Simplify your HR paperwork

When you hire someone. An employment contract sets the role, wages, working hours, leave, probation, confidentiality and notice. The Employment Ordinance requires the employer to inform the employee of the conditions of service -- wages, wage period, notice and any end-of-year payment -- before employment begins, and a written contract is the cleanest way to do it.

When you make an offer. An offer or appointment letter records the position, wages, start date and conditions before the formal contract, and is often the document a candidate relies on to resign elsewhere.

When you protect the business. Confidentiality and non-compete or non-solicitation clauses guard trade secrets and client relationships, but in Hong Kong a restraint of trade is only enforceable if it protects a legitimate interest and is no wider than reasonably necessary.

When an engagement ends. A termination letter, resignation acceptance or letter of release records the date, the notice served and the final payments, which is essential if the parting is contested before the Labour Tribunal.

• Employment contracts and appointment letters: role, wages, hours, leave, probation and notice.
• Offer letters: position, compensation, start date and conditions of the offer.
• Confidentiality, non-compete and non-solicitation clauses: scoped to a legitimate business interest.
• Termination, resignation and release letters: with notice, final payments and return of property.
• Supporting HR documents: warning letters, variation letters and reference or service certificates.

The Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57) is the core statute, administered by the Labour Department. Its central concept is the continuous contract, defined by the "418 rule": an employee who has worked for the same employer for four or more weeks, with at least eighteen hours in each week, is employed under a continuous contract and earns the fuller set of statutory benefits -- rest days, paid annual leave, sickness allowance, severance payment and long service payment. Wages must be paid within the statutory time limit after the end of the wage period, and the Minimum Wage Ordinance (Cap. 608) sets the statutory minimum hourly wage below which no contract can go.

Contributions and insurance sit alongside the contract. Under the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance (Cap. 485), an employer must enrol a relevant employee in an MPF scheme within sixty days and make mandatory contributions of five per cent of relevant income (matched by the employee, subject to the statutory minimum and maximum levels). The Employees' Compensation Ordinance (Cap. 282) makes it compulsory for every employer to hold insurance covering work injuries, on a no-fault basis -- operating without it is an offence.

Termination and restraint clauses are the classic traps. Notice must follow the contract or, where the contract is silent, the default of not less than one month for a continuous contract; either party may instead pay wages in lieu of notice. Summary dismissal without notice is reserved for serious misconduct. A post-employment non-compete is enforceable only if it protects a legitimate proprietary interest -- such as confidential information or client connections -- and is reasonable in scope, duration and geography; a blanket ban on competing is likely to be struck down.

• Drafted for the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57) and current Labour Department practice.
• Built with MPF (Cap. 485), employees' compensation insurance (Cap. 282) and the statutory minimum wage (Cap. 608) in mind.
• Reviewed by legal professionals, with a focus on clear wages, benefits and notice.
• Ready to use as PDF and Word, so you can issue or adapt them immediately.
• Practical structure: guided fields for role, compensation, probation and notice.