June 2025 - Employment law update: HK revises "Continuous Contract" definition- from 418 to 468 Rule

On 18 June 2025, the Legislative Council passed the Employment (Amendment) Bill 2025, introducing a more inclusive definition of "continuous contract" under the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57). This reform replaces the long-standing "418 rule" with a more flexible "468 rule", designed to extend statutory employment protections to a broader group of employees, particularly those under part-time or irregular work arrangements. The change reflects the government's commitment to fairer labour practices and greater social protection for all workers in line with today's diverse employment landscape.

Summary of key amendments

The Amendment Ordinance introduces two major changes to the existing "continuous contract" requirement:

1. Reduction of weekly working hours threshold:

The threshold has been lowered from 18 hours to 17 hours per week, thereby broadening the scope of employees eligible for statutory benefits.

2. Introduction of a four-week aggregation mechanism:
A new provision allows for the calculation of continuous employment based on an aggregate of 68 working hours over any four consecutive weeks. Under this mechanism, a week with fewer than 17 hours will still count toward continuous employment if the total hours over the four-week period meet the 68-hour threshold.

These changes are intended to enhance flexibility in the assessment of employment continuity and reduce disruptions caused by occasional short work weeks.

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