The Hong Kong Employment (Amendment) Ordinance 2021, which focuses on progressively increasing statutory annual paid public holidays from 13 days to 17 days by 2030, entered into effect on 5 March 2021. The first of the five additional public holidays, the Birthday of Buddha, became effective in 2022. The second one, which falls on the first weekday after Christmas, will become available to employees in December 2024.
Key details
Starting in 2024, the additional permanent public holiday, the first weekday after Christmas (Thursday, 26 December 2024), will bring the total number of public holidays in Hong Kong to 14 days.
Hong Kong statutory public holidays will continue to be added according to the schedule below until fully enacted in 2030:
- Easter Monday will be effective from 1 January 2026,
- Good Friday will be effective from 1 January 2028, and
- The day following Good Friday day will be effective from 1 January 2028.
Next steps
Employers should ensure compliance by amending their HR internal policies and practices, employment agreements and company-level collective bargaining agreements, as needed.
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