Easter Monday Hops into the Statutory Holiday List in 2026

Starting this year, Easter Monday becomes a statutory holiday under s.39(1) of the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57) (“EO”), following the phased expansion introduced by the Employment (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 (“2021 Amendment”).  This year marks the first time Easter Monday shifts from being only a “general holiday” to one that employers must treat as paid statutory leave to all employees.

Many may not be aware of Hong Kong’s dual-track holiday framework. Statutory holidays, provided under the EO, serve the purpose of safeguarding employees’ minimum labour entitlements, whereas general holidays, designated under the General Holidays Ordinance (Cap. 149), historically regulate institutional closures for all banks, educational institutions, public offices and Government departments.  Under this structure, Hong Kong has long had only 12 statutory holidays compared to 17 general holidays, (excluding Sundays).

The 2021 Amendment is slowly closing that five-day difference by progressively adding an additional statutory holiday every two years from 2022 to 2030. At that point the statutory holiday list will fully align with the 17 general holidays. The timetable is as follows:

Employers should also note that section 39(4) of the EO where a statutory holiday falls on a nominated weekly “rest day” (which is often a Sunday for many, but not for all), the employee must be granted an additional days leave on the next day that is not already a holiday.

In 2026, Ching Ming Festival (a statutory holiday) falls on Sunday, 5 April.  For most employees, this will coincide with their designated weekly rest day, which means that the statutory holiday for Ching Ming would be taken on Monday, 6 April as per section 39(4). It follows that the newly added statutory holiday for Easter Monday, originally falling on 6 April, will shift one more day forward to be taken on Tuesday, 7 April.

And with Easter Monday officially joining the list of statutory holidays this year, even the Easter Bunny is finally taking a properly mandated day off.

Russell Bennett

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