Domestic Helper Annual Leave 2027: Days, Pay Calculation & Final Pay

A foreign domestic helper in Hong Kong earns paid annual leave after every 12 months with the same employer: 7 days in years 1 and 2, then one extra day a year up to 14 days from year 9. The employer sets the dates after consulting the helper, gives at least 14 days' written notice, and the leave must be taken within 12 months of being earned. Annual leave pay is the helper's average daily wages over the previous 12 months, which works out at about HK$171.62 a day on the HK$5,220 Minimum Allowable Wage. Untaken leave must be paid out when the contract ends, plus pro rata pay if the helper has worked 3 months or more in the current leave year.

This guide is for employers of foreign domestic helpers (and helpers checking their own entitlement). It covers annual leave only: for rest days and the statutory holiday dates, see our guide to domestic helper holidays in Hong Kong.

How Much Annual Leave Does a Domestic Helper Get in Hong Kong?

Helpers get the same statutory annual leave as every other employee under the Employment Ordinance. The Standard Employment Contract (ID 407) confirms it: the helper is "entitled to annual leave with pay" within 12 months of completing each year of service.

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Annual leave entitlement by year of service

Source: Labour Department, Practical Guide for Employment of Foreign Domestic Helpers and A Concise Guide to the Employment Ordinance

So, to answer the common searches directly:

• Annual leave for a domestic helper for 2 years: 7 days for each of the first two years, 14 days in total over a standard two year contract.
• Annual leave for a domestic helper for 4 years: 9 days for the fourth year, 31 days earned in total over four years.
• Annual leave for a domestic helper for 8 years: 13 days for the eighth year.
• Annual leave for a domestic helper for 10 years: 14 days a year, the statutory maximum, which kicks in from the ninth year.

These are minimums. You can be more generous, never less.

When Does a Domestic Helper Earn Annual Leave?

Leave is earned at the end of each full 12 months with the same employer, not month by month. A helper who starts on 1 March 2027 earns her first 7 days on 1 March 2028, and must be granted them within the following 12 months (so year 1 leave is taken in year 2).

Nothing is earned before the first anniversary, so a new helper has no statutory right to paid annual leave in her first 12 months. Many employers still allow a few days off in year 1 by agreement; put that in writing.

Does service continue when you renew the contract?

Yes. If you renew with the same helper, her service is counted from her original start date. The Labour Department's Practical Guide works through examples using "the 2nd 2-year contract" with the same employer, so a helper in her third year on a renewed contract earns 8 days, not 7.

It matters for long service payment too. Our guide to domestic helper contract renewal covers the paperwork side.

Who Decides When the Helper Takes Annual Leave?

The employer does, but not unilaterally. Under the Employment Ordinance, the employer sets the timing after consulting the helper, and must confirm the dates in writing at least 14 days in advance (unless you both agree to shorter notice).

Leave should normally be taken in one block. If the helper asks, it can be split:

• Entitlement of 10 days or fewer: up to 3 days can be taken separately, and the rest must be taken in one consecutive block.
• Entitlement of more than 10 days: at least 7 days must be consecutive.

You cannot force a helper to take unpaid leave because you're going away: the Practical Guide says unpaid leave needs mutual consent. If your family is travelling for three weeks, schedule part of her paid annual leave over that period, with 14 days' written notice.

Our view: agree the leave plan at each contract anniversary. Most helpers want one block to go home, and booking early saves money on flights.

What Happens if a Rest Day or Statutory Holiday Falls During Annual Leave?

It doesn't count as annual leave. If a weekly rest day or a statutory holiday falls inside the leave period, that day is treated as a rest day or holiday, and you must give the helper an extra day of annual leave instead.

Example: your helper takes 7 days of leave starting Monday, and her rest day is Sunday. That Sunday is her rest day, not annual leave, so her leave runs to the following Monday. Count working days of leave, not calendar days away.

How to Compute Annual Leave Pay in Hong Kong

Annual leave pay is calculated on the helper's average daily wages. Under the Employment Ordinance, that's the average of the wages earned in the 12 months before the first day of the leave (or before the termination date, if you're paying out leave at the end of employment).

The basic formula is:

Average daily wage = total wages earned in the previous 12 months ÷ number of days in that period

According to the Labour Department, any period where the helper was not paid full wages (such as unpaid leave or days on four-fifths sickness allowance) is removed, along with the money paid for it. Fully paid leave and holidays stay in.

Worked example at the current Minimum Allowable Wage

According to the Labour Department's FDH Portal, the Minimum Allowable Wage is HK$5,220 a month for contracts signed on or after 3 October 2026 (it was HK$5,100 for contracts signed between 30 September 2025 and 2 October 2026). Here's how annual leave pay works on HK$5,220 with no unpaid days in the year.

Source: Labour Department FDH Portal (Minimum Allowable Wage), A Concise Guide to the Employment Ordinance (calculation method)

For a helper on a fixed monthly salary, you simply keep paying her normal salary during leave. The calculation matters when leave is paid out at the end of employment, when wages changed during the year, or when there were unpaid days.

Leave pay is due by the normal pay day after the leave. Failing to grant or pay annual leave can lead to a HK$50,000 fine, according to the Labour Department.

For the full picture on wages and what you should be paying, see our domestic helper salary guide.

Does food allowance count in annual leave pay?

Food you provide in kind does not count. The Employment Ordinance definition of wages excludes "the value of any accommodation, education, food, fuel, water, light or medical care provided by the employer".

Cash food allowance is greyer. The Standard Employment Contract requires a food allowance if you don't provide food (no less than HK$1,236 a month, according to the government, unchanged in the 2026 review). Our advice: keep paying it in full during annual leave. The contract doesn't say it stops during leave, and deducting it is the kind of thing that ends up at a Labour Department conciliation meeting.

Annual Leave vs Home Leave: What's the Difference?

They are separate entitlements, and mixing them up is the most common mistake on expat forums.

• Annual leave is the statutory 7 to 14 days a year under the Employment Ordinance. It's always paid.
• Home leave is the vacation of at least 7 days the helper must take in her home country before a renewed contract starts, with the employer paying the return airfare. Whether those days are paid or unpaid depends on what you agreed in the contract.
• Free return passage is the ticket home you owe when the contract ends or is terminated, plus a food and travelling allowance of HK$100 a day for the journey, according to the Practical Guide.

The Standard Employment Contract says the home leave vacation "is in addition to the statutory provisions of annual leave". You can only combine the two if she has leave due and agrees, and the annual leave portion must be paid.

Home leave can be deferred with mutual agreement. According to the Immigration Department, a helper can be granted an extension of stay of normally up to one year to defer it.

Can a Helper Take Annual Leave in the Philippines or Indonesia?

Yes. Annual leave is the helper's time, and she can spend it wherever she likes. Many helpers combine annual leave with home leave on renewal to get two or three weeks at home.

The Standard Employment Contract doesn't require you to pay airfare for an annual leave trip: your airfare obligations are the home leave fare on renewal and the return passage at the end of the contract. Some families contribute anyway, and it's a strong retention tool. Agree in writing what happens if a flight is cancelled and she returns late.

Can You Pay Your Helper Instead of Giving Annual Leave?

Mostly no. While the contract is running, you must actually grant the leave. Under the Employment Ordinance, pay in lieu is only allowed for the part of the yearly entitlement above 10 days, and only if the helper chooses it.

That means a helper in her first five years (7 to 10 days a year) cannot legally swap any of her annual leave for cash during employment. From year 6 onwards (11 days and up), she can choose to take the extra days as money.

Pay in Lieu of Untaken Annual Leave on Termination or Contract Completion

When the employment ends for any reason, including completion of the contract or the helper resigning, you must pay for:

1. Untaken annual leave for every completed leave year.
2. Pro rata annual leave for the current leave year, if the helper has worked 3 months or more (but less than 12 months) in it, unless she is summarily dismissed for serious misconduct.

The daily rate is her average daily wage over the 12 months before the termination date.

How the pro rata "3 months rule" works

Pro rata leave = (days worked in the current leave year ÷ 365) × that year's entitlement.

The Practical Guide gives this example: a helper leaves after 18 months and has taken no leave. She gets 7 days for her first year plus 3.5 days pro rata for the next six months, a total of 10.5 days. At HK$5,220 a month, that's 10.5 × HK$171.62, about HK$1,802. If she had been summarily dismissed for serious misconduct, she would get only the 7 days already earned.

Another example: a helper completes 2 full years, took all her leave, and leaves 150 days into her third leave year. Her pro rata entitlement is 150 ÷ 365 × 8 = 3.29 days, about HK$565 at HK$5,220.

If she leaves less than 3 months into a new leave year, there's no pro rata payment for that partial year, but any untaken leave from earlier years is still payable.

What else goes in the final payment?

According to the Labour Department's FDH FAQs, final pay also includes outstanding wages, notice or wages in lieu (if applicable), any severance or long service payment due, and contractual sums such as the return passage.

Long service payment applies after at least 5 years' continuous service when the helper is dismissed or not renewed for reasons other than serious misconduct or redundancy. The Labour Department formula is monthly wages × 2/3 × years of service; see our guide to severance and long service payment.

If the helper is moving to a new employer, our guide to the domestic helper release letter explains what to put in writing.

How Should Employers Keep Annual Leave Records?

Keep a written leave record and have the helper sign it each time she takes leave. The Labour Department publishes a free sample leave record for foreign domestic helpers in the appendix to its Practical Guide, with a section for paid annual leave.

A good record shows the leave year, days earned, dates taken, the date you gave written notice, and the pay. The Labour Department's FAQs also recommend giving a wage receipt that explains how pay was calculated, and keeping the signed copy. Disputes almost always start where there's no record.

What Can a Helper Do if the Employer Refuses Annual Leave?

Talk first, then go to the Labour Department. According to the FDH Portal FAQs, its Labour Relations Division offers free conciliation, and unresolved claims go to the Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board or the Labour Tribunal. The Labour Department's FDH hotlines are 2717 1771 and 2157 9537.

Helpers should never sign anything acknowledging payment they haven't received. Employers should remember that refusing leave or leave pay is a criminal offence, not just a contract dispute.

The Labour Department's FDH Portal answers the common questions on leave, termination and claims in plain English, and the Immigration Department's page on Standard Employment Contract terms (ID 407) sets out exactly what you signed.

FAQs: Domestic Helper Annual Leave Hong Kong

How many days annual leave does a domestic helper get in Hong Kong?

A helper gets 7 days of paid annual leave for each of her first two years with the same employer. It then rises by one day a year up to a maximum of 14 days from year 9.

Does a domestic helper get annual leave in the first year?

No statutory paid annual leave is earned until the helper completes 12 months with the same employer. Her first 7 days become due at the one year mark and must be granted within the following 12 months. Employers can offer leave earlier by agreement.

How do you calculate annual leave pay for a domestic helper?

Take the wages earned in the 12 months before the leave, divide by the number of days in that period, and multiply by the leave days. At the HK$5,220 Minimum Allowable Wage, that is about HK$171.62 a day, so 7 days is about HK$1,201. Unpaid periods and the money paid for them are left out of the average.

Can my helper take annual leave in the Philippines?

Yes, she can spend annual leave anywhere, including the Philippines or Indonesia. The Standard Employment Contract does not require the employer to pay airfare for annual leave trips.

Is home leave the same as annual leave?

No. Home leave is the vacation of at least 7 days the helper takes at home before a renewed contract starts, with the employer paying the airfare. The Standard Employment Contract says this is in addition to statutory annual leave, which is always paid.

Can I pay my helper instead of letting her take annual leave?

Only for days above 10 in a year, and only if the helper chooses. In the first five years (7 to 10 days a year), all leave must actually be taken; untaken leave is paid out on termination.

Does annual leave carry over to the next year?

Leave earned at the end of a leave year can be taken any time in the following 12 months. Don't let it pile up beyond that: failing to grant it is an offence carrying a HK$50,000 fine.

What is pro rata annual leave for a domestic helper?

If the employment ends after the helper has worked 3 months or more in the current leave year, she gets a proportion of that year's entitlement as pay. For example, six months into her second year she is owed 3.5 days. It is not payable if she is summarily dismissed for serious misconduct.

Does my helper's leave reset when we renew the contract?

No. Service with the same employer continues across renewals, so a helper in her third year on a second contract earns 8 days, not 7. Continuous service also counts towards long service payment after 5 years.

Key Takeaways

• Helpers earn 7 days of paid annual leave for each of years 1 and 2, rising one day a year to a maximum of 14 days from year 9.
• Leave is earned after each full 12 months with the same employer and must be granted within the next 12 months; service continues across contract renewals.
• The employer sets the dates after consulting the helper and must give at least 14 days' written notice.
• Annual leave pay is the 12 month average daily wage, about HK$171.62 a day at the HK$5,220 Minimum Allowable Wage.
• Home leave of at least 7 days on renewal is in addition to annual leave, not a substitute for it.
• On termination or contract completion, untaken leave plus pro rata leave (for 3 months or more in the current leave year) must be paid out.
• Refusing annual leave or leave pay can lead to a HK$50,000 fine, so keep a signed leave record.

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