Statutory Holidays

Foreign Domestic Helpers - Statutory Holidays

Foreign domestic helpers are entitled to three types of leave, one of which is statutory holidays:
Under the Hong Kong Employment Ordinance, foreign domestic helpers are entitled to statutory holidays, which refer to general holidays. Therefore, we can refer to the list of statutory holidays on the website of the Labour Department, which includes Lunar New Year's Day, the second and third day of Lunar New Year, Ching Ming Festival, Labour Day, Tuen Ng Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Chung Yeung Festival and Christmas Day.
If a domestic helper has been continuously employed for at least three months before a statutory holiday, they are entitled to holiday pay for that day. Employers are not allowed to compensate the holiday pay with money. If a statutory holiday falls on a rest day, the employer should arrange for the domestic helper to take the holiday on the following day. If the employer requires the domestic helper to work on a statutory holiday, they must arrange another day off as compensation within 60 days before or after the statutory holiday.
The 14 statutory holidays for 2024 are:

	Statutory Holidays	Date
1.	The first day of January	1 January
2.	Lunar New Year's Day	10 February
3.	The third day of Lunar New Year	12 February
4.	The fourth day of Lunar New Year	13 February
5.	Ching Ming Festival	4 April
6.	Labour Day	1 May
7.	The Birthday of the Buddha	15 May
8.	Tuen Ng Festival	10 June
9.	Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day	1 July
10.	The day following the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival	18 September
11.	National Day	1 October
12.	Chung Yeung Festival	11 October
13.	Chinese Winter Solstice Festival or Christmas Day (at the option of the employer)	21 December or 25 December
14.	The first weekday after Christmas Day	26 December