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Sickness Allowance Entitlement

To be entitled to sickness allowance, the employee must take 4 or more consecutive days of sick leave, can produce a medical certificate issued by a registered medical practitioner, registered Chinese medicine practitioner or registered dentist, and has accumulated sufficient number of paid sickness days.

An employee who has been employed by his employer under a continuous contract for a period of one month is entitled to paid sickness days. During the first year, paid sickness days are accumulated at the rate of two days for each completed month of employment. From the second year onwards, he is entitled to 4 paid sickness days for each month of service. The maximum no. of accumulated paid sickness days is 120 days.

Paid sickness days are divided into two categories:

Category 1 can only accumulate up to 36 days. Paid sickness days in excess of 36 days will then flow into Category 2.

Category 2 can only accumulate up to 84 days.

An employee is required to produce a medical certificate issued by a registered medical practitioner, registered Chinese medicine practitioner or registered dentist if he wants to take the paid sickness days in Category 1. But if he needs to take paid sickness days in Category 2, his employer can require him to produce a medical certificate issued by a registered medical practitioner, registered Chinese medicine practitioner or registered dentist attending him as an out-patient or in-patient in a hospital.

Sickness allowance

The daily rate of sickness allowance shall be a sum equivalent to four-fifths of the daily average of the wages earned by the employee during the period of 12 months immediately before the sickness day of the employee. It should be paid on the normal pay day.

Termination during paid sick leave

It is an offence for an employer to terminate the contract of employment of an employee on his paid sickness day, except in cases of summary dismissal due to the employee's serious misconduct. An employer who contravenes the provision is liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, to a fine of $100,000. Besides, the employer is required to pay the employee:

1. wages in lieu of notice;

2. a further sum equivalent to seven days' wages as compensation; and

3. any sickness allowance to which the employee is entitled.

If you have any further queries on the relevant provisions of the Employment Ordinance, please contact the telephone hotline 2717 1771 (handled by the 1823 Call Centre) or Offices of the Labour Relations Division of the Labour Department.

Date of amendment: 22nd February 2013