Hong Kong civil servants to get hourly leave but businesses unlikely to follow

The Hong Kong government has announced plans to introduce hourly family care leave for civil servants as part of its efforts to boost birth rates, according to the South China Morning Post. The policy, outlined in the government's recent policy address, aims to provide civil servants with greater flexibility in managing personal matters such as hospital visits or parent-teacher meetings.

Civil servants can apply for leave by the hour, with an expected annual entitlement of 10 to 12 hours, set to take effect in early 2027. While civil servants generally welcomed the proposal, business leaders expressed skepticism about the private sector following suit, citing manpower and financial constraints, particularly for smaller firms.

Labour sector lawmaker Ngan Man-him noted that the government could serve as a role model for the private sector, but adoption might be challenging for SMEs due to limited resources and manpower.

Brief written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post - Hong Kong's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.