Employee Benefits

In Hong Kong, there are certain benefits that are mandatory for employers to provide to their employees. These include the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF), which is a retirement savings scheme, and the employees' compensation insurance, which provides coverage for work-related injuries or illnesses.

Medical benefits are also commonly offered by companies in Hong Kong. This includes health insurance, which covers medical expenses for employees and their dependents. Some companies also provide dental and vision insurance as part of their medical benefits package.

We cover your staff’s medical expenses if they ever need to visit or stay in hospital, have surgery or outpatient treatment, dental work, or maternity expenses.

Because you don’t want to exclude any of your people, we have schemes that happily cover pre-existing conditions. That way, you don’t have to ask awkward questions and your talent is covered from day one.  

One of the oldest forms of insurance, life benefits, offers financial support in the event of loss of life or disabilities and conditions. A caring employer can independently offer benefits resulting from a tragic or devastating life event. The most prevalent and simplest form of risk benefits is term life insurance. Except for loss of life, life benefits might also cover in the event of accidental disablement, total and permanent disability or critical illness.

This cover provides a lump sum pay-out to an employee’s family if the employee passes away while they are working for you.

Employees in Hong Kong are entitled to a minimum of 7 days of paid annual leave after completing their first year of employment. This increases to 8 days after 3 years of employment and up to 14 days after 9 years of employment. Some companies may offer more annual leave as part of their benefits package.

Employees in Hong Kong are also entitled to paid sick leave. Two paid sick leaves are accumulated for each complete month of employment for the first 12 months and 4 paid sick leaves for each completed month thereafter. Some companies may offer additional sick leave days as part of their benefits package.

In Hong Kong, female employees are entitled to 14 weeks of paid maternity leave, while male employees are entitled to 5 days of paid paternity leave. Some companies may offer extended maternity and paternity leave as part of their benefits package.

Apart from the mandatory MPF, some companies in Hong Kong may offer additional retirement benefits such as a pension plan or provident fund to their employees. This helps employees save for their retirement and provides them with financial security in their later years.

Offering your employees the chance to pay into a private pension scheme will help them better prepare for retirement – however old they are now. 

We know that financial education can be the difference between a comfortable older age and a difficult retirement. That’s why we offer targeted workshops to clients’ employees of all ages.

Some companies in Hong Kong may offer education benefits to their employees, such as tuition reimbursement or scholarships for their children. This helps employees further their education or provide quality education for their children.

Housing in Hong Kong can be expensive, so some companies may offer housing benefits to their employees. This can include housing allowances or company-provided housing for employees.

Transportation in Hong Kong can also be costly, so some companies may offer transportation benefits to their employees. This can include transportation allowances or company-provided transportation for employees.

To promote a healthy work-life balance, some companies in Hong Kong may offer wellness benefits to their employees. This can include gym memberships, wellness programmes, or mental health support.

More peace, less premium
Want your people to have greater peace of mind? Don’t want to pay more for it? We can work out comprehensive bespoke employee benefits insurance programmes at a sustainable competitive price.

The emphasis is always on quality rather than price – never cutting corners, always buying smart. The last thing we’d want to do a deal that’s cheap but has nasty surprises for your people when they try to claim.

Using claims analytics to solve business problems
We can help you introduce initiatives to improve the health of your workforce and reduce the root causes of claims. For example, deep claims analytics could reveal a lot of your claims relate back to stress. We can help you review the situation and find solutions, helping cut unnecessary stress to improve productivity and wellbeing at the same time.    

Speak to us about how other companies are using these insights. 

Communications support – if employees don’t know, then there’s no benefit
Is your team communicating the benefits offering well? In terms of attracting and retaining staff, communication is crucial – and frequently overlooked.

You cannot simply buy the employee benefits insurance and assume your work is done. 

We assist with internal communications, helping draft memos to ensure that your staff understand the benefits they are entitled to. We are also happy to run workshops at your workplace and provide bespoke handbooks, even training your recruiters and hiring managers to ‘sell’ your company to prospective employees. 

Ongoing support
Employee Benefits isn't the kind of policy that you buy and then forget about. As your staff make the most of their benefits, regular communication with the insurer will be necessary. As a Howden client, you will have at least two designated account handlers from our expert team, who will be available to offer you support, advice, and representation throughout your policy duration. We offer:

• Administration of premium billing and supporting member list
  We will ensure the accuracy of the premium calculation before sending over to you for settlement. 
   
• Administration of claims documents
  We will pre-screen claims documents before they are submitted to the insurance company, to ensure that they contain all data necessary to process the claim. 
   
• Setting dispute claims
  As your consultant and broker, we represent you and your staff on issues arising throughout the policy term - for example, claim settlements and staff enquiries. Our ultimate aim is to secure the best interests of your company and to ensure the members’ interests are well protected. 

Initiating the claims process depends on your cover.

Private medical / health insurance 
For medical claims, clients generally go direct to the insurer.  Howden will step in and advocate in the event of any problems. 

Life insurance, personal accident, critical illness
We advise you contact Howden directly with claims in these areas.  

Who provides the cover?
All successful employee benefits arrangements are unique. When we have decided on the elements of cover, we take them to market and secure the best price for your exact needs.