Effective 18 January 2026, the legendary term “418” will be replaced by the new term “468”. Whilst the new requirement aims to provide greater protection for employees with fluctuating working hours, its practical application introduces new complexities for employers.
The “468” Requirement
Under the Employment Ordinance, continuous employment is established if the following two requirements are satisfied:
- The employee has been employed under an employment contract for at least 4 consecutive weeks; and
- Each of such weeks is a qualifying week in that the applicable working hours threshold (currently, 18 hours of work in the relevant week) is satisfied.
The new regime does not alter the above framework. Instead, it provides that the working hours threshold is satisfied where either of the following happens:
- The employee has worked for at least 17 hours in the relevant week; or
- The employee has been employed by the same employer in the four-week period comprising the relevant week and the three prior weeks and has worked for at least 68 hours in such four-week period.
Illustrative Examples: Is It Always Straightforward?
To illustrate how the new “468” requirement works, consider the following two examples:
Example 1
| Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Working Hours | 17 | 17 | 17 | 25 | 15 | 15 | 17 |
In this example, the employee is under continuous employment throughout Week 1 to Week 7. This is because, whilst the employee has worked for less than 17 hours in each of Week 5 and Week 6, the aggregate working hours for both Weeks 2-5 and Weeks 3-6 reach 68 hours.
The new “468” can be easily applied in the above scenario, but is the new “468” requirement as straightforward as it seems? Not really. Let’s consider the second example:
Example 2
| Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Working Hours | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 30 |
In this example, whilst neither of the working hours thresholds are met in respect of Week 5 and Week 6, the employee did work for at least 68 hours in aggregate for Weeks 4-7.
Does it mean the employee’s continuous employment should be treated as unbroken? No, the continuous employment is broken as neither of the two working hours thresholds are satisfied for Week 5 and Week 6. Whilst the employee’s continuous employment is broken for Week 5 and Week 6, is the continuous employment re-established from Week 7? One might think the answer is a resounding “Yes”, but the answer is actually “Maybe” depending on the employee’s subsequent working arrangements.
How We Can Help
The last example demonstrates the complexities of the new “468” requirement which employers may not fully appreciate. There are also other scenarios (e.g. casual employees and retire-and-rehire situations) where the implementation of the “468” requirement may be tricky. If you have any questions regarding how the new regime affects your workforce, please do not hesitate to reach out to our employment team.
