(Updated on 28 February 2026)
Managing your household budget requires staying up-to-date with the latest adjustments from the Hong Kong Labour Department. The Minimum Allowable Wage (MAW) and the mandatory food allowance are updated annually to reflect the city’s economic changes and cost of living.
As of the most recent update on September 30, 2025, here are the legal requirements for your domestic helper’s compensation.
The minimum domestic helper salary is set to HK$5,100 per month, while food allowance is at HK$1,236 per month. This applies to all foreign domestic helper contracts signed on or after September 30, 2025.
2025 Minimum domestic helper salary = HK$5,100
2025 Minimum food allowance = HK$1,236
In Hong Kong, unlike in many other places, domestic helpers of different nationalities have the same starting wage – a special minimum wage set by the Hong Kong Labour Department, namely the Minimum Allowable Wage (MAW). Such domestic helper minimum wage is different from the one for employees of other industries.
The MAW is usually reviewed by the Hong Kong government every year and the new wage applies to all new contracts signed on or after the effective date, so don’t forget to check the latest regulation about domestic helper minimum wage before signing a new contract.
To remain compliant with Hong Kong labor law, you must follow these payment protocols:
Payment Frequency: Domestic helper salary must be paid at least once a month.
Deadline: Payments must be made no later than 7 days after the end of the wage period.
Method of Payment: We highly recommend paying via bank transfer. This creates an indisputable digital record for both you and your helper, preventing any future disputes regarding underpayment or late payment.
Receipts: If you pay in cash, you must keep a signed receipt for every single payment, including the date, amount, and the helper’s signature.
Let’s be honest: hiring a domestic helper for the first time can be a challenging task. First, you need to identify and prioritise your needs. Then, find candidates through a good online hiring platform or ethical employment agency. Followed by many hours of interviews with domestic helpers and possible disappointment until you finally find the right fit (never settle for anything less). And when you think it’s all over, the paperwork process and haggle for salary starts.
Most people in Hong Kong are employees, with little experience in Management or Human Resources. It is therefore not surprising that many people find the process of screening and interviewing a domestic helper frustrating. How do you negotiate with a domestic helper salary? How to handle an unjustifiably high salary request? How to make sure you are not taken advantage of?
Sometimes a domestic helper with a finished contract and/or certain skills such as caregiving will ask for a salary higher than the minimum wage. Experience is valued in Hong Kong’s workplace and helpers are often proud of their skills and want to be appreciated for it. HelperChoice’s annual domestic helper salary survey reveals the average wage employers in different areas offer to their helpers.
It is fair that you increase the salary you offer based on the helper’s work experience and skills. However, do not forget to consider other monetary factors included in the costs of hiring a domestic helper such as food, medical treatment, health insurance and holidays. Besides offering a high salary to helpers with a good skill set at the beginning of a contract, you can also suggest a performance bonus or regular salary review.
Whether your helper should receive a food allowance or free food in lieu is yours and your helper’s choice. Whatever alternative you opt for should be convenient for both of you and agreed upon before the employment period starts. Ideally, the subject matter not only should be mentioned in the job description so applicants know what they are in for, but it also should be brought up and discussed at the interview stage. You might also want to bring up any ground rules right from the start to avoid any tension that may arise at a later point.
Domestic helpers are entitled to receiving a food allowance to cover their food-related costs. The amount you give should enable them to meet their dietary needs. Thus, it is not for buying non-food items such as detergent, soap, toiletries etc.
Providing your domestic helper with a food allowance probably is the best alternative if your helper has different food choices. Their dietary habit may be based on their religion, culture, or even due to diet-related issues. E.g. some Indonesian helpers do not eat pork, some Sri Lankan helpers are fully vegetarian, and domestic helpers with diabetes must control their sugar intake, etc. By providing her with a food allowance, your helper will be able to buy whatever food she prefers and meets her needs and habits.
Make sure that your helper has enough clarity as to the exact date and amount she will be getting – e.g. weekly, fortnightly, monthly, at the same time or independently of her salary etc. Ideally, mention it in the Standard Employment Contract to avoid any potential disputes later.
Keep tabs on how much and when the allowance is paid, by issuing receipts – for greater clarity, it is advised to issue one for her salary and one for her food allowance – and have your helper sign a slip to acknowledge that she was given the allowance in full and in due time. Receipts can be useful should you ever be subjected to investigation by officials from the Immigration Department or the Labour Department, and can guarantee your protection should you prematurely terminate your helper. For greater transparency and traceability, you might want to encourage your helper to open a bank account if she hasn’t already done so.
The amount of the food allowance set by the government is a minimum. Employers are free to raise the amount of the allowance if they deem it necessary for their domestic helper to meet their dietary needs and enjoy a healthy and balanced diet. In many cases, given the high living costs in Hong Kong, it is hardly possible for domestic helpers to afford healthy and balanced eating on a minimum food allowance budget – that is averaging on about $12.5 per meal.
Employers should not ask their domestic helpers for receipts and track how they spend their allowance. Domestic helpers are free to spend their food allowance as they please. It is understandable that their well-being might be a cause for concern to employers. In such cases, employers should rather encourage them to prepare balanced and healthier meals to eat well and put the emphasis on teaching them the benefits of good nutrition instead of monitoring their expenses. You might also want to dedicate a corner in the pantry and/or a separate shelf in your fridge for your domestic helper to store her items.
Should you come to notice that in spite of your agreement regarding the amount of the food allowance, your helper is helping herself to your food, do not overreact or get angry. Instead, try to understand first whether she is having a hard time making both ends meet on her allowance.
Food Allowance For Domestic Workers | HelperChoice | An Ethical Maid Agency In Hong Kong
This alternative surely is the most convenient if your domestic worker is the one who prepares most of the meals in your household and doesn’t mind eating the same as you do. Eating the same as the rest of the family will avoid having to prepare 2 sets of different meals. It also greatly simplifies logistics. Sticking with one grocery list and limiting to having a single or few errands to the market save travel costs, time and energy for grocery shopping.
Be clear on certain key information that your domestic helper-to-be should possess if she is to make an informed decision before signing a Standard Employment Contract with you:
Should you decide to provide your domestic worker with free food, ensure that it is actually nutritious and that you supply her with enough food to meet her needs and dietary requirements. While there is nothing wrong with eating leftovers, your helper should be entitled to eating whatever your family eats, e.g. leftovers when everybody is having leftovers and freshly prepared meals when everyone is having them.
If, at times, the food you provide your helper does not suit her, or should she fancies something else, you might want to have her add the items she wants to the grocery list or allow her to get whatever she needs while shopping at your expenses as long as it is within reason.
If none of those options satisfies you and your domestic helper entirely, you can try to find a middle ground and agree with her that you would be supplying her with the basics –such as coffee, tea, rice, oil, water, etc. – along with an allowance so she can procure her main staples and other food items – those that you may not commonly consume. In such a case, work out together and agree on an amount that seems fair to you both.
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