Age, Employment Relationship and the 60-Day Rule 年齡、僱傭關係與60日規定
To decide whether MPF membership is required, check the person's age, work status and any applicable exemption. Relevant employees and self-employed persons aged 18 to 64 are generally covered. An employment contract may be written or oral, with express or implied terms, so the absence of a signed contract does not establish that there is no employment relationship.
Employees other than casual employees meet the regular employee employment requirement after continuous employment under an employment contract for at least 60 days. Both full-time and part-time employees are included. The test concerns the duration of the employment relationship, rather than days actually worked; work location and working hours do not determine whether this 60-day test is met.
Short contracts must also be considered in the context of the continuing employment relationship. An employee whose employment ends before 60 days and who is re-employed by the same employer can still be covered if the arrangement constitutes a continuous contract under the Employment Ordinance lasting at least 60 days. Each short contract being shorter than 60 days does not by itself establish exclusion.
MPF coverage and the employee's obligation to contribute are separate questions. For a complete month after the contribution holiday, the current monthly minimum and maximum relevant income levels for regular employees are HK$7,100 and HK$30,000. Below the minimum, the employee pays no mandatory contribution, but the employer pays 5% of actual relevant income. From the minimum upwards, each pays 5%, capped at HK$1,500 each per month. Low income alone does not remove the enrolment requirement. [MPFA: Employee mandatory contributions](https://www.mpfa.org.hk/en/mpf-system/mandatory-contributions/employees)
Casual Employees and the Two Designated Industries 臨時僱員與兩個指定行業
A casual employee under the MPF System is someone employed by an employer in catering or construction on a day-to-day basis or for a fixed period shorter than 60 days. Subject to the age requirement and exemptions, coverage applies regardless of employment duration. Summer workers and substitutes who work for another person for a few days and receive cash payment can also be covered. A short contract in another industry does not by itself make someone a casual employee under this definition.
For Industry Schemes, catering includes businesses holding food business licences or permits under the Food Business Regulation, school and workplace canteens, and catering establishments inside clubs. Examples span food factories, milk factories, frozen confection factories, bakeries, restaurants, factory canteens, siu mei or lo mei shops, cold stores, fresh provision shops, cooked food stalls operating in public markets or holding hawker licences, and Chinese herb tea shops.
Construction covers eight categories: foundation and associated works; civil engineering and associated works; demolition and structural alteration; refurbishment and maintenance; general building construction; fire services, mechanical, electrical and associated works; gas, plumbing, drainage and associated works; and interior fitting-out. Examine the actual work involved: interior fitting-out and maintenance are included.
Relevant businesses include general building contractors, specialist ventilation contractors, electrical contractors, lift and escalator contractors, builders' lift contractors, gas contractors, registered fire service installation contractors, licensed plumbers and approved public works contractors. Subcontractors receiving work directly or indirectly from these businesses or persons are also included.
Self-employed Persons and Sources of Income 自僱人士與收入來源的區分
A self-employed person's relevant income arises, outside the capacity of an employee, from producing goods or services wholly or partly in Hong Kong, or trading in goods or services in or from Hong Kong. Sole proprietors and partners in partnerships are common examples. Examine how the person actually works and earns income.
Typical examples include taxi, public light bus and van drivers who rent rather than own their vehicles, and private tutors or piano teachers. Vehicle owners earning income from both driving and renting out vehicles, and taxi owners earning income solely from taxi rental, are also usually self-employed. Farmers and fishermen are usually self-employed, although someone employed by another farmer or fisherman must be assessed as an employee.
Shareholders receiving only dividends, and property owners receiving only rent without carrying on a property letting business, are generally neither employees nor self-employed persons. Those receipts therefore do not themselves bring them within MPF coverage. Overseas partners of partnerships carrying on business in Hong Kong are also generally outside coverage.
People recruiting workers can have different statuses: catering recruiters are usually self-employed agents, whereas construction recruiters are usually employees of specialist contractors. Hawkers who are not self-employed are another example of people who can be covered. A job title or industry label alone does not determine status.
Domestic Services, Cross-border Work and Other Boundary Cases 家務服務、跨境工作與其他邊界個案
Domestic employees have employment contracts wholly or substantially for domestic services at their employer's residential premises and are exempt. Babysitters, domestic servants and gardeners serving at the employer's home are generally outside coverage; those providing services elsewhere are generally covered. Security guards hired by an individual to provide services substantially at that individual's residential premises are also generally outside coverage.
Chauffeurs, bodyguards and boatboys employed by individuals, and licensed caretakers employed by owners' corporations, are generally covered. Other examples include civil servants without pension entitlements, local staff of consulates general, and private school teachers and other staff. The general eligibility conditions and any exemptions must still be checked.
Residence alone does not determine coverage. A person employed in or from Hong Kong by a company carrying on business in Hong Kong, working in Hong Kong but living in Shenzhen, is generally covered. Someone employed outside Hong Kong by a foreign company and working outside Hong Kong is generally outside coverage, even if a Hong Kong resident.
An employee entering Hong Kong on an employment visa, initially permitted to stay for no more than 13 months and later granted an extension taking the total beyond 13 months, is outside coverage for the first 13 months but covered afterwards, assuming no other exemption applies. The extension does not retrospectively make the first 13 months covered. [MPFA: MPF coverage](https://www.mpfa.org.hk/en/mpf-system/mpf-coverage)
Practice
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