Domestic Helper Duties and Responsibilities: A Clear Guide for Employers

Updated 03 February 2026

Table of Contents

(If you want to know what duties and responsibilities a domestic helper has in Singapore, please click here instead!)

Duties for Domestic Helper in Hong Kong

The Standard Employment Contract (SEC) states that the foreign domestic worker has to work and live in the employer’s residence as specified in the contract and can only perform domestic duties for the employer.

Common domestic duties include the following tasks:

Preparing meals
Washing dishes
Shopping for groceries and supplies
Vacuuming / mopping / sweeping the floor
Dusting and wiping shelves and other furniture
Cleaning the toilet / rooms / windows
Doing the laundry and ironing
Making beds
Watering plants
Washing car
Babysitting
Elderly-caring

Giving body massage to your employer is normally not counted as a domestic duty. Hence, you are not obliged to provide such services. Yet, your employer may require you to give massages if they need you to take care of an elderly or a physically impaired family member. It is important for you to discuss these terms before signing the employment contract.

Window Cleaning

Due to several fatal accidents that occurred, the Hong Kong government set rules as to when a domestic helper should perform window-cleaning duties. The helper has the right to refuse to clean the window if the following conditions are not met:

the window being cleaned is fitted with a grille which is locked or secured in a manner that prevents the grille from being opened; and
no part of the helper’s body extends beyond the window ledge except the arms.

If the window is located on the ground level or adjacent to a balcony (on which it must be reasonably safe for the helper to work) or common corridor, then the above rules can be ignored.

See more: The Main Concerns of Your Domestic Helper’s Work Safety

Driving duties

The household duties specified in the standard employment contract does not include driving duties.

If you were employed to perform driving duties, your employer has to make a special application to the Immigration Department to allow you to drive in Hong Kong. Your employer will have to fill out the ID934 form.

You may be responsible for criminal prosecution if you have breached the law. You may be deported back to your home country and may not be allowed to work in Hong Kong anymore.

When should I start working for my employer?

According to Clause 2 of the Standard Employment Contract for foreign domestic workers, the employment shall be regarded as starting from:

The date when the worker arrives in Hong Kong ;
The day immediately following the expiry of a previous contract with the same employer (in case of contract renewal); OR
The date on which the Director of the Immigration grants the worker permission to remain in Hong Kong (in case of change of employment in Hong Kong).

A domestic worker is not permitted to work for the employer before her work visa is issued by the Immigration Department.

Once the contract has started, the domestic worker’s entitlement to wages starts to count even if she was not asked by the employer to start working. This means the first wage period beings at the start date of the contract.

Illegal Duties

Working for another person and in another place

The domestic helper cannot work for another employer or at another address specified in the employment contract. This includes the employer’s friends or relatives. The helper and the employer may be liable to criminal prosecution if found guilty.

Non-domestic duties

You cannot work in any businesses or to perform tasks not related to household duties. These unrelated duties may include

helping out in a shop/office
running errands for the employer’s business
cleaning the employer’s office/workplace/store/warehouse
giving out flyers on the streets
delivering documents
filling/photocopying documents
producing products for sale
being a point of contact for the business

You should not be required to perform non-domestic duties. You have the right to refuse to do it as it is not counted as domestic duties.

What should you do if your employer asks you to perform unrelated duties?

If your employer asks you to work for another person or to perform non-domestic duties, you should say no and explain to the employer that it is illegal to do so and she or he may be prosecuted as well.

If the employer insists, then you may report the matter to the Immigration Department (Tel: 2824 6111) or the Labour Department (Tel: 2157 9537).

However, if you make such a report, be sure that you have not been involved or carried out the illegal work, because you yourself may be subject to investigation at the same time.