HR Service Providers Directory
人力資源服務機構目錄 •
2016
HR Hot Topic in Hong Kong 香 港 人 力 資 源 熱 門 話 題
Hong Kong Employee Benefits Survey
香港僱員福利調查
Nowadays diverse employee benefits have become indispensable incentives to enhance employee engagement and talent
retention in addition to base pay. Asides from providing employees with benefits that meet the statutory requirements,
employers now put greater emphasis on employee wellness and work-life balance initiatives to ensure productivity, enhance
staff loyalty and retain talent.
HKIHRM conducted the 2015 Benefits Survey, with findings indicating that the percentage of organisations offering different
kinds of non-statutory leave entitlements to staff has remained stable over the last three years when similar results were
revealed in 2013.
Administered once every three years, HKIHRM Benefits Survey is well-established with its start in 1998. Conducted between
May and August 2015, the 2015 Benefits Survey polled a total of 210 organisations from 22 industry or business sectors
covering a total of 129,000 full-time salaried employees. As one of the most comprehensive benefits surveys of its kind
specific to Hong Kong, 30 employee benefit areas were covered in the report, such as different leave entitlements, retirement
schemes, medical benefits, meal benefits, transportation benefits, long-service recognition benefits, accommodation
benefits, together with staff retention programmes.
Provision of Different Types of Leave
It was revealed during the survey that the basic/initial annual leave entitlement
across all employee levels in all the business sectors ranged from 10 days
to 19 days on average. 58.2% of the companies offered sick leave
entitlement in compliance with the statutory minimum requirement with
no exception while 21.1% of employers offered sick leave payment
Retirement
Plans
higher than the statutory requirement in general (four or more
consecutive days at the rate of four-fifths of an employee’s
ordinary wage). (Chart 1)
93.7% of the employers imposed service requirements for
maternity leave payment on eligible employees according to
the employment ordinance. As for the organisations offering
maternity leave, 57.2% would grant maternity leave payment
based on the statutory requirement (i.e. 80% of 10 weeks of
salary) while 42.8% provided benefits better than the statutory
requirements. Meanwhile, 18.7% of employers offered paternity
leave entitlement better than the statutory requirement
(i.e. three days of 80% paid leave), with a maximum of five days
on average granted to eligible employees. (Chart 1)
Transportation
Benefits
Leave
Medical
Benefits
Long Service
Recognition
Insurance
Meal
Benefits
Retention
Programmes
Chart 1 : Provision of Statutory Leave Entitlements for Employees
Equal to statutory requirements
58.2%
57.2%
Leave category
Better than statutory requirements
Sick leave
21.1%
Maternity leave
80.4% Paternity leave
Base = 210 organisations from 22 industry or business sectors in the 2015 survey
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18.7%
42.8%
HR Service Providers Directory
Hong Kong Employee Benefits Survey 香港僱員福利調查
人力資源服務機構目錄 •
2016
As revealed by the survey findings, 42.9% of the employers offered study and examination leave, with a maximum entitlement of
five days on average. 96.6% of the employers granted such leave to eligible employees on a fully paid basis. The majority of the
employers (89%) offered other sorts of non-statutory special leave to the employees, including compassionate leave, marriage
leave, family leave, coupled with birthday leave. The non-statutory leave maximum entitlement for each category ranged from
one day to four days on average. Of all kinds of special leave provided, 17.6% of employers offered birthday leave to employees,
a significant increase of 5.3 percentage points as compared to 12.3% of employers found in the 2012 survey. (Chart 2)
Chart 2 : Provision of Non-Statutory Leave Entitlements for Employees
Leave entitlement category Percentages of surveyed organisations in offering different leave entitlements
2015
2012
2009
94.7%
Compassionate leave
93.6%
98%
88.8%
Marriage leave
85.8%
85%
42.9%
Study & examination leave
47.2%
46.3%
18.7%
Family leave
19.6%
7.8%
17.6%
Birthday leave
12.3%
5.9%
10.2%
Voluntary service leave
10.8%
3.9%
7.0%
Community service leave
8.8%
3.9%
1.1%
Graduation leave
1.5%
Number of participating organisations: 175 organisations in 2009; 229 organisations in 2012; and 210 organisations in 2015
Medical Benefits
The survey findings revealed that the major medical benefits provided by employers included clinical (outpatient) benefit
(96.2%), hospitalisation benefit (95.7%), dental benefit (59.5%), as well as medical check-up (47.4%). Compared with the results
of the 2012 survey, there was a decrease in the proportion of employers providing medical check-up, dental benefit and clinical
(outpatient) benefit. Nevertheless, the provision for hospitalisation benefit by employers edged up to 95.7% from 95.2% in 2012.
It was shown that the medical check-up benefit was usually provided to top-management employees. In the survey, 19.2%
of the employers reported that this benefit was extended to the dependents of eligible employees, up 1.4 percentage points
from the previous survey. The banking/financial services sector recorded the highest percentage of employers offering
medical check-up (72.7%).
Retirement Protection
The average retirement age for employees across the 22 industry and business sectors covered in the survey was 62. 64.2%
of the employers made delayed retirement arrangements through extending retirement age, extending contracts and offering
short-term contracts.
It was revealed all employers in the survey offered Mandatory Provident Fund Scheme to their employees while 11.5% of the
employers offered new employees the option to join either Occupational Retirement Schemes or MPF Scheme.
For employer’s contribution of MPF Scheme, over half (62.5%) of the employers capped the contribution at the statutory 5%
while 28.8% reported the employer’s MPF contribution was above the mandatory 5% for all employees.
Long Service Recognition
Over half (66.2%) of the employers provided non-cash rewards including golden gifts, certificates/trophies/awards/letters of
appreciation, gifts/souvenirs and additional leave to long-serving employees. 21.7% of the employers provided a service-related
cash bonus with the media/publishing sector (40%) reporting the highest percentage of companies that provided this benefit.
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HR Service Providers Directory
Hong Kong Employee Benefits Survey 香港僱員福利調查
人力資源服務機構目錄 •
2016
Retention Initiatives
The survey showed that 77.1% of companies offered education subsidies for their staff (excluding any training provided
directly by the company). The average maximum subsidy entitlement across different employee levels was HK$17,110.
Some business sectors reported a high proportion of companies providing education subsidies for employees, including
high-tech/IT (88.9%), social/community services (87.5%), hospitality/tourism/leisure (87.5%) and retail (85%).
As regards the retention bonus offered by the employers, it ranges from 1.2 to 3.5 months of salary across various employee
levels from general/supporting staff to top management. The estate/property management sector recorded the highest
percentage of companies (50%) providing this benefit, followed by business services, insurance, and oil/chemicals/energy
sectors (all at 33.3%).
Work-life Balance Initiatives
The majority of the surveyed companies recognised the importance of work-life balance initiatives and measures as a tool
to enhance employee wellness and engagement and retain staff. 83.7% of the companies reported they provided work-life
balance initiatives.
Of all the work-life balance initiatives covered in the survey, a five-day work week was mostly adopted by the employers,
with 89.7% of the organisations practicing this policy. Some other work-life balance measures have seen a marked increase
in popularity among the employers since the 2012 survey. These included flexible working hours (28.2%), part-time work
(27.2%), employee assistance programmes (26.4%) and working from home (19%).
Benefits for Employees Stationed in Mainland China
26.7% of the surveyed companies had employees stationed in Mainland China. 52.9% and 15.7% of employers offered China
allowance and hardship allowance respectively, seeing a drop in percentage points for both items from the 2012 survey. The
China allowance entitlement for employees at different levels ranged from 13.1% to 17.1% of annual base salary.
Industry and business sectors that reported to have employees stationed in Mainland China were mainly related to professional
& consultancy services (30%), followed by retail (21.1%), manufacturing (18.8%), construction/property development (15.8%),
high-tech/IT (11.1%) and banking/financial services (10%).
More Innovative Benefits to Enhance Employee Engagement and Retain Staff
The key take-away points from the benefits survey are that employers have recognised the importance of employee
well-being and work-life balance as key strategies to improve employee engagement, loyalty and retention. A marked increase
in company numbers is seen to offer birthday leave and have medical and dental benefits extended to the dependents of eligible
employees. This illustrates the fact that employers are making greater commitment to adopting family-friendly measures to
proactively respond to the global trend and support the government’s drive to promote such initiatives in the workplace.
Although it is understood that base pay is an important factor in retaining staff, employers can always consider different
types of employee benefit which can cater for the work-life balance and specific needs of employees, such as their family
commitment, study and career development plans, as well as a pursuit of personal interests. It was found that more innovative
benefits are offered by employers to address the wellbeing and healthcare needs of employees. The survey revealed that the
medical check-up benefit is usually offered to employees in top management. However, trends show that provision of medical
check-up benefits by organisations is becoming an important measure to enhance employee engagement and help retain
staff. Employers may consider offering employees at all levels flexible medical check-up schemes that meet the needs of staff
at different age stages and of different genders. When employees notice that their employers make efforts to address their
career and personal needs, they will show stronger loyalty and be more willing to excel themselves in their work. Employee
engagement and enthusiasm can always be the keys to corporate success.
To order the full report, please contact HKIHRM Research
and Development Department:
E: [email protected]
T: (852) 2837 3815
F: (852) 2881 6062
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