Four-fifths of the daily wage over up to 14 weeks.
Total maternity leave pay
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Daily MLP (4/5)
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Government-reimbursed
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Your breakdown
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What statutory maternity leave pays, and for how long
An eligible employee in Hong Kong is entitled to maternity leave paid at four-fifths, or 80 percent, of her average daily wage, for a period the Employment Ordinance sets at up to 14 weeks. This calculator turns that into money. It takes your average daily wage, applies the four-fifths rate, multiplies by the calendar days in your chosen number of weeks, and shows the total. It also splits out the portion the government reimburses to the employer, because the extension from the older 10-week entitlement to 14 weeks is funded differently from the first stretch.
It is for expectant employees checking what they will receive, and for employers and payroll staff working out the cost and the slice they can claim back. To qualify for paid leave you generally need to have been employed under a continuous contract for a set period before the leave and to have given proper notice, so confirm your eligibility with the Labour Department before relying on the figure.
The four-fifths rate and the employer-versus-government split
The pay rate is four-fifths of the average daily wage, where the average is normally taken over the 12 months before the leave begins. The calculator counts the leave in calendar days, seven per week, which is how the statutory entitlement runs. The funding splits in two. The first 10 weeks are the employer's cost. The pay for the additional 4 weeks is still calculated at four-fifths, but the government reimburses the employer for it, up to a cap per employee. The reimbursement cap this calculator applies is $80,000 per employee, which you should confirm with the Labour Department, since the cap and the leave length are policy figures that can be revised.
A $1,200 daily wage over the full 14 weeks
Using the defaults, the average daily wage is $1,200, so the daily maternity leave pay at four-fifths is $960. Fourteen weeks is 98 calendar days, giving a total of $94,080. The reimbursed slice covers the extra 4 weeks, which is 28 days at $960, or $26,880. That is comfortably under the $80,000 reimbursement cap, so the employer can claim the whole $26,880 back from the government, leaving the first 10 weeks, $67,200, as the employer's net cost.
The employee receives the same $94,080 regardless of who funds which part. The split only matters to the employer's cash flow and to the government claim, which is why the tool surfaces it separately.
Edge cases and the tax angle
A few wrinkles change the figure. If your monthly pay is irregular, the average daily wage that feeds the four-fifths rate is itself an average over the preceding period, so a recent pay rise may not yet be fully reflected. Very high earners can hit the reimbursement cap on the extra weeks, meaning the employer cannot claim back the entire four-fifths for weeks 11 to 14 and absorbs the excess. And if you take fewer than the full 14 weeks, the reimbursed portion shrinks first, since it only covers leave beyond the tenth week. On tax, maternity leave pay is ordinary employment income and forms part of your assessable income for salaries tax, charged by the Inland Revenue Department on the usual progressive scale after allowances. There is no separate tax on the payment and no GST, but it is not tax-free in the way a statutory severance payment is.
A common mistake is reading the four-fifths figure as a deduction from full pay rather than the pay itself. You receive 80 percent of the average daily wage during the leave, not your full salary, so budget for the 20 percent gap if your employer does not voluntarily top it up.
Do my MPF contributions continue during maternity leave?
Yes. Maternity leave pay is relevant income for MPF purposes, so both you and your employer continue making the 5 percent mandatory contributions on it, subject to the usual monthly ceiling set by the MPFA. The leave does not pause your retirement saving, though the contribution amount falls in line with the reduced four-fifths pay. Confirm the current contribution thresholds with the MPFA.
Can my employer pay more than the statutory four-fifths?
Absolutely. The four-fifths figure is a legal floor, not a ceiling. Some employers offer enhanced maternity pay at full salary or for a longer period as a benefit. The government reimbursement only applies to the statutory entitlement for the extra weeks, so any top-up above four-fifths is the employer's own cost. If your contract promises enhanced pay, use your full daily wage rather than the statutory rate to estimate what you will actually receive.