What is Continuous Contract ("418") ? What is the new requirement ("468 Rule") which will take effect from 18 Jan 2026?

According to the Employment Ordinance, an employee who has been employed continuously by the same employer for four weeks or more, with at least 18 hours worked in each week is regarded as being employed under a continuous contract. 

With effect from 18 January 2026, an employee is regarded as being employed under a “continuous contract” if the following criteria are met :

1. the employee has been employed continuously by the same employer for four weeks or more; and
2. the employee has met one of the working hours requirements :
   • he has worked for at least 17 hours in each week; or
   •  (where he has worked less than 17 hours in any week) he has worked for 68 hours or more in a four-week period (the employee has been employed by the employer concerned during this four-week period) comprising that week and the three weeks next preceding that week (the “468 Rule").

For an employment period before 18 January 2026, an employee is still required to be employed continuously by the same employer for four weeks or more and has worked for at least 18 hours or more each week to meet the “continuous contract” requirement. 
Other information on the new “continuous contract” requirement: 

• Video  
• Education tool 
• Frequently asked questions

In any dispute as to whether a contract of employment is a continuous contract, the onus of proving that it is not a continuous contract shall be on the employer.

This is not a legal document. The Ordinance remains the sole authority for the provisions of the law explained.