Hiring a domestic helper for the first time in Hong Kong: what the law asks of you

Before you start

For each helper, your household needs an income of at least HK$15,000 a month, or assets to cover the whole two-year contract. You can hire directly, through an advertisement or a referral, or through an employment agency. If you use one, check its licence on the Labour Department’s register: an agency may charge the helper at most 10% of her first month’s wages, and never through deductions from her pay.

The contract and the visa

You and the helper sign the Standard Employment Contract (ID 407) and apply to the Immigration Department for her employment visa. The contract runs for two years, and no private agreement can give her less than it does — a lower wage included, even if she agrees to it.

What you pay for

• wages of at least HK$5,220 a month for a contract signed now, paid no later than seven days after the end of each wage period;
• food free of charge, or a food allowance of at least HK$1,236 a month;
• free medical treatment while she works for you, whether or not the illness comes from work;
• her passage to Hong Kong at the start and home at the end, with a daily travel allowance;
• employees’ compensation insurance, which the law requires.

Where she lives and works

She lives and works at the address in the contract for the whole of it, with suitable accommodation and reasonable privacy. She does domestic duties for your household there and nowhere else: asking her to work at another address, or for anyone else, breaks her visa conditions. The contract also limits cleaning the outside of windows to strict safety conditions, and she can refuse otherwise.

Her time off

• a rest day of at least 24 hours in every seven days;
• every statutory holiday, which can never be paid off in money;
• paid annual leave after each 12 months, from 7 days a year rising to 14;
• paid sick leave, and maternity protection if she becomes pregnant.

What you do not pay

• MPF: domestic employees are outside the Mandatory Provident Fund.
• A levy: the Employees Retraining Levy on helpers’ employers was abolished in 2013.

Keep a record of every payment

Pay by bank transfer or FPS where you can, and have her acknowledge each payment in writing: the Labour Department advises it, and it settles disagreements before they start. Kaia does this in one tap, free: she sends the request, you pay from your own bank, and you both confirm.