08.01.02. Please describe the employment conditions and any safeguarding concerns related to informal care workers for dementia | Hong Kong SAR

08.01.02. Please describe the employment conditions and any safeguarding concerns related to informal care workers for dementia | Hong Kong SAR

22 Aug 2022

All employments in Hong Kong, including informal care workers, are regulated by the Employment Ordinance (Department of Justice, 2019a). Protection of employment, such as wage, paid leave, medical attention, maternity protection, and termination of contract, are all covered in the ordinance. The Labour Department of the Government is the unit responsible for monitoring the compliance of the Employment Ordinance.

Foreign domestic helper is a special type of employment in Hong Kong that is both regulated by the Immigration Department and Labour Department. Foreign domestic helpers must work in a full-time lived-in mode and only perform domestic duties for the employer in relation to his/her household (Imigration Department, 2019). If the employment contract is terminated or expired without renewal, they are required to return to their home country. The duration of stay under this employment is not recognised for applying for permanent residence in Hong Kong. Regarding the wage protection of foreign domestic helper, the Statutory Minimum Allowable Wage (effective from 29 September 2018) is HK$4,520 per month with food provision, or with an extra HK$1,075 per month if without food provision (HKSAR Government, 2019c).

For local domestic helpers, in addition to the protection under the Employment Ordinance, their wage is regulated by the Minimum Wage Ordinance. With effect from 1 May 2019, the Statutory Minimum Wage rate is HK$37.5 per hour (Labour Department, 2020).

References:

Department of Justice. (2019a). Cap. 57 Employment Ordinance. Hong Kong: Department of Justice, HKSAR Retrieved from https://www.elegislation.gov.hk/hk/cap57.

HKSAR Government. (2019c). Press Releases – Minimum Allowable Wage and food allowance for foreign domestic helpers to increase. Retrieved from https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201809/28/P2018092800357.htm

Imigration Department. (2019). Employment Contract for a Domestic Helper Recruited from Outside Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Imigration Department, HKSAR Retrieved from https://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/forms/forms/id407.html.

Labour Department. (2020, 8 November 2019). Statutory Minimum Wage. Retrieved from https://www.labour.gov.hk/eng/news/mwo.htm