LCQ7: Premature termination of contracts by foreign domestic helpers
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Question:
There are views reflecting that many employers of foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) have encountered situations in which some FDHs terminated their employment contracts prematurely for various reasons. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of FDHs who left Hong Kong upon unilaterally and prematurely terminating their contracts without giving notice to their employer in each of the past three years, broken down by the FDHs' places of origin;
(2) of the number of FDHs who prematurely terminated their contracts in each of the past three years, broken down by the FDHs' places of origin;
(3) among the cases of departure from Hong Kong under (1), of the number of FDHs who re-applied to work in Hong Kong and the number of contracts approved by the Immigration Department in each of the past three years; and
(4) given that the costs of applying for FDHs to come to Hong Kong are considerable, whether the Government has any plans to further protect the rights and interests of employers, such as requiring employment agencies to bear the relevant costs on a pro-rata basis when FDHs terminate their contracts without cause within the first three to six months; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
Employers who employ foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) to work in Hong Kong are required to enter into a two-year Standard Employment Contract (SEC) with FDHs. Under the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57) and SEC, either the employer or the FDH may terminate the contract before its expiry by giving the other party one month's notice in writing or one month's wages in lieu of notice. The Government has consistently encouraged employers and FDHs to maintain harmonious employment relationships, and is concerned about cases in which contracts are prematurely terminated, whether at the initiative of the FDHs or the employers.
Having consulted the Security Bureau and the Immigration Department (ImmD), the reply to the question is as follows:
(1) to (3) The ImmD is committed to combating the abuse of the arrangement for premature termination of contract by FDHs to change employers (commonly known as "job-hopping"). In June 2013, the ImmD set up a special duties team to strengthen the assessment of employment visa applications from FDHs who change employers frequently.
In vetting the employment visa applications from FDHs, the ImmD will refer suspected "job-hopping" cases to the special duties team for investigation. Case officers will holistically consider a host of factors, including the conduct of the FDHs, records of the FDHs and their former employers, and the reported reasons for premature termination of employment contracts. Having regard to the actual circumstances of individual cases, case officers will also, where necessary, proactively contact the former employers and the applicants to verify the reasons for premature termination of contracts. For FDHs suspected of "job-hopping", the ImmD will decisively refuse their employment visa applications and ask them to leave Hong Kong. The ImmD will also retain their application records and take them into account when vetting future applications from the FDHs concerned for employment visas or extension of stay.
Over the past three years (as of October 2026), ImmD's special duties team conducted investigations into 3 303 employment visa applications from FDHs suspected of "job-hopping". Of these, 455 applications were eventually rejected, while 259 applications were withdrawn by the applicants or could not be followed up. A yearly breakdown of these statistics is at the Annex.
The ImmD does not maintain a breakdown of the relevant statistics by the nationality of applicants, nor any of the other statistics mentioned in the question.
(4) At present, employers may hire FDHs through employment agencies (EAs) or on their own. The services provided by EAs, their fees, and the follow-up arrangements in the event of premature termination of contracts by FDHs are agreed between EAs and employers having regard to the scope of services and the needs of both parties. To safeguard employers' interests as consumers, the Government is committed to enhancing the transparency of EAs' services and fees, so that employers may, on an informed basis, choose different service arrangements offered by EAs according to their needs. To this end, the Labour Department revised the Code of Practice for Employment Agencies (CoP) in May 2024 to require EAs to clearly state whether, if an FDH prematurely terminates the contract, they will provide a refund, arrange a replacement FDH or make other arrangements, and whether additional fees will be charged, with a view to enhancing the transparency of charging and service arrangements, and enabling employers to make informed decisions when choosing EAs. EAs that fail to comply with the CoP may have their licences revoked or renewal refused by the Labour Department, or be issued with warnings urging rectification.
Ends/Wednesday, November 11, 2026
Issued at HKT 14:35
Issued at HKT 14:35
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