Look, let’s get something straight right from the start: the 468 policy isn’t some bureaucratic whisper you can ignore. This is Hong Kong rewriting the rules of engagement between employers and workers, and if you’re running a business in this city, you’d better pay attention.
Come 18 January 2026, everything changes. The old guard falls. The 418 rule, that comfortable arrangement that let businesses dodge their obligations to part-time workers for decades, gets replaced by something with more teeth. Call it evolution, call it revolution, but don’t call it optional.
The Naked Truth About the 468 Policy
Here’s what you need to understand about this beast. The 468 policy rewrites continuous contract definitions under Hong Kong’s Employment Ordinance, and it does so with surgical precision. No more games. No more scheduling tricks to keep workers just under the threshold.
The mathematics are simple, almost brutal in their clarity:
- Employees working 17 hours per week for four consecutive weeks qualify for continuous contract status (down from 18 hours)
- Employees working an aggregate of 68 hours over any four-week period qualify, regardless of weekly distribution
That second provision? That’s the knockout punch. That’s what changes everything.
According to the legislation, “Employees will now also qualify as being continuously employed if their total working hours across any four consecutive weeks amount to at least 68 hours, even if one or more of those weeks fall below 17 hours individually.” Read that again. Let it sink in.
Why This Policy Exists
The old system was a con, plain and simple. Smart operators knew exactly how to play it. Keep your casual workers at 17 hours one week out of four, and boom, you’ve sidestepped every statutory obligation in the book. No holiday pay. No sick leave. No maternity benefits. Nothing.
The government finally admitted what everyone knew: the 418 rule was haemorrhaging workers through a loophole wide enough to drive a lorry through. Retail workers, restaurant staff, delivery riders, tutors, event personnel. All of them working substantial hours, all of them getting shafted on benefits because their schedules didn’t fit into neat weekly boxes.
The 468 policy plugs that hole. It acknowledges that modern work doesn’t march to the beat of a consistent weekly drum. Some weeks you work 25 hours, some weeks you work 10, but if you’re hitting 68 hours over four weeks, you’re in. You qualify. You get protected.
Approximately 11,000 workers will gain coverage under this policy. That’s 11,000 people who were working hard but living outside the protective fence. The policy brings them inside.
What This Means for Your Business
Right, so you’re an employer. What does the 468 policy demand from you? Let’s not dance around it:
Track hours differently
Your current system probably counts weekly. That’s not enough anymore. You need running four-week totals for every worker. Every single one.
Audit your workforce now
Before January 2026 hits, you need to know exactly who’s going to cross that 68-hour threshold. Surprises are expensive.
Rewrite your contracts
Your employment agreements need updating to reflect the new legal reality. Old language won’t cut it.
Budget for additional benefits
More workers qualifying means more statutory obligations. Holiday pay, sick leave, the whole package. Factor it in.
Upgrade your payroll systems
Manual tracking of four-week aggregates? Good luck with that. You need systems that can handle the complexity.
The 468 policy takes effect on 18 January 2026, which gives you time, but not infinite time. Start preparing now or scramble later. Your choice.
The Industries in the Crosshairs
Some sectors are going to feel this harder than others. Food and beverage operations, retail shops, entertainment venues, cleaning services. Any business that relies heavily on flexible, part-time labour is looking at significant adjustments.
These industries built their staffing models around the old rule. They optimised for it. They structured entire business plans assuming they could keep workers just under the threshold. The 468 policy demolishes that assumption.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: some businesses were exploiting the gap deliberately. Others were just following industry norms without questioning whether those norms were ethical. Either way, the bill comes due in January 2026.
The Employee Perspective
From the worker’s side, this policy is vindication. It’s recognition that their labour matters regardless of whether it arrives in consistent weekly packages. A tutor working intensive sessions twice monthly still deserves protection. A retail worker covering busy weekends still deserves benefits.
The 468 policy acknowledges modern employment realities. Portfolio careers. Gig work. Multiple part-time positions. These aren’t aberrations anymore. They’re how millions of people earn their living.
When workers qualify for continuous contracts under the new framework, they gain access to:
- Statutory holiday pay
- Paid annual leave
- Sickness allowance
- Maternity and paternity leave
- Severance and long service payments
That’s not charity. That’s basic protection that should have extended to them years ago.
No More Excuses
The 468 policy was officially gazetted on 27 June 2025. The implementation date is fixed. The requirements are clear. Businesses have their marching orders.
Will some employers try to game the new system? Probably. Will they schedule workers for 67 hours instead of 68? Maybe. But the regulatory framework is tightening, and the government has signalled it’s watching.
This isn’t the end of labour reform in Hong Kong. It’s a milestone in an ongoing evolution. The workforce is changing. Employment patterns are shifting. Law follows reality, sometimes slowly, sometimes reluctantly, but it follows.
The smart money prepares early. The smart money sees the 468 policy not as an obstacle but as a prompt to build better workforce management systems. Better tracking. Better planning. Better relationships with the people who actually do the work.
You’ve got until January 2026. The clock’s ticking. The 468 policy doesn’t care whether you’re ready. It arrives either way.
