Statutory Holidays in Hong Kong 2026: Guide for Employees, Employers, and Domestic Helpers
Kenji Farre, Director · Apr 30, 2026 · 6 min read
Quick Answer: How Many Statutory Holidays Are There in Hong Kong in 2026?
There are 15 statutory holidays in Hong Kong in 2026. This is one more than 2025, because Easter Monday (6 April 2026) has been added as a new statutory holiday under the Employment (Amendment) Ordinance 2021. The number will continue to increase: Good Friday will be added in 2028 (taking the total to 16), and the day after Good Friday will be added in 2030 (taking the total to 17, which will then equal the number of general public holidays).
All 15 statutory holidays are paid days off for any employee covered by the Employment Ordinance, including foreign domestic helpers, regardless of how many hours they work per week or how long they have been employed. Employees who have been continuously employed for 3 months or more are entitled to holiday pay calculated on their average daily wages over the previous 12 months.
The Full List of Hong Kong Statutory Holidays for 2026
*Where a statutory holiday falls on a Sunday (a typical rest day), the holiday is granted on the next non-rest, non-holiday day. So in 2026: Ching Ming Festival on Sunday 5 April is observed on Monday 6 April, but because Easter Monday is also that day, the substitute holiday rolls forward; Buddha's Birthday on Sunday 24 May is observed on Monday 25 May; and Chung Yeung Festival on Sunday 18 October is observed on Monday 19 October.
For employee number 14, the employer chooses whether to grant the Chinese Winter Solstice Festival (22 December) or Christmas Day (25 December), but not both. Many Hong Kong employers grant both as part of contractual benefits, but only one is legally required as a statutory holiday.
What Is a Statutory Holiday in Hong Kong?
A statutory holiday in Hong Kong (commonly called a "labour holiday" or 勞工假期 in Cantonese) is a paid day off that every employee is entitled to under the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57). The defining features are:
- Universal entitlement. Every employee covered by the Employment Ordinance is entitled to statutory holidays, regardless of working hours, length of service, or whether they are on a continuous contract. This includes foreign domestic helpers, part-time staff, and probationary employees.
- Mandated by law. Statutory holidays are not negotiable. An employer cannot contract out of them, and failure to grant them is an offence.
- Paid for employees with 3+ months' service. An employee who has been employed under a continuous contract for at least 3 months immediately before the statutory holiday is entitled to holiday pay equal to their average daily wages over the preceding 12 months.
In 2026, Hong Kong's 15 statutory holidays sit alongside 17 general (public) holidays. The two lists overlap significantly but they are not identical. We explain the difference in the next section.
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Statutory Holiday vs General (Public) Holiday: What Is the Difference?
This is the single most common point of confusion in Hong Kong employment law. The two are different legal concepts, set by different ordinances, and they apply to different groups of people.
General Holidays (公眾假期)
General holidays are set by the General Holidays Ordinance and they are the days on which banks, schools, government offices, and the courts must be closed. There are 17 general holidays in Hong Kong in 2026. Most white-collar private-sector employers grant all 17 general holidays as paid leave because their employment contracts say so, but this is a contractual matter, not a legal requirement under the Employment Ordinance.
Statutory Holidays (法定假日)
Statutory holidays are set by the Employment Ordinance and they are the paid days off that employers are legally required to grant to their employees. There are 15 statutory holidays in 2026, increasing to 17 by 2030.
The Two Holidays That Are General But Not Yet Statutory in 2026
In 2026, there are 2 general holidays that are not statutory holidays:
- Good Friday (3 April 2026) - will become statutory from 2028
- The day following Good Friday (4 April 2026) - will become statutory from 2030
If your employer follows only the statutory minimum, you will not receive these 2 days off. If your employer grants all general holidays (which is the norm in offices, finance, and professional services), you will.
In casual conversation, Hong Kong people use "public holiday" to mean general holiday, and the labour-law term for statutory holiday is "labour holiday" or 勞工假期. When checking your contract, look for the specific phrase: "statutory holidays as defined under the Employment Ordinance" gives you 15 days; "general holidays" or "public holidays" usually gives you 17.
How Many Statutory Holidays Are There in Hong Kong by Year
Hong Kong is in the middle of a multi-year increase in statutory holidays. The law passed in 2021 commits the government to gradually align statutory holidays with general holidays over a decade.
By 2030, the list of statutory holidays will be identical to the list of general holidays.
How Much Should You Be Paid for a Statutory Holiday?
If you have been employed under a continuous contract for at least 3 months immediately before a statutory holiday, you are entitled to holiday pay. The amount is calculated using a formula set by the Employment Ordinance.
The Formula
Holiday pay for one day = your average daily wages earned in the 12-month period immediately preceding the statutory holiday.
If you have been employed for less than 12 months, the average is calculated over your actual period of employment.
What Counts as "Wages" for the Calculation
Wages for this purpose include basic salary, commissions, allowances, and any other sums paid for work done. They exclude:
- Periods for which the employee was not paid wages or paid less than full wages (such as unpaid sick leave, no-pay leave, or rest days where pay is not given).
- Lump-sum payments such as end-of-year bonuses that are not directly linked to work performed.
- Payments made during those excluded periods.
A Worked Example
Suppose you earn HKD 30,000 per month in basic salary and an average of HKD 5,000 per month in commissions. Your monthly total is HKD 35,000. Over 12 months, that is HKD 420,000. Divide by the number of working days in those 12 months (roughly 261 for a 5-day week schedule), and your average daily wage is roughly HKD 1,609. That is your statutory holiday pay rate per day.
What If You Have to Work on a Statutory Holiday?
Your employer can ask you to work on a statutory holiday, but they must give you an alternative holiday (also called a "substituted" or "replacement" holiday) within 60 days before or after the original statutory holiday, and they must give you at least 48 hours' notice of the alternative date. You should be paid your normal wages for working that day plus holiday pay for the alternative holiday.
If a statutory holiday falls on your rest day, you are entitled to a holiday on the next day that is not a rest day, statutory holiday, alternative holiday, or substituted holiday.
It is illegal for an employer to make a payment of money in lieu of granting a statutory holiday. The holiday must be taken as a day off.
Statutory Holidays for Domestic Helpers in 2026
Foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong are covered by the Employment Ordinance and are entitled to all 15 statutory holidays in 2026, exactly the same as any other employee. This applies regardless of how long the helper has been working for the employer.
Key rules for domestic helpers:
- Entitlement is universal. Even a helper in their first week of employment is entitled to all statutory holidays as days off. The employer must grant the day off.
- Pay only after 3 months. Holiday pay (the average daily wage) is only owed after the helper has been employed under a continuous contract for at least 3 months. For the first 3 months, the helper gets the day off but the employer is not legally required to pay for it. Most employers do pay because the helper is on a fixed monthly salary.
- Working on a statutory holiday. If you ask your domestic helper to work on a statutory holiday, you must give them an alternative day off within 60 days. You cannot pay them extra in cash to work the day instead.
- Statutory holiday during annual leave. If a statutory holiday falls during the helper's annual leave, the helper must be granted another day of annual leave to compensate.
- Statutory holiday on a rest day. If a statutory holiday falls on the helper's rest day (usually Sunday), the helper is entitled to the next non-rest, non-holiday day off.
The 15 statutory holidays for domestic helpers in 2026 are exactly the same as the 15 listed above for all other employees.
Domestic Helper Annual Leave (Separate from Statutory Holidays)
In addition to the 15 statutory holidays, foreign domestic helpers are entitled to paid annual leave that increases with years of service:
For more on annual leave entitlement, see our complete guide to annual leave in Hong Kong.
Statutory Holidays for Part-Time Employees and New Hires
A common myth in Hong Kong is that part-time staff and new hires are not entitled to statutory holidays. They are. The Employment Ordinance is clear: every employee is entitled to all 15 statutory holidays in 2026, regardless of:
- Hours worked per week
- Length of service
- Whether the employee is on a continuous contract
- Whether the employee is permanent, contract, probationary, or temporary
The only thing that depends on length of service is paid holiday pay, which requires 3 months of continuous service. A part-time worker with less than 3 months of service is still entitled to the day off, just not paid for it (unless their employment contract is more generous).
Statutory Holidays in 2025 (For Reference)
If you are looking back at 2025, Hong Kong had 14 statutory holidays (one fewer than 2026, because Easter Monday was not yet a statutory holiday). They were:
- The first day of January (1 January 2025)
- Lunar New Year's Day (29 January 2025)
- The second day of Lunar New Year (30 January 2025)
- The third day of Lunar New Year (31 January 2025)
- Ching Ming Festival (4 April 2025)
- Labour Day (1 May 2025)
- The Birthday of the Buddha (5 May 2025)
- Tuen Ng Festival (31 May 2025)
- Hong Kong SAR Establishment Day (1 July 2025)
- The day following the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival (7 October 2025)
- National Day (1 October 2025)
- Chung Yeung Festival (29 October 2025)
- Chinese Winter Solstice Festival or Christmas Day (22 or 25 December 2025)
- The first weekday after Christmas Day (26 December 2025)
The 2025 list was sometimes referred to in Cantonese as 2025勞工假期 or 勞工假2025 in casual reference.
Long Weekends and Holiday Planning for 2026
Hong Kong's 2026 calendar has a number of unusually attractive long weekends, especially around Easter and Lunar New Year. Here are the breaks worth planning around:
- Lunar New Year long weekend (14 to 19 February). With Lunar New Year falling on Tuesday 17 February, the Saturday and Sunday before plus three days of Lunar New Year give you a 6-day stretch with no leave taken.
- The Easter / Ching Ming super-bridge (3 to 6 April). Good Friday (3 April), Easter Saturday (4 April), the substitute for Ching Ming (5 April Sunday rolls to Monday 6 April), and Easter Monday (6 April, newly statutory in 2026) overlap to create a 4-day long weekend without any leave taken. This is the single best opportunity in 2026 for a regional trip.
- Labour Day weekend (1 to 3 May). Labour Day falls on a Friday, giving a 3-day weekend.
- Mid-Autumn long weekend (25 to 27 September). The day after Mid-Autumn (26 September) falls on a Saturday, but many employers will substitute the Friday or Monday in lieu.
- Christmas / Boxing Day stretch (24 to 28 December). Christmas Eve afternoon plus Christmas Day (Friday 25 December) plus the first weekday after Christmas (Saturday 26 December rolls to Monday 28 December for many employers) creates a 5-day stretch.
Mid-Autumn Festival, Labour Day, and Other Specific Holidays
Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong
The Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋節) itself is not a statutory holiday in Hong Kong. The statutory holiday is the day following the Mid-Autumn Festival, which in 2026 is 26 September. This is because the festival traditionally centres on the evening of the full moon, when families gather for moon-cake eating and lantern displays, and the next day is given as a recovery day.
Labour Day in Hong Kong
Labour Day (1 May) is a statutory holiday in Hong Kong honouring workers and the labour movement. In 2026, it falls on a Friday, creating a natural long weekend.
Buddha's Birthday in Hong Kong
The Birthday of the Buddha (佛誕) was added to the statutory holiday list in 2022 and is the only traditional Chinese religious holiday recognised as a statutory holiday in Hong Kong. In 2026, it falls on Sunday 24 May, so the holiday is observed on Monday 25 May.
Easter Monday in Hong Kong
Easter Monday is the newest statutory holiday in Hong Kong, effective from 1 January 2026. It falls on 6 April 2026 and combines with Good Friday (a general holiday but not yet statutory until 2028), Easter Saturday, and the Ching Ming substitute to create a 4-day Easter weekend.
FAQs About Statutory Holidays in Hong Kong
What is a statutory holiday in Hong Kong?
A statutory holiday in Hong Kong is a paid day off that every employee is entitled to under the Employment Ordinance, regardless of working hours or length of service. There are 15 statutory holidays in 2026.
What is a statutory holiday in HK?
In Hong Kong, a statutory holiday is a holiday legally mandated by the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57). It is different from a general holiday, which is set by the General Holidays Ordinance and applies to banks, schools, and government offices. There are 15 statutory holidays in 2026 and 17 general holidays.
How many statutory holidays in Hong Kong 2026?
There are 15 statutory holidays in Hong Kong in 2026. Easter Monday was added as a new statutory holiday from 1 January 2026.
How many statutory holidays in Hong Kong 2025?
There were 14 statutory holidays in Hong Kong in 2025. Easter Monday was not yet a statutory holiday.
How many statutory holidays are there in HK 2025?
14 statutory holidays in 2025, increasing to 15 in 2026 with the addition of Easter Monday.
Are domestic helpers entitled to statutory holidays?
Yes. Foreign domestic helpers are covered by the Employment Ordinance and are entitled to all 15 statutory holidays in 2026, regardless of length of service. Holiday pay is owed after 3 months of continuous service.
Can my employer pay me money instead of giving me a statutory holiday off?
No. It is illegal for an employer to make a payment of money in lieu of granting a statutory holiday. The day must be granted as a day off. If you are required to work on a statutory holiday, your employer must give you an alternative day off within 60 days.
What happens if a statutory holiday falls on my rest day?
If a statutory holiday falls on your rest day (usually Sunday), you are entitled to a holiday on the next day that is not a rest day, statutory holiday, alternative holiday, or substituted holiday. So in 2026, when Buddha's Birthday falls on Sunday 24 May, the holiday is observed on Monday 25 May.
What is the difference between a statutory holiday and a public holiday in Hong Kong?
In Hong Kong, "public holiday" is the everyday term for a "general holiday", which is set by the General Holidays Ordinance and applies to banks, schools, and the courts. A statutory holiday is set by the Employment Ordinance and is the legally required paid day off for employees. There are 17 general holidays and 15 statutory holidays in 2026; the 2 differences in 2026 are Good Friday and the day following Good Friday, both of which will be added to the statutory list by 2030.
Will Hong Kong have more statutory holidays in the future?
Yes. The Employment (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 sets out a phased increase: 16 statutory holidays from 2028 (Good Friday added) and 17 statutory holidays from 2030 (the day following Good Friday added). After 2030, the statutory and general holiday lists will be identical.
Does an employer have to pay holiday pay if I have only worked for 1 month?
The day off is mandatory regardless of length of service, but holiday pay is only owed after 3 months of continuous employment. If you have only worked for 1 month, your employer must give you the day off but is not legally required to pay you for it (unless your employment contract is more generous, which most contracts are).
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Last updated: April 2026. This article is general information and does not constitute legal advice. Always confirm specific entitlements against your employment contract and the Hong Kong Labour Department's official guidance at labour.gov.hk before making decisions.
