Paid Sick Leave

What is paid sick leave?

Generally speaking, paid sick leave is actually a sickness allowance given to employees by the company.

Paid sick leave Hong Kong

In Employment Ordinance, an employee employed under a continuous contract is entitled to sickness allowance if the sick leave taken is not less than four consecutive days (unless for any day off taken by a female employee for her pregnancy check-ups, post confinement medical treatment or miscarriage, any such day on which she is absent shall be counted as a sickness day and, subject to the following conditions, be paid sickness allowance); the employee has accumulated sufficient number of paid sickness days and the sick leave is supported by an appropriate medical certificate.

Why is paid sick leave important?

In order to maintain good and stable economic development and public health security, paid sick leave is the most important factor. This system is not only related to the working environment, but also to the health of the whole society, which greatly and effectively helps the public labour level to face the pandemic and any future health crisis. The most important thing is that employers should provide a fair and just working environment and health benefits, without forcing workers to choose between life safety and economic income.

How sick leave is paid?

An employee can accumulate paid sickness days after having been employed under a continuous contract. Paid sickness days are accumulated at the rate of two paid sickness days for each completed month of the employee’s employment during the first 12 months, and four paid sickness days for each completed month of employment thereafter. Paid sickness days can be accumulated throughout the whole employment period, but shall not exceed 120 days at any one time.

The calculation of paid sick leave

HK$200,000÷250×5×0.8=HK$3,200
During the period of paid sick leave, the calculation for the allowance that the employee shall receive is as follows:
12 months of employment: Average daily wages (ADW) in the past 12 months × days of sick leave × 0.8
Less than 12 months of employment: ADW after employment × days of sick leave × 0.8

Assume that employee A takes sick leave for 5 days from Feb 7th, 2022 to Feb 11th, 2022 after 12 months of employment in the company. In the past 12 months, employee A’s total income was HK$200,000 (including bonuses, etc.), and his actual working days is 250. Then the allowance that employee A should receive for the above-mentioned 5-day sick leave is calculated as follows:
HK$200,000÷250×5×0.8=HK$3,200

Read more: How paid sick leave should be calculated?

Workstem

Workstem supports customised leave types and leave policies so as to meet various needs of enterprises. Through the Workstem One App, employees can self-check their leave balances and apply for leave; supervisors or HR can approve them anytime, anywhere without any document being missed. Workstem calculates payroll accurately with one click, without double manual calculations, making your leave management worry-free!