Author
Bowtie Team
Updated on
2025-07-10
Disclaimer: This article is translated with the assistance of AI.
Accidents can strike unexpectedly, often due to factors beyond our control like others or the environment. Ever wondered what to do if you’re injured at work? Let’s explore your rights and options.
What is a Work Injury? Definition and Key Details
An accident at work is generally called a work injury. According to Employees’ Compensation Ordinance Section 40 , regardless of the contract duration or working hours, whether full-time or part-time, all employers must purchase employees’ compensation insurance to cover their responsibilities under the law (including common law). Otherwise, they cannot employ workers for any job.
Work injury insurance, or employees’ compensation, protects workers if they get injured or even die from a work-related accident, or if they develop an occupational disease specified in the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance. Work injuries mainly fall into two categories:
- One-time accidents, like slipping and injuring yourself at work
- Repetitive strain injuries, such as damage from repeatedly performing the same motion
For more details on occupational diseases, check out the Labour Department’s Employees’ Compensation Ordinance Guide, Schedule 2 .
It’s worth noting that even if the accident is due to an employee’s mistake or negligence, the employer is generally still responsible for compensation under this ordinance. Plus, employees hired in Hong Kong by a Hong Kong employer and injured while working abroad are also covered.
Are Accidents During Commute to Work Covered by Insurance?
What about accidents during your commute? Generally, injuries on the way to work aren’t covered by work injury insurance, but there are four specific scenarios where they are treated as work-related:
- You’re traveling as a passenger in a vehicle operated or arranged by your employer (public transport doesn’t count) between your home and workplace;
- You’re driving or operating a vehicle provided or arranged by your employer, directly between your home and workplace, as part of your job;
- During a Typhoon Signal No. 8 or above, or a Red/Black Rainstorm Warning, you’re traveling directly from your home to your workplace within four hours before your shift starts, or from your workplace to your home within four hours after your shift ends;
- With your employer’s permission, you’re using any transport for work-related reasons while traveling between Hong Kong and places outside Hong Kong, or between places outside Hong Kong.
Does Employer’s Work Injury Insurance Guarantee Compensation for Employee?
If your employer has work injury insurance, does that mean you’re automatically covered for compensation if something happens? In theory, yes, if you meet the criteria—but it depends on whether the policy’s coverage limits are high enough to pay out. If not, your employer might have to cover the rest.
On the flip side, there are four situations where the employer isn’t responsible for compensation:
- The injury doesn’t prevent you from working and earning your normal wages, except in cases of permanent loss of work ability;
- The injury was self-inflicted on purpose;
- The injury leads to loss of work ability or death, and you had previously made a false statement to your employer knowing it was untrue about not having or never having had such an injury (including specified occupational diseases);
- The accident is directly caused by your addiction or alcohol influence at the time, and it doesn’t result in death or permanent severe loss of work ability.
Can I Take Sick Leave from a Work Injury? Will My Pay Be Deducted?
If you’ve suffered a work injury, you can take up to 24 months of work injury sick leave. If you need to extend it, you can apply to the court for approval, but it’s limited to no more than an additional 12 months.
During this work injury sick leave, your employer must pay you an amount equal to four-fifths of your normal wages as regular payments—that’s your work injury sick pay.
Income includes: basic salary, any allowances (except transportation allowance), tips, regular overtime pay, and attendance bonuses.
The income calculation method can be one of two options, and we’ll go with the higher one:
- One month before the accident
- The average of the 12 months before the accident
What’s the Difference in Compensation for Permanent Work Incapacity and Death Due to Work Injury?
Compensation for work injury resulting in death or permanent loss of work capacity varies, with permanent loss of work capacity typically offering higher compensation .
|
Compensation Amounts for Fatal Cases |
|
| Deceased employee’s age | Compensation amount |
| Under 40 years old | 84 months of income (1) or minimum compensation amount (2) , whichever is higher |
| 40 to under 56 years old | 60 months of income (1) or minimum compensation amount (2) , whichever is higher |
| 56 years old or above | 36 months of income (1) or minimum compensation amount (2) , whichever is higher |
| Compensation Amounts for Permanent Total Loss of Work Capacity | |
| Deceased employee’s age | Compensation amount |
| Under 40 years old | 96 months of income (1) or minimum compensation amount (3) , whichever is higher |
| 40 to under 56 years old | 72 months of income (1) or minimum compensation amount (3) , whichever is higher |
| 56 years old or above | 48 months of income (1) or minimum compensation amount (3) , whichever is higher |
If it’s permanent partial loss of work capacity, compensation is calculated proportionally.
Compensation Amount for Permanent Total Incapacity
X
Percentage of Permanent Incapacity
However, keep in mind that the compensation amount can vary depending on when the work injury occurred:
(1) The monthly income used to calculate death compensation and compensation for permanent total loss of work capacity has a maximum limit:
For individuals who suffered a work injury or contracted a specified occupational disease on or after April 26, 2019: $30,530
For individuals who suffered a work injury or contracted a specified occupational disease between April 1, 2017, and April 25, 2019: $28,360
(2) The minimum compensation amount for death:
For individuals who suffered a work injury or contracted a specified occupational disease on or after April 26, 2019: $440,200
For individuals who suffered a work injury or contracted a specified occupational disease between April 1, 2017, and April 25, 2019: $408,960
(3) The minimum compensation amount for employees for permanent total loss of work capacity:
For individuals who suffered a work injury or contracted a specified occupational disease on or after April 26, 2019: $499,840
For individuals who suffered a work injury or contracted a specified occupational disease between April 1, 2017, and April 25, 2019: $464,360
Employers Must Report Work Injuries
If an employee experiences a work injury during work, they should report it to their employer as soon as possible and seek treatment from a registered Western doctor or a government public hospital, obtaining the original doctor’s receipt and sick leave certificate.
For accidental injuries at work, the employer must report it within 14 days; if it results in death, it should be reported within 7 days.
Employees’ Compensation Insurance Claim Process
- The employer must obtain or download Form 2 (Notice by Employer of the Death of an Employee of an Accident to an Employee Resulting in Death or Incapacity) or Form 2B (Notice by Employer of an Accident to am Employee Resulting in Incapacity for a Period Not Exceeding 3 Days) from the Labour Department, complete both, and submit one copy each to the Labour Department and the insurance company. Additionally, the original doctor’s receipt, original sick leave certificate, and a copy of the injured employee’s ID card must be submitted to the insurance company.
- If the injured person requires follow-up visits, the relevant original doctor’s receipts and sick leave certificates should also be submitted to the insurance company.
- Once the injured person has recovered, the Labour Department or doctor will arrange a date; bring a copy of the sick leave certificate to the Labour Department’s Occupational Medicine Unit to handle sick leave cancellation or injury assessment procedures.
- When the employer receives Form 7 (Certificate of Assessment) and Form 5 (A Certificate of Compensation Assessment) from the Labour Department, they should promptly send the original documents to the insurance company for compensation processing.
In general, the employer must :
- Pay periodic payments (i.e., work injury sick leave pay), which is four-fifths of the difference between the employee’s monthly income at the time of the accident and their monthly income during the period of temporary incapacity for work (as mentioned above);
- Pay the relevant medical expenses within 21 days after the employee submits the medical receipts;
- Pay the compensation amount stated on the “A Certificate of Compensation Assessment” (Form 5) within 21 days after it is issued by the Labour Department.
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