Ending a domestic helper’s contract in Hong Kong: an employer’s steps

The notice either of you can give

Either side may end the contract by giving one month’s notice in writing, or by paying one month’s wages instead of notice. She has exactly the same right, on the same terms, and no private agreement can shorten either.

What you must pay, and when

• wages up to and including her last day of work;
• a month’s wages in lieu, if you end it without giving notice;
• pay for annual leave she earned and has not taken, plus a share of this year once she has worked three months of it;
• her passage home to the place of origin in the contract, and a daily food and travel allowance for the journey;
• severance or a long service payment if she qualifies — see our guide.

Seven days, not "soon"

Everything owed falls due within seven days of her last day. A severance payment is different: it is due within two months of her written claim. Pay late and you owe interest on it, and a late final payment is the commonest reason a helper walks into the Labour Department.

Tell Immigration within seven days

You must notify the Immigration Department in writing within seven days that the contract has ended, and so must she, separately. It is a condition of her visa as well as your obligation, so do not assume the agency has done it.

Dismissal without notice is rarer than people think

Summary dismissal — no notice, no payment in lieu — is lawful only for serious misconduct, and the bar is high: wilful disobedience of a lawful and reasonable order, fraud or dishonesty, or habitual neglect of duties. A disagreement, a run of mistakes or a personality clash is not it. If you are unsure, give notice or pay a month instead. And you may not dismiss her because she has told you she is pregnant, while she is on paid sick leave, or because she has made a claim or given evidence to the authorities: those are protected under the Employment Ordinance.

Her fourteen days

After the contract ends she may normally stay in Hong Kong for up to fourteen days, or until her permitted stay runs out, whichever comes first. She cannot usually take a new job from inside Hong Kong: she goes home and applies again. That is the Immigration Department’s rule and not yours to waive, which is worth knowing before you promise anything about timing.

A notice letter you can copy

[Date]

Dear [her name],

I am giving you one month’s notice that your employment under the Standard Employment Contract dated [date of the contract] will end on [her last day].

Your final payment will include your wages to that day, payment for annual leave you have earned and not taken, your passage to [place of origin] and the daily food and travel allowance for the journey. It will be paid within seven days of your last day.

I will notify the Immigration Department within seven days that the contract has ended, and you must do the same.

Thank you for your work.

[Your name, signature, and the date you hand it over]

Give it to her in writing, keep a copy, and ask her to sign a copy to show she received it — not that she agrees with it.

If you disagree about money

Go to the Labour Relations Division of the Labour Department. It is free, it is for both sides, and it settles most of these without a tribunal. Take the contract, the notice letter and your record of every payment.