Severance payment calculator Hong Kong

If you're dismissed because of redundancy, or laid off, after at least 24 months on a continuous contract, you're entitled to a severance payment.

Since 1 May 2025 your employer can't use its MPF mandatory contributions to reduce the part of the payment for service from that date.

How it's calculated

For each year of service: two thirds of your last full month's wages, or 18 days' wages if you're paid daily. It can't be more than two thirds of HK$22,500 a year.
If you started before 1 May 2025, the years before that date use your wages just before it, and the years after use your final wages.
The total can't be more than HK$390,000. Any excess comes off the part for service from 1 May 2025.
Your employer's MPF mandatory benefits can only offset the part before 1 May 2025. Voluntary MPF contributions and length-of-service gratuities can offset both parts.

An example

You started on 1 May 2022 and leave on 30 April 2030. With $15,000 a month before May 2025 and $18,000 at the end: $30,000 for the first 3 years plus $60,000 for the last 5. Your MPF of $80,000 offsets $30,000, so the employer pays $60,000 and you keep $50,000 in MPF.

Frequently asked questions

What is the maximum severance payment in Hong Kong?

HK$390,000 in total, with at most two thirds of HK$22,500 for each year of service.

Can I get both severance and long service payment?

No. You're entitled to one or the other, never both.

When does my employer have to pay?

You claim it in writing within 3 months of the dismissal or lay-off. The employer has to pay within 2 months of receiving your notice.

How do part years count?

An incomplete year of service counts pro rata, so a year and a half counts as 1.5.

Key terms

Redundancy: When the business closes, moves, or needs fewer people to do your kind of work.
Offsetting: Using employer-funded retirement benefits to reduce a severance or long service payment.