The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government on Friday gazetted an amended bill, which seeks to revise the working hour threshold of the continuous contract requirement under the Employment Ordinance.

The move aims to make it easier for employees to meet the revised continuous contract requirement and thus enable them to enjoy comprehensive employment benefits, according to the government.

Under the Employment (Amendment) Bill 2025, the weekly working hours threshold of the continuous contract requirement will be lowered from 18 hours to 17 hours.

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Also, a week with less than 17 working hours will still be regarded as a period under the continuous contract of employment once the sum of the working hours of that week and those of the three weeks immediately preceding it reaches 68 hours.

“The existing eligibility criteria for employees to enjoy various statutory benefits under the EO will remain unchanged,” said a Labour Department spokesman.

Subject to a smooth passage of the bill, the amendment ordinance will come into operation on the first Sunday after six months upon its gazettal, said the department.

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During this period, it will widely publicize the salient features of the amendments to employers and employees through various channels, facilitating both parties in getting prepared."

The bill will be introduced into the Legislative Council for first and second readings on April 16.