What types of employees are covered by the 'Employment Ordinance' upon termination of employment?

Coverage of the Employment Ordinance

The Employment Ordinance applies to all employees employed under an employment contract and their employers, with the following exceptions:

1. a family member who lives in the same dwelling as the employer;
2. an employee as defined in the Contracts for Employment Outside Hong Kong Ordinance;
3. a person serving under a crew agreement under the Merchant Shipping (Seafarers) Ordinance, or on board a ship which is not registered in Hong Kong; and
4. an apprentice whose contract of apprenticeship has been registered under the Apprenticeship Ordinance, other than certain provisions of the Employment Ordinance.
    

If you are not sure about the coverage of the Employment Ordinance, please contact 1823 or seek help from the Labour Relations Division of Labour Department.

Continuous Contract

If you are an employer or employee, you must follow the requirements stated in the Employment Ordinance regarding termination of employment contract. Please select the appropriate information according to your situation -

• For an employee employed under a continuous contract, i.e. he /she has been employed continuously by the same employer for 4 weeks or more, with at least 18 hours worked in each week; please click here
• For employee who is not employed under a continuous contract, i.e. he /she has not been employed continuously by the same employer for 4 weeks or more, with at least 18 hours worked in each week; please contact 1823 or seek help from the Labour Relations Division of Labour Department.

Contractors/ Self-employed Persons

The Employment Ordinance does not apply to contractors and self-employed persons who are not employees. For information about the difference between an “employee” and a “contractor or self-employed person”, please refer to the leaflet on "Know your Identity and Rights – Employee? Contractor / Self-employed person?" (PDF). Even though a worker is called or described as a contractor or self-employed person in the contract, the employer is still required to fulfil his/her responsibilities under the relevant legislation if in essence there exists an employer-employee relationship between the parties. The employer may also be liable to criminal sanctions for contravention of the relevant legislation.

This is not a legal document and is prepared for general information only. The information is shown in a logical step-by-step question and answer format to facilitate users to have an overview of termination of employment. Since the merits of individual cases could vary, in case you are not sure which option should be chosen for your particular situation, or you have doubt about how to interpret the contents, to avoid misunderstanding, please contact 1823 or seek assistance from Labour Relations Division of Labour Department. The Ordinance remains the sole authority for the provisions of the law explained.