The Employment (Amendment) Bill 2025 ("Bill") aimed at amending the definition of "continuous contract" under the Employment Ordinance ("EO") was gazetted on 27 June 2025.
As per our earlier update, the Bill changes the current '418' requirement to a '468' arrangement, reducing weekly working hours needed for an employment contract to qualify as a "continuous contract" from 18 hours to 17 hours; and allowing the use of aggregate working hours of 68 hours or more over a 4-week period as an alternative way to meet the "continuous contract" requirement.
A Government spokesman said: "...This amendment exercise lowers the working hours threshold of the 'continuous contract' requirement and introduces flexibility in the calculation of working hours, reducing the circumstances of disrupting the continuity of an employee's employment because the working hours of a week occasionally fall below the threshold.
The proposed changes will make it easier for employees to meet the "continuous contract" requirement and it is therefore expected that the pool of employees who will be able to qualify for statutory employment benefits will be considerably widened (including statutory holiday pay, statutory annual leave, statutory maternity and paternity leave, statutory sickness allowance, and statutory severance / long service payment).
Employees who work for less than 18 hours per week in any given week over a period of 4 weeks, currently do not qualify for additional statutory employment benefits. However, under the new legislation, employees will only be required to work 17 hours per week for 4 or more consecutive weeks, or for an aggregate of at least 68 hours over a 4-week period in order to qualify for additional statutory employment benefits.
The revised "continuous contract" requirement will be effective from 18 January 2026.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
