Frequently Asked Questions: Teaching in Hong Kong FAQs

All NETs will sign a contract with their assigned schools. Primary Native English Teachers (PNETs) will normally be working for two schools, but their contract will be only with one of the two schools. Secondary Native English Teachers (NETs) sign contracts directly with the school where they are placed.

In effect from 15 May 2006, dependants of persons admitted for employment (as professionals, investors or for training) or as capital investment entrants are not prohibited from taking up employment. For enquiries relating to the dependant policy, please contact the Immigration Department.

Your children will most likely have to attend international schools. International school fees are high. The Education Bureau has prepared a detailed list which you may download here – Education Facilities for Non-Chinese-Speaking Children.

Standard income tax rate in Hong Kong is 16%. There is no sales tax in Hong Kong. For details of Hong Kong Taxation, please refer to the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department.

The Mandatory Provident Fund is a system of retirement protection. It is a statutory requirement under the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance (MPFSO) (Cap. 485) that all employees in Hong Kong have to enroll in an MPF scheme.

The contribution rate for both the employer and the employee prescribed in the prevailing provisions of the MPFSO is 5% of the employee’s income (excluding Special Allowance), subject to the maximum level of income of HK$20,000 per month.

The contract gratuity payable to the NET plus the MPF contribution made by the employer in respect of the NET will be equal to 15% of the total basic salary during the contract period.

An employee can be exempt from the provisions of the MPFSO under certain circumstances which include, inter alia, the following:
Permission is given for the person to land or remain in Hong Kong for the purposes of employment under the conditions of stay imposed in accordance with section 11 of the Immigration Ordinance (Cap. 115); and the period during which the person is given permission to remain in Hong Kong does not exceed 12 months; or
The person is a member of a provident, pension, retirement or superannuation scheme established outside Hong Kong. (Such schemes include personal retirement scheme as well as national retirement scheme. It does not matter whether or not the member is making contributions to the overseas scheme when the person is employed in Hong Kong.)
What is the terminal leave?
The NET shall be granted the terminal leave in the school summer vacation at the end of the contract and each renewed contract (if any). The terminal leave usually covers the period from the commencement of the respective school summer vacation to the end of the contract. Any variation is subject to the mutual agreement between the school and the NET concerned

The specific date may vary depending on the school plan and schedule of individual schools, but it usually falls in mid-July each year. A copy of the School Calendar is provided to the NET upon his/her assumption of duty at the school. Should there be any subsequent variation affecting his/her terminal leave, this should be mutually agreed upon between the two parties. Any unilateral decision to the detriment of staff relationship is highly undesirable.

The summer vacation is for teachers to have a break and to relax. For NETs, this means that it is a time for them to travel home to reunite with families at the end of the contract. We trust school heads will deploy teachers in a reasonable and considerate manner given the different circumstances of teachers. We expect school heads to arrange a sufficiently long and continuous terminal leave for the NET, and discuss with the NET early on the summer plan if the contracts of the NET are renewed.