Rest: Hong Kong law does not prescribe a specific daily rest interval such as 11 consecutive hours, but you should normally allow at least 10–12 hours between shifts to protect health and safety. Scheduling back-to-back late and early shifts without adequate rest can increase accident and error risks.
• Weekly Rest: Under the Employment Ordinance, employees are entitled to at least one rest day in every period of seven days, which may be paid or unpaid depending on the contract. Rest days can be fixed or rotating, but you must notify employees of their rest-day pattern in advance.
• Minors: Young persons aged 15 to under 18 employed in industrial undertakings are subject to stricter limits, including a maximum of 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week with defined rest intervals. You must avoid split shifts and ensure that minors receive adequate breaks and are not scheduled for night work.
• Employer Duty: As an employer, you must organize work so that employees can actually take their entitled breaks and rest days rather than working through them. You should keep rosters and attendance records that demonstrate compliance with rest requirements and adjust staffing if breaks are regularly missed.

Night Shifts And Weekend Regulations In Hong Kong

Night and weekend work are legal in Hong Kong but they come with additional responsibilities for employers to manage fatigue, safety, and fair compensation. You must ensure that employees working irregular hours still receive their statutory rest days and that total weekly hours remain reasonable. Particular care is needed in safety-critical roles such as transport, healthcare, and security.

Hong Kong legislation does not set a single statutory definition of night work for all sectors, but many employers and sectoral guidelines treat night work as hours performed between 23:00 and 07:00. In practice, any regular work scheduled during late evening and early morning should be treated as night work for risk assessment and compensation purposes. You should specify in the employment contract when night hours begin and end for each role.

• Premium Pay: There is no statutory night work premium in Hong Kong, so the law does not mandate a specific percentage such as 125% or 1.25x for night hours. In the market, many employers pay night-shift allowances equivalent to about 10–30% of basic pay, for example 1.1x to 1.3x of the normal hourly rate, and you should clearly document any such premium.
• Health Monitoring: Although not universally mandated, employers with regular night workers are expected under general duty-of-care principles to assess health and fatigue risks. You should consider periodic health checks, fatigue training, and limits on consecutive night shifts, such as capping them at 4–5 nights in a row.
• Workplace Restrictions: Young persons aged 15 to under 18 employed in industrial undertakings are generally prohibited from night work, typically between 19:00 and 07:00, subject to limited exemptions. You should also avoid assigning pregnant employees to night shifts where medical advice indicates increased risk and should accommodate reasonable requests for transfer to daytime work.

Weekend work, including Sunday work, is permitted in Hong Kong provided that each employee still receives at least one rest day in every seven-day period. If you require employees to work on their designated rest day, you must provide a substitute rest day or pay an agreed premium, which many employers set at 1.5x to 2x of the basic rate for that day.