What must an employer pay a domestic helper when the contract is terminated?

Overview

Every termination — whether by the employer, by the helper, or at natural contract expiry — triggers specific financial obligations. Failure to make these payments is an employment offence.

Required Payments at Termination

Always Required

Payment	Details
Outstanding wages	All wages earned up to the last day of work
Wages in lieu of notice	One month's wages — only if one month's notice was not given
Untaken annual leave pay	All unused leave from completed leave years
Pro-rata annual leave pay	If helper served 3–12 months in the current leave year
Return airfare	Economy-class air ticket (or equivalent) to place of origin + HK$100/day travel allowance

The daily rate used for outstanding wages and payment in lieu is monthly wage × 12 ÷ 365. Where a cash food allowance is paid rather than meals provided, include it in that figure.

May Be Required (Based on Length of Service)

Payment	Trigger
Severance Pay	Employed ≥ 24 months AND dismissed due to redundancy (or contract not renewed for redundancy)
Long Service Payment	Employed ≥ 5 years AND dismissed for reasons other than redundancy or serious misconduct

Both are calculated the same way: last month's wages × 2/3 × years of service, with the monthly wage capped at HK$22,500 and the total capped at HK$390,000. Fractional years count proportionally. The two are mutually exclusive — a helper receives one or the other, never both.

Worked example. A helper with 3 years 4 months of service at the Minimum Allowable Wage of HK$5,100, dismissed because the family is relocating overseas (redundancy):

• HK$5,100 × 2/3 = HK$3,400 per reckonable year
• 3 years 4 months = 3.33 reckonable years
• Severance pay = HK$3,400 × 3.33 ≈ HK$11,333

Redundancy here means the role itself is no longer needed — the family is emigrating, the household is shrinking, or the need for a helper has ended. Wanting a different helper is not redundancy.

If the Helper Resigns, Neither Payment Is Owed

This is the most commonly misunderstood point in the whole settlement, and it comes up often: severance and long service payment arise on dismissal, not on resignation. A helper who resigns — including one who has passed five years of service — is not entitled to long service payment, and helpers sometimes ask for it mid-contract believing that the five-year mark alone creates the right. It does not.

If the point is disputed, the Labour Department's Employer's Corner sets out the conditions, and GMA can talk it through with both sides.

Severance and long service payment are statutory entitlements where they do arise, and any agreement to waive them is void. If you want to recognise long service where no payment is owed, make a discretionary ex-gratia payment and document it as exactly that — never as "long service payment".

The 7-Day Offer Rule for Non-Renewal

If an employer offers to renew the contract in writing at least 7 days before expiry, and the helper unreasonably refuses, the employer does not owe severance or long service pay.

When Must Payments Be Made?

All final wages must be paid no later than the last day of employment. Delayed payment is a criminal offence.

Important Notes

• Keep records of all payments made (receipts, bank transfer confirmations)
• Even summary dismissal requires payment of outstanding wages and airfare
• Accrued but unused sick leave lapses at the end of the contract — it is not paid out
• Domestic helpers are exempt from MPF, so no MPF offset applies to these calculations
• If the helper disputes the payments, either party can file with the Labour Department's conciliation service or the Labour Tribunal
• Use GMA's termination calculator to estimate all amounts due before the final day of employment.

Related Resources

• Labour Department — severance and long service payment calculator
• Labour Department — domestic helper termination rights
• Labour Department — Employer's Corner

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