Lexis Insights

The Employment (Amendment) Ordinance 2014, which came into force on 27 February 2015, introduced statutory paternity leave in Hong Kong. The statutory provisions governing paternity leave are set out in Part IIIA of the Employment Ordinance. A male employee is entitled to 3 days’ paternity leave with pay at 80% of his average daily wages consecutively or separately for each confinement of their spouse or partner, if he:-

(1) is the child’s father;

(2) has been employed under a continuous contract immediately before taking leave; and

(3) has complied with the statutory notification obligations.

On 11 October 2017, Chief Executive highlighted the potential extension of paternity leave in her policy address. After conducting surveys and having discussions with various stakeholders between July and December 2016, the Labour Department recommended that statutory paternity leave be increased from 3 days to 5 days. In the UK, paternity leave can be either one whole week or two consecutive whole weeks. In other Asian jurisdictions, Hong Kong is at the lower end of the entitlement scale for the number of leave days and for leave pay among Asian jurisdictions that allow paternity leave.

Find out more in:

Hong Kong Employment Law Manual

Lexis Practical Guidance – Hong Kong Employment

Lexis PSL – Employment