This article explains the statutory leave types that apply to employees in Hong Kong under the Employment Ordinance (EO), how entitlements are calculated, and how JustLogin is configured to support them. Use this as a reference when setting up leave grades, running payroll, or answering employee questions about their leave balances.
Statutory Leave Types at a Glance
The following leave types apply to employees on a continuous contract (employed for 4 or more weeks at 18 or more hours per week):
| Leave Type | Entitlement | Payment Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Leave | 7–14 days (scales with years of service) | Full wages (average daily wages) |
| Statutory Holidays | 13 days (increasing to 17 by 2030) | Average daily wages |
| Rest Days | At least 1 day per 7-day period | Unpaid (unless contract states otherwise) |
| Sickness Allowance | Accumulates monthly; maximum 120 days | 80% of average daily wages |
| Maternity Leave | 14 weeks | 80% of average daily wages |
| Paternity Leave | 5 days per child event | 80% of average daily wages |
Annual Leave
Annual leave entitlement is earned after completing 12 months of continuous service and increases with tenure:
| Years of Service | Annual Leave Entitlement |
|---|---|
| Year 1–2 | 7 days |
| Year 3 | 8 days |
| Year 4 | 9 days |
| Year 5 | 10 days |
| Year 6 | 11 days |
| Year 7 | 12 days |
| Year 8 | 13 days |
| Year 9 onwards | 14 days (maximum) |
In JustLogin: Annual leave entitlement is configured in the Leave Grade Setup. You can set the days for each year-of-service bracket and choose either a calendar year (January–December) or an anniversary year (based on the employee's join date) as the entitlement period. Pro-ration for mid-year joiners is handled through the grade configuration.
Note: Employees in their first year of service have no statutory annual leave entitlement yet. However, your company may choose to grant pro-rated leave as a company policy — this can be configured in the Leave Grade Setup for Year 0 employees. |
Sickness Allowance (Paid Sick Leave)
Sickness allowance accumulates throughout employment as follows:
- First 12 months: 2 paid sickness days per month
- After 12 months: 4 paid sickness days per month
- Maximum accumulation: 120 days
The accumulated balance carries forward and only reduces when sick leave is taken. To qualify for statutory sickness allowance, all of the following conditions must be met:
- The employee takes 4 or more consecutive sick days
- A medical certificate from a registered medical practitioner is provided
- Payment is at 80% of average daily wages — not the employee's basic salary or monthly salary divided by working days
If an employee takes fewer than 4 consecutive sick days or does not provide a medical certificate, statutory sickness allowance does not apply. Some companies offer a separate contractual sick leave type that provides paid sick leave from the first day — check your company's Leave Grade Setup to see if an additional leave type has been configured.
In JustLogin: Sick leave is configured as a statutory leave type. The system tracks accumulation from the employee's service start date, following the 2-days/4-days per month rule.
Maternity Leave
- Duration: 14 weeks (increased from 10 weeks in December 2020)
- Eligibility: The employee must be on a continuous contract and must have given notice to the employer
- Payment: 80% of average daily wages for all 14 weeks, paid by the employer directly
- For weeks 11–14, the employer can apply to the government for reimbursement (subject to a statutory cap)
In JustLogin: Maternity leave is set up as a statutory leave type with a 98-day (14-week) entitlement. The payroll module handles the 80% payment calculation in the Hong Kong pay run.
Paternity Leave
- Duration: 5 days per child event
- Timing: Can be taken any time from 4 weeks before the expected delivery date to 14 weeks after birth
- Payment: 80% of average daily wages
- Notice: The employee should notify the employer at least 3 months before the expected delivery date, or as soon as practicable
In JustLogin: Paternity leave is configured as a statutory leave type with a 5-day per-event entitlement. If an employee's paternity leave balance shows as 0, check that the entitlement has been allocated for the current period and that the employee is assigned to the correct leave grade.
Statutory Holidays and Rest Days
Statutory Holidays
Hong Kong currently has 13 statutory holidays per year (for example, Lunar New Year, Ching Ming Festival, and Tuen Ng Festival). This number will increase incrementally to 17 days by 2030, with Labour Day, the Buddha's Birthday, Christmas Day, and the day following Christmas Day being added over that period.
- Employees who have been on a continuous contract for 3 or more months are entitled to holiday pay at average daily wages.
- If a statutory holiday falls on a rest day, the employee is entitled to a replacement holiday on the next working day. Make sure this replacement day is added to your company's public holiday calendar in JustLogin.
Rest Days
Every employee is entitled to at least 1 rest day in every 7-day period. Rest days are unpaid unless the employment contract states otherwise.
In JustLogin: Public holidays are configured per company per year in the Leave setup. Working days and rest days are set at the company level (for example, Monday–Friday as working days, Saturday–Sunday as rest days). These settings affect both the Leave and Attendance modules.
How Leave Interacts with Attendance and Overtime
- Leave deductions count only scheduled working days: When an employee applies for leave, the system deducts only days that fall on scheduled working days. Rest days and public holidays within the leave period are not deducted from the leave balance. For example, if an employee applies for 5 calendar days of leave but 2 of those days are rest days, only 3 days will be deducted.
- Rostered employees: For companies using rostering, the employee's actual shift schedule determines which days count as working days for leave deduction purposes.
- Working on a rest day or statutory holiday: If an employee works on a rest day or statutory holiday, the Attendance module may generate overtime (OT) or off-in-lieu (OIL) records depending on your company's attendance and OT policy configuration.
- Leave on a public holiday: If an employee is scheduled to work on a statutory holiday but takes leave instead, no OT is generated. OT or OIL is only generated when the employee actually works those hours.
How Leave Affects Payroll
- Unpaid leave: Unpaid leave days are deducted from salary during the pay run. Paid leave does not reduce the employee's pay.
- Sickness allowance: When sick leave qualifies for sickness allowance (4 or more consecutive days with a medical certificate), payroll calculates payment at 80% of average daily wages.
- Maternity and paternity allowance: Both are paid at 80% of average daily wages through the payroll engine.
- Average daily wages: This figure is calculated as total wages earned in the preceding 12-month period divided by the number of days in that period, excluding days on which no wages were earned (such as rest days, statutory holidays, sick days, and maternity leave days). This calculation may differ from simply dividing the monthly salary by the number of working days.
- MPF contributions: Leave affects the employee's relevant income for the month, which in turn affects Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) contributions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my employee's annual leave show fewer than 7 days?
Annual leave is only earned after 12 months of continuous service. An employee who joined mid-year during their first year has no statutory annual leave entitlement yet. If your company grants pro-rated leave as a company policy, this can be configured in the Leave Grade Setup.
Why wasn't the employee paid for their sick leave?
Statutory sickness allowance requires 4 or more consecutive sick days and a medical certificate. If the employee took fewer than 4 consecutive days, or did not submit a medical certificate, statutory sickness allowance does not apply for that absence.
The employee expects 80% pay for sick leave, but payroll shows a different amount. Why?
The 80% is calculated on average daily wages, not the employee's basic salary. Because average daily wages are calculated over the preceding 12 months and exclude days on which no wages were earned, this figure may differ from what you get by dividing the monthly salary by working days.
A statutory holiday fell on a Sunday — does the employee lose it?
No. When a statutory holiday falls on a rest day, the employee is entitled to a replacement holiday on the next working day. Make sure the replacement holiday has been added to your company's public holiday calendar in JustLogin.
The employee applied for 5 days of leave but only 3 days were deducted. Is this correct?
Yes, this is expected behaviour. The system only deducts leave for scheduled working days. If 2 of the 5 calendar days fell on rest days or public holidays, those days are excluded from the deduction. Check your company's working day configuration and public holiday calendar to confirm.
Can unused sick leave be carried forward?
Yes. Sickness allowance accumulates throughout the employee's employment (2 days per month for the first year, then 4 days per month thereafter), up to a maximum of 120 days. The balance carries forward and only decreases when qualifying sick leave is taken.
Does the employer pay all 14 weeks of maternity leave?
Yes. The employer pays all 14 weeks at 80% of average daily wages upfront. For weeks 11–14, the employer can then apply to the government for reimbursement, subject to a statutory cap. The employee receives the full 14 weeks' pay directly from the employer.
Why is the employee's paternity leave balance showing as 0?
Paternity leave is configured as a per-event entitlement. Check that the entitlement has been allocated for the current period and that the employee is assigned to the correct leave grade in JustLogin.