Hong Kong employers must enrol eligible employees aged 18 to 64 in an MPF scheme, and employer and employee each normally contribute 5 per cent of relevant income, up to HK$1,500 a month each. Contributions are due by the 10th day after each contribution period, and wages must be paid within seven days of the end of the wage period.
The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance requires employers to enrol most employees aged 18 to 64 who are employed for 60 days or more into an MPF scheme with an approved trustee. The employee chooses a scheme and an investment fund, and the employer must start contributions from the beginning of employment, with the enrolment process finished within the statutory period of 60 days.
Exemptions are limited. Employees covered by an occupational retirement scheme registered under the Occupational Retirement Schemes Ordinance, and certain categories such as domestic employees and some overseas workers on short assignments, are outside the mandatory system. Construction and catering workers who are casual or daily-rated join the industry schemes instead.
Self-employed persons must also contribute, in their own capacity. If you hire staff for a sole proprietorship, remember that your own contribution is separate from the employer contribution you owe for them.
New starters need a short checklist: signed contract, identity card or passport copy, trustee and fund selection, and an entry in the payroll system on the first day. If a probation period runs for three months, the MPF clock still starts at the beginning of employment, not at confirmation.
Mandatory contributions are 5 per cent of the employee's relevant income from each side. Relevant income includes wages, salary, commission, bonus, allowances and similar payments, but not severance or long service payments. The relevant income is subject to a monthly minimum of HK$7,100, below which the employee is not required to contribute while the employer must still make its own contribution, and a maximum of HK$30,000, so the mandatory contribution is capped at HK$1,500 for each party.
Take a concrete case. An employee earning HK$18,000 a month generates HK$900 from the employee and HK$900 from the employer, a total of HK$1,800. An employee on HK$45,000 generates HK$1,500 and HK$1,500, because only HK$30,000 counts. A part-time worker on HK$6,500 a month generates an employer contribution of HK$325 but no employee contribution.
Employers may contribute more than the mandatory amount under the contract, and employees can make voluntary contributions. Always check the MPF Authority's published figures before each year's payroll set-up, since the minimum and maximum levels are set by regulation and can change.
When an employee leaves, the accrued benefits stay in the scheme account and belong to the employee; they can be transferred to a personal account or a new employer's scheme. The employer cannot hold them back, and cannot withhold the employee's own contributions. Give leavers a note of their scheme and member number so they can manage the account themselves.
The employer deducts the employee's share from wages and pays both shares to the trustee by the contribution day, which is the 10th day after the end of each contribution period. Failure to pay on time can lead to a surcharge and to prosecution, and an employer cannot pay the employee's share out of its own pocket in place of deducting it. Keep the remittance advice for each payment as part of the payroll file.
The eMPF Platform operated by the MPF Authority is gradually centralising scheme administration; trustees are being migrated onto it, and employers use it to submit contribution information and make payments. The exact process depends on which stage your trustees have reached, so check your trustee's notices before the next payroll cycle.
From 1 May 2025 an employer can no longer use the accrued benefits from its mandatory MPF contributions to offset severance or long service payments for service after that date, with transitional rules for earlier service. Budget for severance on termination accordingly.
The Employment Ordinance requires wages to be paid within seven days of the end of the wage period, and a wage period cannot exceed one month. Deductions are allowed only for permitted reasons, and the employee must receive the agreed pay for rest days and statutory holidays once the qualifying conditions are met. Employees under a continuous contract, which generally means employment for four weeks or more with at least 18 hours a week, have additional rights such as paid annual leave, which starts at seven days after the first year and rises with service.
Employers must keep wage and employment records, and the Inland Revenue Department also expects payroll records to be kept for seven years. Your payroll file should include the contract, payslips, attendance or timesheets, leave taken, MPF remittances and any employer's return forms.
Disputes over wages go to the Labour Tribunal, where a claim is determined without lawyers. Accurate timesheets and leave records are the most persuasive evidence on either side.
A month-end checklist keeps the cycle tight: collect approved timesheets and leave, calculate gross pay and deductions, have a second person check the totals, release payments within the seven-day window, remit MPF by the contribution day and file the payslips and remittance advice together. If a new employee started during the month, add the enrolment form and the trustee selection to the file.
4softhr is an HR and time-tracking module that holds employees, leave and timesheets. It does not calculate Hong Kong payroll or MPF amounts; you compute those in your own payroll process or with your trustee's tools, then record the results. Keeping staff records, contract dates and leave balances in one module gives you the data you need for the monthly calculation.
4notify sends SMS and e-mail messages from your account. Payroll teams can use it to send staff a message when payslips are available or to remind a manager to submit timesheets; the content and timing are yours to choose. It does not send anything to the MPF Authority or to the trustees.
MPF amounts are worked out by hand each month, errors creep in with pay changes and new joiners, and late payment triggers a surcharge.
Calculate MPF contributions with your trustee or payroll provider using the current rates and caps, and pay by the 10th of the following month. 4softhr does not calculate payroll or MPF (payroll calculation is available for Romania only) and sends no automatic reminders.
Leave, sick leave and statutory holiday records are scattered, so every payroll run means checking several files.
Keep attendance, leave and timesheet records in 4softhr as a reference for your payroll. It does not produce payslips or calculate salaries.
The mandatory employer contribution is 5 per cent of the employee's relevant income, subject to a maximum relevant income of HK$30,000 a month, so the cap is HK$1,500 per month for the employer. The employee contributes the same percentage, except that employees earning below HK$7,100 a month do not need to contribute. Check the MPF Authority's current levels before running payroll.
By the contribution day, which is the 10th day after the end of the contribution period. The employer deducts the employee's share from wages and pays both shares to the trustee. Late payment can lead to a surcharge and prosecution. Keep the remittance record. Check your trustee's notices because the eMPF Platform changes how submissions are made.
Generally yes if they are aged 18 to 64 and employed for 60 days or more, regardless of hours. Casual employees in construction and catering join the industry schemes. Employees below the minimum relevant income do not pay their own share, but the employer still contributes. Confirm each category with the MPF Authority before excluding anyone.
From that date, employers can no longer use the accrued benefits from their mandatory MPF contributions to offset severance or long service payments for service after that date. Earlier service is covered by transitional rules. Plan for the full cost of severance in budgets and employment terms and ask your adviser how the transition applies to current staff.
No. 4softhr holds employees, leave and timesheets, which provide the inputs, but payroll calculation in 4softhr is available for Romania only. Hong Kong salary and MPF amounts are calculated in your own payroll process or with your trustee's tools. Use the HR records to check hours, leave and start dates before each run.
HR and time tracking; MPF and payroll are handled with your trustee and payroll provider.
