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The new rule will lower the working hours' threshold of the ‘continuous contract’ and introduce flexibility in the calculation of working hours.
The amendments to the ‘continuous contract’ requirement under the Employment Ordinance (EO) (Cap. 57) made by the Employment (Amendment) Ordinance 2025 will be applicable from 18 January 2026.
The new requirement will lower the working hours threshold of the ‘continuous contract’ and introduce flexibility in the calculation of working hours. This change will reduce the circumstances that disrupt the continuity of an employee's employment when the working hours of a week occasionally fall below the threshold, thereby allowing employees to enjoy comprehensive employment rights, such as statutory holiday pay and paid annual leave.
Upon the application of the new requirement, an employee will be regarded as being employed under a ‘continuous contract’ if:
- he/she has been employed continuously by the same employer for four weeks or more; and
- he/she has met one of the working hours requirements:
- worked at least 17 hours each week; or
- (if worked less than 17 hours in any week) worked for the employer concerned for 68 hours or more in a four-week period comprising that week and the three weeks next preceding that week.
The new requirement has no retrospective effect. For an employment period before the new requirement is applicable, 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 provisions of the EO remain unchanged, and employees will continue to enjoy the statutory benefits currently in place.
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