{"id":24783,"date":"2026-11-13T09:24:19","date_gmt":"2026-11-13T01:24:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.workstem.com\/hk\/blog\/%e8%87%aa%e5%8b%95%e8%8d%89%e7%a8%bf\/"},"modified":"2026-11-12T09:15:06","modified_gmt":"2026-11-12T01:15:06","slug":"hong-kong-public-holidays-2027-pay-rules-employers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.workstem.com\/hk\/blog\/hong-kong-public-holidays-2027-pay-rules-employers\/","title":{"rendered":"Hong Kong Public Holidays 2027: Pay Rules for Employers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hong Kong\u2019s 2027 holiday calendar looks straightforward until you separate the 15 statutory holidays from the 17 general holidays\u2014and then apply the Employment Ordinance\u2019s pay rules to each. Statutory holiday pay is not simply \u201ca day\u2019s salary.\u201d For any employee on a continuous contract for at least three months, it is the average daily wage (ADW) earned over the 12 months preceding the holiday, calculated under the 713 rule. Get the ADW wrong, and every statutory holiday in the year compounds the error.<\/p>\n

This employer guide sets out the 2027 dates, the pay treatment for each category of holiday, and the payroll checks that matter most\u2014including the 468 continuous contract threshold that took effect on 18 January 2026 and the MPF contribution caps that apply throughout 2027.<\/p>\n

2027 Hong Kong Holiday Calendar: Statutory vs General at a Glance<\/h2>\n

Hong Kong runs two holiday lists in parallel. General holidays (17 in 2027, plus every Sunday) are the gazetted public holidays observed by banks, schools and government offices. Statutory holidays (15 in 2027) are the days every employee covered by the Employment Ordinance is legally entitled to, and they trigger statutory holiday pay for eligible continuous-contract employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
#<\/td>\nStatutory Holiday (15)<\/td>\n2027 Date<\/td>\nDay<\/td>\n\n

General Holiday (17)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

1<\/td>\nThe first day of January<\/td>\n1 January<\/td>\nFriday<\/td>\n\n

Yes<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

2<\/td>\nLunar New Year\u2019s Day<\/td>\n6 February<\/td>\nSaturday<\/td>\n\n

Yes<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

3<\/td>\nThe third day of Lunar New Year<\/td>\n8 February<\/td>\nMonday<\/td>\n\n

Yes<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

4<\/td>\nThe fourth day of Lunar New Year (substitute)<\/td>\n9 February<\/td>\nTuesday<\/td>\n\n

Yes<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\u2014<\/td>\nGood Friday<\/td>\n26 March<\/td>\nFriday<\/td>\n\n

General only<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\u2014<\/td>\nThe day following Good Friday<\/td>\n27 March<\/td>\nSaturday<\/td>\n\n

General only<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

5<\/td>\nEaster Monday<\/td>\n29 March<\/td>\nMonday<\/td>\n\n

Yes<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

6<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

Ching Ming Festival<\/td>\n5 April<\/td>\nMonday<\/td>\n\n

Yes<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

7<\/td>\nLabour Day<\/td>\n1 May<\/td>\nSaturday<\/td>\n\n

Yes<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

8<\/td>\nThe Birthday of the Buddha<\/td>\n13 May<\/td>\nThursday<\/td>\n\n

Yes<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

9<\/td>\nTuen Ng Festival<\/td>\n9 June<\/td>\nWednesday<\/td>\n\n

Yes<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

10<\/td>\nHKSAR Establishment Day<\/td>\n1 July<\/td>\nThursday<\/td>\n\n

Yes<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

11<\/td>\nThe day following Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival<\/td>\n16 September<\/td>\nThursday<\/td>\n\n

Yes<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

12<\/td>\nNational Day<\/td>\n1 October<\/td>\nFriday<\/td>\n\n

Yes<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

13<\/td>\nChung Yeung Festival<\/td>\n8 October<\/td>\nFriday<\/td>\n\n

Yes<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

14<\/td>\nChinese Winter Solstice Festival or Christmas Day (employer\u2019s option)<\/td>\n22 December or 25 December<\/td>\nWednesday or Saturday<\/td>\n\n

Christmas Day is a general holiday; Winter Solstice is statutory only<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

15<\/td>\nThe first weekday after Christmas Day<\/td>\n27 December<\/td>\nMonday<\/td>\n\n

Yes<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Key substitution: The second day of Lunar New Year 2027 falls on a Sunday, so the fourth day of Lunar New Year (9 February) is designated as the statutory holiday in substitution. Good Friday and the day following Good Friday are general holidays but not statutory holidays\u2014employers are not required to grant them under the Employment Ordinance, though many employment contracts do.<\/p>\n

Calendar image alt text: \u201c2027 Hong Kong public holidays calendar showing 15 statutory holidays and 17 general holidays side by side.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Pay Rule That Governs Every Statutory Holiday: 713 and Average Daily Wage<\/h2>\n

Statutory holiday pay for an eligible employee is equivalent to the average daily wages earned in the 12-month period preceding the holiday. This is the 713 rule: since 13 July 2007, the old \u201clast 28 days\u201d method has been abolished for the eight statutory entitlements, including holiday pay, annual leave pay and sickness allowance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Element<\/td>\nHow it works under 713<\/td>\n\n

Why employers get it wrong<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

The formula<\/td>\nADW = (Total wages in 12 months \u2212 excluded wages) \u00f7 (Total days in period \u2212 excluded days)<\/td>\n\n

Dividing total annual pay by 365 ignores excluded periods and understates or overstates ADW<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\u201cSpecified date\u201d<\/td>\nFor statutory holiday pay, the specified date is the holiday itself<\/td>\n\n

Using a fixed calendar window instead of the 12 months ending on the day before each holiday<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Excluded periods<\/td>\nNo-pay or partial-pay periods (e.g. unpaid sick leave, maternity leave) and their wages are removed from both numerator and denominator<\/td>\n\n

Including unpaid weeks inflates the denominator and depresses ADW<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

What counts as wages<\/td>\nSalary, commissions, allowances, overtime pay and bonuses that are contractual or habitual<\/td>\n\n

Leaving commissions out of the ADW base for commission-earning staff<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The practical consequence: a January 2027 statutory holiday and a December 2027 statutory holiday may require different ADW figures, because the relevant 12-month windows differ. A system that calculates ADW once and reuses it across the year is not applying 713 correctly.<\/p>\n

468 Continuous Contract: Who Qualifies for Holiday Pay in 2027<\/h2>\n

Statutory holidays themselves are entitlement for all employees covered by the Employment Ordinance. But statutory holiday pay requires the employee to have been employed under a continuous contract for not less than three months immediately before the holiday.<\/p>\n

Since 18 January 2026, the continuous contract test is the 468 rule:<\/p>\n