What is a continuous contract? What benefits should I provide to my employees who are under a continuous contract?

Employees who are continuously employed are entitled to many additional benefits under the Employment Ordinance. Therefore, as an employer, it is important to understand if your employees are under a continuous contract or not.

According to the Employment Ordinance, an employee who has been employed by the same employer for four weeks or more, with at least 18 hours worked in each week, is regarded as being employed under a continuous contract of employment.

This is applicable for both full-time and part-time employees.

Benefits and Entitlements

All employees are entitled to certain basic benefits such as:

• Payment of wages
• Restriction on wage deductions
• Statutory Holidays

However, Continuous employees are entitled to additional benefits:

• Rest days
• Paid annual leave
• Sickness allowance
• Paid maternity leave and paternity leave
• Severance / long service payments, provided other conditions are met by the employee.

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