A pregnant woman wearing a face mask as a precautionary measure walks past a street mural in Hong Kong, on March 23, 2020. (ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP)

HONG KONG – Hong Kong’s statutory maternity leave will increase by four weeks to 14 weeks effective Dec 11 this year – a major amendment to the city's maternity leave since 1995.

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According to the Employment (Amendment) Ordinance 2020, Hong Kong women will enjoy 14 weeks of maternity leave, during which they are to be paid four-fifths of the average daily wages. During the four-week extension, the maximum total of leave pay is capped at HK$80,000 (US$10,320).

Employers can apply to the government for full reimbursement of the additional four weeks of maternity leave pay that is required to be paid and has been paid under the ordinance, the Labour Department said in a statement issued on Friday.

READ MORE: LegCo plans to fast-track maternity leave bill

According to the Employment (Amendment) Ordinance 2020, Hong Kong women will enjoy 14 weeks of maternity leave, during which they are to be paid four-fifths of the average daily wages

According to the amended ordinance, the definition of “miscarriage” has also been changed to “before 24 weeks of pregnancy” from 28 weeks previously.

That means a female employee whose child fails to survive after birth at or after 24 weeks of pregnancy is entitled to maternity leave and sickness allowance, according to the statement.

The amendment, first proposed in the chief executive’s Policy Address in 2018, was eventually passed in the city’s Legislative Council on July 9 this year after frequent filibustering by opposition lawmakers in the legislature.

According to a report released by the Census and Statistics Department last week, the city’s female labor force participation rate was 49.4 percent for the third quarter of this year, which translates into about 1.61 million people excluding foreign domestic helpers.

Hong Kong first introduced statutory maternity leave in 1970. Under the Employment Ordinance, a pregnant employee who has been employed under a continuous contract is entitled to maternity leave of 10 weeks, but the leave was without pay. 

After a legislative amendment in 1981, a pregnant employee under continuous employment for no less than 40 weeks was entitled to maternity leave pay equivalent to two-thirds of her daily wages. 

In 1995, the statutory pay of maternity leave was raised to four-fifths of daily wages.