How to Hire a Domestic Helper in Hong Kong Legally

Your Legal and Financial Obligations When Hiring a Domestic Helper in Hong Kong

You need a foreign domestic helper, and you need to hire them without creating a legal liability. The single binding document that governs everything is the Standard Employment Contract, form ID 407. Its terms are not negotiable. The Hong Kong Government sets the minimum allowable wage, the food allowance, the rest day rules, and the termination procedures. Ignore any agency or employer who tells you these terms are flexible. They are not, and the Labour Department enforces them.

This page covers only the compliance requirements: the contract, the costs you must pay, the accommodation you must provide, and the lawful steps to end the arrangement. It does not cover lifestyle advice, relationship management, or cultural tips. If you need that, another page covers it. Here, you get the numbers and the legal steps.

The Standard Employment Contract: ID 407 and What it Locks in

The only legal contract for hiring a foreign domestic helper in Hong Kong is form ID 407, issued by the Immigration Department. There is no alternative. Every term is prescribed. You cannot negotiate a lower wage, a different rest day schedule, or a shorter notice period. Any clauses you add outside the form are unenforceable if they reduce the helper's statutory rights. The contract runs for two years. Both you and the helper must sign it in front of an immigration officer at the visa application stage.

Non-Negotiable Wage And Food Allowance

The Government publishes a minimum allowable wage each year, effective late September. The 2025 rate was HKD 4,990 per month. The 2026 rate is higher. You must pay at least the published minimum. If you provide food instead of a food allowance, you still must meet the minimum allowable wage separately. If you choose to pay a food allowance in lieu of providing meals, the minimum is HKD 1,236 per month. Figure on the combination: the minimum wage plus HKD 1,236 food allowance, if you do not provide meals. You must also pay an Employees Retraining Levy of HKD 400 for the two-year contract period. Re-hire the same helper within 12 months of the contract end, and you are exempt from this levy.

Accommodation Is A Legal Obligation, Not A Courtesy

The contract requires you to provide suitable accommodation with privacy. That is a legal obligation. The Immigration Department and the Labour Department interpret 'suitable' as a bed, a wardrobe, a lockable door, and natural light. A shared room with children is not compliant. A bunk bed in a living room with no door is not compliant. If you cannot provide this, you cannot legally hire a domestic helper. The single most common source of disputes is accommodation privacy. Check your flat against the published guidance before you sign anything.

Rest Days, Holidays, Annual Leave and Passage Entitlement

The contract guarantees one rest day in every period of seven days, of not less than 24 consecutive hours. You cannot compensate the helper in lieu of this rest day. Paying extra to skip it is not permitted. The contract also entitles the helper to 14 statutory holidays per year, as defined by the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57). Note that statutory holidays are fewer than general bank holidays. You must give the helper these 14 days off, unless you agree to substitute a statutory holiday with another day within 60 days.

Annual Leave And Passage

Annual leave starts at 7 days in year one and year two, increases to 8 days in year three, and rises by one day each year up to 14 days from year nine onward. Pay for unused annual leave if the contract ends before the helper takes it.

Passage entitlement is mandatory. You must provide free economy-class air travel from the helper's place of origin to Hong Kong at the start of the contract, and return travel at the end. This is not optional. If the contract ends early, you pay for the return passage immediately. If the helper is dismissed for misconduct, you may not be obligated, but that is determined case by case and the evidentiary bar is very high.

Terminating the Contract: Notice, Payment and the High Bar for Summary Dismissal

To terminate the contract lawfully, give one month's notice in writing, or pay one month's wages in lieu. That notice period is in the contract. Skip it and simply dismiss the helper, and you owe the wages in lieu plus all outstanding sums. The termination payment includes all outstanding wages, unused annual leave pay, the travel allowance for the return passage, any food allowance owed, and any other contractual sums. Calculate this exactly. The Labour Department enforces it if the helper files a claim.

Summary dismissal without notice is legally possible on five grounds: wilful disobedience, misconduct, fraud, dishonesty, or habitual neglect of duties. The evidentiary bar is high. You cannot dismiss summarily for poor performance, personality clashes, or because the helper is not a good fit. Try it and the helper challenges it, you lose. You then owe the notice pay plus potentially the full contract term. Do not attempt summary dismissal without a labour lawyer or the Labour Department's written guidance on your specific case. In practice, the safest route is always the one-month notice or one-month wages in lieu. If the helper has worked continuously for five years, you may also owe a long service payment calculated as (last month's wages x 2/3) x years of service. This applies if the dismissal is not for redundancy or summary dismissal.

Insurance You Must Carry

You are legally required to carry Employees' Compensation Insurance under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance (Cap. 282). This covers work-related injuries. Carry outpatient medical insurance, hospitalisation cover, personal accident cover, and repatriation cover. A helper falling ill without insurance creates a personal financial liability for you. The contract does not require private medical insurance, but the risk of forgoing it is not worth the saving.

Employment Agencies: What They Can and Cannot Charge

Any agency you use must hold a licence under the Employment Agency Regulations (Cap. 57A). The maximum commission an agency can charge the helper is 10 percent of the first month's wages. The agency cannot charge the helper any placement fee, processing fee, or administrative fee beyond that 10 percent. The Labour Department has issued specific warnings about agencies that disguise illegal placement fees as training costs or processing charges. If an agency asks the helper to pay more, that is illegal. You, as the employer, can be held liable if you knowingly participate. Pay the agency your own fee, but make sure the helper's side is compliant. A helper who starts the contract in debt to an agency is a setup for disputes.