Employer of record in Hong Kong: costs and rules

What is different about employing in Hong Kong

Hong Kong's payroll is light. The only percentage charge is MPF: 5% of relevant income from the employer, matched by 5% from the employee, on income between HKD 7,100 and HKD 30,000 a month. Below HKD 7,100 the employer still pays 5% and the employee pays nothing. Above HKD 30,000 each side pays a flat HKD 1,500. Employers do not withhold salaries tax; the employee settles it with the Inland Revenue Department.

• Statutory minimum wage: HKD 43.1 an hour from May 1, 2026 (Labor Department).
• Holidays: 15 statutory holidays in 2026 after Easter Monday was added, 16 from 2028 and 17 from 2030. Pages that list 17 today are ahead of the law.
• Annual leave: 7 days in years 1 and 2, rising one day a year to 14 days from year 9.
• Notice: as agreed but at least 7 days, or one month if the contract is silent. No notice is needed in the first month of probation.
• Hours: no statutory standard week, but at least one rest day in every 7.

Employment costs and rules in Hong Kong

What an EOR charges to employ someone in Hong Kong

The yearly bill for a HKD 314,000 employee

USD 40,000 at 7.85 HKD per USD is HKD 314,000, or HKD 26,166.67 a month. That is under the HKD 30,000 MPF ceiling, so the full 5% applies.

Arithmetic: 5% x 26,166.67 = 1,308.33 a month, and 5% x 314,000 = 15,700 a year. The fee is $7,188 x 7.85 = HKD 56,425.80; at $199 it is HKD 18,745.80, at $399 HKD 37,585.80 and at $699 HKD 65,845.80. Pay above HKD 30,000 a month caps the MPF line at HKD 18,000 a year. Employees' compensation insurance is required but priced by insurers, so ask for the premium in your quote. Model other salaries with the international cost calculator.

Severance and long service pay: the cost that changed

A worker made redundant after 24 months is owed a severance payment, and one dismissed after 5 years is owed a long service payment. Both are two thirds of the last full month's wages, with wages capped at HKD 22,500, for each year of service: at most HKD 15,000 a year, and HKD 390,000 in total. On this sample salary, 5 years of service means 5 x 15,000 = HKD 75,000.

Before May 1, 2025, employers could net the MPF employer contributions against that payment. For service from that date they cannot. A government subsidy exists for eligible employers. Ask your EOR whether its deposit or monthly accruals already cover this.

Hong Kong company or EOR

Setting up in Hong Kong means a company registration, an MPF scheme, an employees' compensation policy and an employer's return to the Inland Revenue Department each year. For a first hire the $7,188 annual fee often costs less than the setup and upkeep. Run the numbers with our EOR or own entity comparison.

Contractors in Hong Kong

A self-employed contractor in Hong Kong saves you MPF, the compensation insurance and the severance exposure. Fixed hours and day-to-day control point to employment, and then the Employment Ordinance entitlements apply. Pay real freelancers through a contractor management platform, or move the risk to a contractor of record.

Which EOR to use in Hong Kong

Ownership of the local entity is the question to settle first in Hong Kong, because severance now falls on whoever employs the worker. Multiplier, at 79/100 the highest score we publish, claims its own entity in every country and lists $499 a month ($459 on annual billing). Remote claims 100% owned entities and lists $599. Oyster comes second on score, 64/100. Scores follow our published method.

Line them up in the EOR rankings, and read our Remote, Deel and Oyster reviews before you sign. To compare Hong Kong with Singapore or China, open the country cost index.