MAW & unpaid wages red flags

Problem

Cash-on-hand habits, “we agreed less,” and informal clawbacks for breakage or agency debt look like household logistics. They are wage offences. Helpers can go to the Labour Department; ImmD can treat underpayment as false representation on the contract you signed.

Steps

1. Know the current MAW before you sign. With effect from 3 October 2026, the Minimum Allowable Wage for FDHs is HK$5,220 per month, applicable to employment contracts signed on or after that date. The previous MAW was HK$5,100 (contracts signed 30 September 2025 to 2 October 2026). Food free of charge, or food allowance of at least HK$1,236 per month if you do not provide food. Re-check the FDH Portal before each new contract — the Government reviews MAW regularly. Verified — fdh.labour.gov.hk (as of 20 Oct 2026); GovHK hiring guide; LD announcement 2 Oct 2026.
2. Lock the contract wage at not less than MAW on signing day. You must pay the wage stated in the Standard Employment Contract (ID 407), and that amount must not be below the MAW prevailing on the date you sign. You cannot agree — privately or “mutually” — to a lower rate. Underpaying, or making false representation on wages to ImmD, can mean prosecution and imprisonment. Verified — LD FDH FAQ Q2; Practical Guide Q3.1.
3. Pay wages every wage period, within 7 days. Wages become due when the wage period ends. Pay as soon as practicable, and in any case not later than seven days after that end. Prefer cheque or autopay into the helper’s bank account with the helper’s prior consent; otherwise pay in legal tender. Keep bank records and issue a receipt for wages (and food allowance if paid); ask the helper to acknowledge receipt. Verified — Practical Guide Q3.2; ImmD SEC Clause 5(a); Concise Guide to EO Ch.3.
4. Late pay has sharp teeth. Wilful failure to pay within 7 days of the due date: you must pay interest on the outstanding wages, and you are liable to prosecution — maximum fine HK$350,000 and imprisonment for 3 years. If wages stay unpaid for 1 month from the due date, the helper may deem the contract terminated by you without notice — you then owe payment in lieu of notice plus other statutory/contractual termination sums. Verified — Practical Guide Q3.7; Concise Guide Ch.3.
5. Only EO-permitted deductions — everything else is illegal. Allowed examples under the Employment Ordinance / SEC guidance:
   • Absence from work — sum proportionate to the absence
   • Damage to or loss of your goods/equipment/property by the helper’s neglect or default — value of the loss, but not more than HK$300 in any one case; total of such deductions ≤ one quarter of wages for that wage period
   • Recovery of advance or over-paid wages — total ≤ one quarter of wages for that period
   • Recovery of a loan you made — only with the helper’s written consent
   • Deductions required or authorised under any enactment
   Except with written approval of the Commissioner for Labour, the total of all deductions (excluding absence) in any one wage period must not exceed one half of the wages payable for that period. Unlawful deduction: prosecution, maximum fine HK$100,000 and imprisonment for 1 year. Verified — Practical Guide Q3.6; ImmD SEC terms; Concise Guide Ch.3.
6. Red flags — do not do these.
   • Paying below the MAW that applied on contract signing day (or below the SEC wage)
   • “Side letter” or verbal deal for a lower salary
   • Holding wages as a “deposit,” “guarantee,” or passport/security substitute
   • Deducting for agency fees, overseas loans, or placement debts (you are not the debt collector)
   • Clawing back more than HK$300 per breakage case, or stacking damage deductions past the one-quarter cap
   • Food charged against wages when the SEC already requires free food or the stated food allowance
   • Paying late “because cashflow” without interest or a plan that meets the 7-day rule
   • No receipts / no wage records
   Verified — synthesis of LD Practical Guide Ch.3, FDH FAQ, ImmD SEC Clause 5, and LD engaging-EA notes on wage deductions for agency/loan repayments.
7. If something already went wrong. Correct underpayment immediately (back-pay to the SEC rate). Use Labour Department Labour Relations Division free consultation/conciliation if there is a dispute. Do not invent private “settlements” that keep an illegal deduction in place. Verified — fdh.labour.gov.hk (Labour Relations Division access); Practical Guide dispute pathways.

Wage hygiene checklist

• SEC wage ≥ MAW on signing day (currently HK$5,220 for contracts from 3 Oct 2026)
• Food free, or food allowance ≥ HK$1,236 if no free food
• Paid within 7 days of each wage-period end
• Receipt + helper acknowledgement kept
• No private underpayment side deal
• Deductions only EO-allowed; damage ≤ HK$300/case; caps respected
• No agency/loan clawbacks from wages

Sources

• Verified — LD FDH Portal — Minimum Allowable Wage (HK$5,220 from 3 Oct 2026; prior HK$5,100). Checked 20 Oct 2026.
• Verified — GovHK — Hiring Foreign Domestic Helpers (MAW + food allowance HK$1,236 for contracts from 3 Oct 2026)
• Verified — LD / EA Portal news — MAW increase announced 2 Oct 2026
• Verified — LD FDH FAQ (prevailing MAW; underpayment / false representation)
• Verified — Practical Guide for Employment of FDHs (Ch.3 wages, payment method, deductions, late-pay penalties)
• Verified — ImmD — SEC terms (Clause 5 wages; permitted deductions; offence ceilings)
• Verified — LD Concise Guide to the EO — Chapter 3: Wages

FAQ