Employer of Record (EOR) Services in Hong Kong

Employer of Record

From
$299/month

Contractor of Record

$249/month

Talent Sourcing

2% of gross salary / month

Start hiring in Hong Kong

Simple, compliant hiring with Horizons EOR

Hire in Hong Kong

Horizons assists companies to quickly expand into Hong Kong, without the burden of establishing their own local entities. Employees are hired through our Hong Kong Employer of Record (EOR) solution, which ensures compliance with relevant Hong Kong labor regulations. As the exclusive Hong Kong Employer of Record, we take on legal liabilities as the official employer. This enables you to focus on the day-to-day operations of your business, while maintaining control over your workforce.

Note, a Hong Kong Employer of Record is also known as a Hong Kong Professional Employer Organization (PEO).

Facts & Stats

How to Use an EOR in Hong Kong

1. Needs Assessment and Planning

Your first step in working with an Employer of Record in Hong Kong is to determine your hiring needs. If you’ve worked with an EOR before, you can contact its service or sales department to help you perform a needs assessment. Otherwise, you can perform this assessment on your own. In either case, you’ll want to plan out the roles and responsibilities you need workers to take on and the number of vacancies you want to fill. You should also assess whether you need to hire full-time employees (FTEs) for this work or if hiring contractors would be an option.

At the same time, it’s critical to prepare a budget that can handle the financial costs of these employees. You’ll need to factor in not only competitive salaries and possible benefits but also mandatory contributions to Hong Kong’s Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) which is an extra 5% of each worker’s salary. You’ll also need to budget for the EOR’s fees, which you’ll need to pay regularly.

2. Selecting an EOR Provider

If you’ve never collaborated with an EOR before, it can seem like they’re all more or less the same and simply offer slightly different services at quite different prices. This is partially true, but it’s not the whole story. Some EORs provide hiring in nearly every country and territory in the world, while others focus on a small number of countries. Either way, you’ll want to actively search for an EOR that has extensive experience working in Hong Kong. This is especially important so you can find a provider that can show a track record of compliance with the Inland Revenue Department (IRD).

This isn’t always easy to accomplish, but there are a few ways to do it. One is to look through reviews on trusted sites and search for references to Hong Kong. This will help you turn up feedback from other clients who hopefully will have had positive experiences. The other way to check is to speak directly to the EORs you’re considering and ask them to detail their experience in Hong Kong. They might send you statistics or even specific feedback from satisfied clients.

3. Legal and Compliance Review

Experience working in a country is one thing, but successfully compliant employment in Hong Kong is quite another. Hong Kong’s labor laws are mostly enshrined in the Employment Ordinance, which lays out rules for contracts, working hours, overtime, wages, holidays and other leave, termination, employment protection, and more. This statute details the obligations of the employer and the entitlements of workers in Hong Kong.

An experienced EOR should also know exactly how to set up an MPF scheme and manage contributions to it so that employees have access to pension savings when they’re older. It should also have experience adhering to the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance which lays out standards for the collection, retention, sharing, and security of employees’ personal information. Again, you should strive to find an EOR provider that has a proven track record of compliance with all regulations related to hiring and employment.

4. Employee Recruitment and Selection

If you’re not living in Hong Kong or haven’t established a business there, it can be very challenging to recruit local people to your organization. As in any foreign country, successful recruitment in Hong Kong depends heavily on local knowledge including language, work culture, and recruiting strategies that are effective for this population. Even knowing which job boards and social media platforms to advertise your vacancies on can be a challenge.

For these reasons, it’s often more effective to work with a recruitment expert to hire in Hong Kong. This can be a separate recruitment agency, but it may be even more convenient to work with an EOR that also offers recruitment services to keep your functions unified within a single platform. Regardless, recruitment experts should have access to large talent pools and intimate knowledge of how to effectively recruit Hong Kong locals effectively. They must also be able to work with you to recruit staff in compliance with Hong Kong’s anti-discrimination laws. It would be particularly convenient if they could help set up remote interviews, send offer letters, and generate and manage contracts for you. Many EORs can also help you to secure work visas for foreign nationals if relocation is needed.

5. Contract Negotiation and Agreement

When you have the right candidate in place and wish to hire them, you still need to iron out the details of their work and compensation. From your side, you’ll provide the candidate with a job description and a detailed explanation of the duties you expect them to perform for the job on offer. The conditions of work, however, will depend largely on both the minimum requirements laid out in Hong Kong’s employment ordinance and your negotiations with the employee who will try to secure more favorable terms. The same is true of their salary and additional benefits they may wish you to provide.

Your selected EOR should be able to help you with advice on appropriate salaries and benefits to offer and all of the mandatory terms that must be included in the contract. Most EOR platforms will automatically generate fully compliant contracts once your specific terms have been included.

6. Onboarding Process

Once you and the EOR have collaborated to produce a contract, it’s normal for the EOR to send it to the selected candidate, who will hopefully sign it and return it or sign it with an e-signature. This new hire will then be ready for onboarding to both the EOR’s platform and your company.

The EOR will need to collect the new hire’s personal information and possibly perform a background check for security reasons. It will also need to collect documents and signatures and these days, this is normally done by the employee themself through a self-service automated onboarding system. It will need to register employees for MPF schemes and collect their banking information to set up payments.

Your organization may choose to offer training and orientation programs to prepare the new hire to work with you. You’ll also want to prepare their access to your software and systems and introduce them to the coworkers they’ll be working with.

7. Payroll and Tax Administration

Good news – your EOR partner will manage payroll for you. Because of the difficulties in following intricate payroll rules in Hong Kong, local experts will manage payroll and ensure compliance. Depending on the system your EOR has in place, you need to supply it with time and attendance data either by exporting files to it or inputting this data directly into its time-tracking module if it has one.

The EOR will set up automatic calculations for each employee, and in each pay period, this data will be used as the basis for these calculations. They’ll include gross salary, tax withholdings, MPF deductions, and finally, the employee’s net salary. Employees will be deducted between 2% and 17% of their salaries depending on the tax brackets they fall within. The EOR is also responsible for paying the employees, providing them with detailed payslips, and filing reports to the Inland Revenue Department (IRD).

8. Benefits and Insurance Management

As with payroll, your EOR partner will administer mandatory benefits for you. These include your workers’ holiday, sick, family, maternity, and paternity leaves collectively managed as paid time off (PTO). It also means contributions to MPF schemes or ORSO (Occupational Retirement Schemes Ordinance) plans for retirement savings. All employers in Hong Kong must also possess employee compensation insurance (ECI), which protects businesses against liability when workers suffer accidents or injuries on the job. This insurance must be held by the EOR’s entity in Hong Kong.

Additional, optional benefits like private medical insurance and pension plans can make your compensation packages more attractive to top talent in Hong Kong. Many EORs help to offer these products through their partners and will also manage contributions on your behalf.

9. Ongoing Compliance and Reporting

One of the most valuable aspects of EOR service is maintaining compliance with all employment and tax laws in the Hong Kong SAR. If you were to register your own entity in Hong Kong, you’d need to work with lawyers, accountants, and HR experts who could keep your operations running compliantly. They would use their experience and expertise, combined with constant monitoring of legal changes, to make sure that your accounts are properly audited, taxes paid, mandatory contributions made, and employees’ entitlements respected.

With an EOR, you get the same services rolled into a single package. The value of proper reporting to the IRD and steps taken to comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance (OSHO) cannot be understated. This is why it’s crucial to choose an EOR with a proven track record of compliant hiring in Hong Kong as your partner for hiring local employees.

10. Performance Management and Support

In general, performance management is your responsibility as the worksite employer. You’ll need to work with your employees to set goals and track how well these goals are attained over time. You’ll also need to perform your own performance reviews to assess how well the employees are doing with their tasks. The EOR, though not involved in the day-to-day management of your employees, can still provide tools to help you monitor performance. Some offer review form templates that you can customize and store with each employee’s profile on their platforms. Others help with the scheduling of assessments and feedback meetings.

While you oversee daily tasks, the EOR manages employee relations issues. If employees feel, for example, that their paychecks have been improperly calculated or that they’ve not been allocated the right number of days of leave, they take these issues up with the EOR. This greatly reduces the burden on your own in-house HR department which may not have the expertise or local language skills to be able to manage these issues.

11. Termination or Transition Procedures

When it comes time for one employee to go and another to come on board, there needs to be a transition plan in place. As the workplace employer, you’re responsible for planning the handover of tasks and responsibilities from the outgoing to the incoming employee. This may include a period of job shadowing or other training. The EOR, on the other hand, needs to offboard the old employee and onboard the new one, which involves updating their profiles and running through paperwork with both. It must also notify the relevant authorities that the old employee is leaving and will no longer be on its books.

In some cases, transitions aren’t as smooth, and employees may need to be terminated for individual or economic reasons. The EOR handles terminations in line with Hong Kong labor laws, ensuring proper notice periods of between seven days and one month, and severance payments are provided if necessary. Of course, employees can also be dismissed without notice or severance in the case of gross misconduct, as is normal in most countries.

stay compliant with Hong Kong labor laws

Employment Laws

Hong Kong employment contract types

Although employment contracts in Hong Kong can be oral or written, it is best practice for both employers and employees to utilize written contracts for all work arrangements. Written contracts should be drafted – either in English or Mandarin – and clearly state the terms of employment. These terms should include the employee’s job description, their responsibilities, and the compensation and benefits attached to the role.

In Hong Kong, an offer letter and employment contract should always outline compensation amounts in Hong Kong dollars (HKD). Horizons can assist you you to draft employment contracts, either through our Hong Kong EOR or your own local entity.

When you engage our Hong Kong EOR solution, Horizons will hire and onboard your staff in Hong Kong, and facilitate all employment contracts in compliance with Hong Kong legislation.

Fixed-term

Indefinite

Working hours in Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, there is no set legislation that governs working hours per week. However, there is a requirement that employees be granted one rest day every seven days.

Hong Kong public holidays

Holiday Schedule in Hong Kong[2025]

Hong Kong has a range of national public holidays that are celebrated annually. In 2025 these holidays are:

Date	Holiday name
1 Jan Wednesday	New Year’s Day
29 Jan Wednesday	Lunar New Year’s Day
30 Jan Thursday	The Second Day of Lunar New Year
31 Jan Friday	The Third Day of Lunar New Year
4 Apr Friday	Ching Ming Festival
18 Apr Friday	Good Friday
19 Apr Saturday	The Day Following Good Friday
21 Apr Monday	Easter Monday
1 May Thursday	Labour Day
5 May Monday	Buddha’s Birthday
31 May Saturday	Tuen Ng Festival
1 Jul Tuesday	Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day
1 Oct Wednesday	National Day
7 Oct Tuesday	The Day Following Mid-Autumn Festival
29 Oct Wednesday	Chung Yeung Festival
25 Dec Thursday	Christmas Day
26 Dec Friday	The First Weekday After Christmas Day

Monthly Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF)

Employers and employees working in Hong Kong are legally required to contribute monthly amounts to the employee’s MandatoryProvident Fund (MPF). The Hong Kong government requires a minimum contribution of 5%, with additional supplementary benefits being negotiated during the initial employment contract agreement.

Annual taxation

In Hong Kong, there are two modes of tax calculation: The standard tax rate and the progressive rate. Annual taxation is calculated in one of these two rates and the employee pays the lesser of the two amounts. In practice, there are different deductible allowances (not only MPF) as well as a tax rebate.

See further details on taxes in HK.

Hong Kong contractual requirements

Any clause (non-disclosure clause, training fee clause, etc.) can be included in the employment agreement. However, any fixed commission structure, bonus incentives, or KPI driven-clauses need to be provided in a separate addendum.

Hong Kong employment contracts are required to state the employees’ responsibilities, compensation details, benefits, grievance procedures, and requirements for termination. All offer letters, compensation details, and documents that refer to an employee’s income should be stated in Hong Kong Dollars.

Horizons’ Hong Kong Employer of Record will ensure that your operations are compliant with local labor laws.

Health insurance

There are public and private health care systems in Hong Kong. All Hong Kong residents have access to the public health care system and insurance is not mandated. Similarly, insurance is not part of any payroll deductions. While the public system offers effective coverage at a low cost, there can often be long wait times. Consequently, many employers offer supplemental benefits, as well as life insurance.

Vacation leave

In Hong Kong, employees are permitted to take seven vacation days, after serving an initial period of 12 month’s employment. This rises to a maximum of 14 vacation days, after 9 years of service with the one company. Most employers in Hong Kong offer a minimum of 14 day’s vacation to employees within ‘white collar’ professions. Additionally, senior executives may be granted between three and four weeks vacation per year. Employment legislation in Hong Kong allows employees to take part of their vacation entitlement, when exceeding 10 days. As an example, an employee that is entitled to 15 day’s annual vacation can take 10 day’s vacation, and accept the equivalent payment for the remaining five day’s vacation. Employers are are not allowed to place a cap on the number of days that are carried over. Furthermore, there is no statutory limit. Employers can request employees to take vacations, as long as 14 day’s notice is given.

Sick leave

Employees in Hong Kong are generally granted sick leave allowance, if they have taken at least four consecutive day’s off work. They also need to have a medical certificate and have the required number of paid sick day’s owing.

Paid sick days are normally accumulated at a rate of two days per month of employment for the first year. It is then calculated at a rate of four days per month for each subsequent year. In Hong Kong, no greater than 120 paid sick days can be accumulated.

Sick pay is distributed at a rate that is equivalent to 80% of the average daily wages that have been earned by the employee in the preceding 12 months. If the employee has been with the company for less than a year, this rate is calculated based on the average daily amount that has been earned since commencing employment.

In Hong Kong, it is unlawful for employees to be terminated while on sick leave. The only exceptions are in cases of gross misconduct.

Maternity and paternity leave in Hong Kong

Female employees in Hong Kong receive 14 weeks of paid maternity leave if they meet the following requirements:

The employee must have been with the company for more than 40 weeks before the expected date of delivery, submitted a medical certificate that confirms her pregnancy, and given appropriate notice of her timeline for taking maternity leave. Employees not meeting this criteria are allowed to take up to 10 weeks of maternity leave without pay.

The payment rate for maternity pay is equal to 80% of the employee’s average daily wages over the preceding 12 months.

Fathers are guaranteed five days of paid paternity leave, so long as they provide official documentation of their relationship to the mother and expected child. The father may take this at any time during the period from 4 weeks before the expected date of delivery, up to 14 weeks after the date of birth. The leave may be take in one go, or on separate days.

Hong Kong work bonuses

The common practice in Hong Kong is to grant all employees with a 13th month salary or similar annual bonus. However, this bonus is not mandated by law. During times when the Hong Kong economy is performing well, it is common for the annual bonus to be in the amount of 2-3 months’ salary.

By partnering with our Hong Kong EOR, you can gain insight into the recommended practice for incentivizing workers with monthly and annual bonuses.

Termination and severance

Both employers and employees in Hong Kong are expected to provide one month’s notice for impending termination or resignation. During a probationary period, there is no required notice to be given – from either party – within the first month. In subsequent months following the initial month of probation, a 7-day notice period is mandatory.

Severance payments are dispersed to terminated employees if they have been with the company for between two and five years; and their contract was terminated due to redundancy, layoff, or a fixed-term contract not being renewed in the case of redundancy.

These payments are two-thirds of the employee’s average monthly salary, for every year they have worked for the company. Severance packages have a maximum payment limit of HK $390,000. If necessary, employers have the ability to offset these costs by contributing to the employee’s pension fund, rather than paying out money to the terminated employee.

Navigating employee terminations and handling severance packages can be complicated for companies expanding overseas for the first time. Horizons’ Hong Kong EOR can mitigate risk for foreign companies and provide guidance through this process.

hassle-free Hong Kong compensation & benefits

Compensation & Benefits

Hong Kong compensation laws

In Hong Kong, compensation laws will generally be determined by your employee’s category. Regulations do not make a distinction between full-time and part-time employees or independent contractors. However, employees that have worked with an organization for more than four weeks are classified within a ‘continuous’ employment category. As such, these employees are subject to separate laws.

In Hong Kong, employee compensation is due at the close of the final day of every wage period. Employers must pay employees either on or before that due date – or no more than seven days past this date.

While not mandatory, it is generally best practice for employers to offer a 13th-month bonus that coincides with the Chinese New Year. There is also the option for employers to include commissions, bonuses, and awards as a component of employment contracts.

Hong Kong benefits

In Hong Kong, all employees are able to access the public health care system. Employees do not need to have insurance to access this system and there are no pay deductions. While the public health system provides an excellent level of care, there are often long wait times and few English-speaking health care providers. As such, many employers offer additional health benefits and life insurance. Employers in Hong Kong are advised to budget approximately 20% for supplemental benefits, on top of an employee’s gross salary.

Employees in Hong Kong are assured of seven vacation days per year, when they have worked for an organization for more than one year. Employees are then given an additional day’s vacation every year. However, this stops increasing once an employee has reached 14 day’s vacation, after nine years of service. Employees can elect to receive payment rather than vacation, but only for periods after 10 day’s vacation.

Hong Kong benefit management

Hong Kong benefit management is crucial for both employees and employers. It enables employees to receive what they are entitled to and ensures that employers maintain compliance with local regulations.

Employers must have a comprehensive understanding of the rules and regulations that govern employment in Hong Kong. As the employer, it is their responsibility to provide employees with guaranteed benefits and supplemental benefits that may be applicable.

Employers need to recognize that Hong Kong benefit management will involve substantial time and costs. There is a need to sign contracts pertaining to supplemental benefits, which often involves significant back-and-fourth travel to Hong Kong. As an alternative, employers can elect to work with a Hong Kong benefit outsourcing company. This will simplify the process, as the outsourcing company will select and manage benefits for your employees.

Benefits & compensation restrictions

For foreign employers, it is essential they recognize employment legislation, as it relates to the Hong Kong market. Businesses must comply with standard benefits and compensation restrictions that include minimum wage, working hours, and annual vacation time.

Horizons will help your business to stay compliant with Hong Kong employment regulations. This ensures that all employees receive their entitled benefits and compensation.

On-boarding timeline & procedure

For local employees, the on-boarding process can be accomplished within days. Once the client company confirms the employment conditions for staff in Hong Kong, Horizons will prepare the employment contract accordingly.

Upon approval, we arrange for the labor contract to be signed by the employee. This enables employees to commence working as soon as possible.

For international employees, it typically takes around one month to receive approval from the immigration authorities to begin work. The official commencement date will be the date when the visa (sponsored by the new employer) is activated. The contract, with an estimated length, is to be submitted to the immigration bureau.

Upon completion of the immigration process and reception of the authorities approval, on-boarding will be executed in around 7-10 days for the international employee.

Hong Kong Employer Of Record Peo

Navigation

Hire in Hong Kong

How to Use an EOR in Hong Kong

Employment Laws

Working hours in Hong Kong

Compensation & Benefits

Frequently asked questions

Hire borderless talent with Horizons

Hire in Hong Kong without your own local entity.

With Horizons, you get quick service, transparent pricing, and expert support.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between an Hong Kong PEO and an Hong Kong EOR?

Generally speaking, the terms “Hong Kong PEO” and “Hong Kong EOR” are used interchangeably.

Can an EOR in Hong Kong hire both local and foreign nationals to work in Hong Kong?

An EOR in Hong Kong can feasibly hire both local and foreign nationals to work in Hong Kong. However, the ability of Horizons to sponsor your foreign national employee in Hong Kong may be limited due to visa quotas practiced in many countries. Contact us with your requirements and our Global Mobility team with review the case and get back to you within 2 business days.

How long does Horizons' Hong Kong EOR service take to hire an employee?

In most cases, Horizons’ Hong Kong EOR can hire & onboard your employee within 24 hours. The actual start date of the employee will depend on their notice period obligation to their previous employer as well as any relevant hiring rules in Hong Kong.

Is it possible to get a work visa in Hong Kong?

It is possible to get a work visa in Hong Kong. Horizons’ Global Mobility team is a dedicated team of work visa experts. They assess the details of each case to determine feasibility and costs before Horizons applies for the work visa on behalf of your employee. If the Global Mobility team determines that your case is feasible, the process is smooth and transparent. Visa spots in Hong Kong are limited, however—get started today to secure your employees’ visa spot.

Employer of Record (EOR) Services in Hong Kong