The two rules side by side
| Rule | What it means |
|---|---|
| 60 days: enrolment | Enrol the employee in an MPF scheme within the first 60 days of employment, counted in calendar days from the first day, holidays included |
| 60 days: first payment | First contributions are due on or before the contribution day (the 10th) after the calendar month in which the 60th day of employment falls |
| 30 days: employee holiday | No employee contribution for the first 30 days, nor for any incomplete wage period immediately after, if the wage period is a month or shorter |
| Employer, from day one | The employer's contributions are calculated from the first day of employment |
Enrolment within 60 days
Except for exempt persons, employers must enrol full-time and part-time employees aged 18 to 64 who have been employed for a continuous period of 60 days or more within the first 60 days of their employment[1]. The MPFA's example: an employee starting on 19 June must be enrolled on or before 17 August, the 60th day[1]. If the 60th day is a Saturday, a public holiday, a gale or black rainstorm warning day, or a day the eMPF Platform is suspended, the deadline moves to the next day that is none of those[1].
Enrolment is done through the eMPF Platform and needs the employee's fund choice, personal particulars and a tax residency self-certification; without the self-certification the account cannot be opened[1]. If an employee does not cooperate, the employer should still submit the enrolment request by the 60th day[1]. A series of contracts shorter than 60 days each does not avoid the duty when the employment relationship runs 60 days or more[1].
The 30-day contribution holiday
The holiday is the employee's, not yours. A new employee does not contribute for the first 30 days of employment, nor for any incomplete wage period immediately following those 30 days where the wage period is a month or shorter; where the wage period is longer than a month, the holiday covers the calendar month in which the 30th day falls[2]. The employer's contributions start from the first day[2].
A worked example
The MPFA's example is an employee whose first day is 5 June. No employee contribution is deducted for 5 June to 4 July, the 30-day holiday. Her 30th day falls in July, so July is also contribution-free for her, and the first employee deduction is for August, remitted on or before 10 September. The employer's contributions run from 5 June[2].
Counting her 60 days from 5 June, the 60th day is 3 August, so applying the first-payment rule above, the employer's contributions for June, July and August are all due on or before 10 September, the contribution day after August[2]. The payment that lands in September is therefore larger than a normal month for the employer.
Who the rules do not cover
Exempt persons include employees under 18 or over 65, domestic employees, and people who enter Hong Kong for employment for not more than 13 months or who belong to a retirement scheme outside Hong Kong[5]. Casual employees in the catering and construction industries follow different rules: if they have no account in the employer's Industry Scheme, they are enrolled within the first 10 days of employment, and they have no contribution holiday, so both sides contribute from the first day[3].
Missing the 60 days
An employer who fails to enrol an employee on time is liable to a maximum fine of HK$350,000 and imprisonment for three years[1][4]. A contribution paid after the contribution day is a default contribution, which brings a surcharge of 5% of the default amount[4].
On the first payroll
- Note the start date, then the 30th and 60th days.
- Collect the fund choice and tax residency self-certification in the first week.
- Start the employer contribution from day one, even while no employee deduction is made.
Rules, forms and figures can change, and the official pages listed below are the authority wherever this summary differs from them.