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Legal Updates
Cohabitation in Hong Kong: A Brief Comparison of Comparing the Legal Landscape of Married and Unmarried Couples in 2025
Cohabitation is on the rise in Hong Kong, as more couples choose to live together before, or instead of, getting married. Yet despite these changing social norms, the law in Hong Kong continues to draw sharp distinctions between married and unmarried couples. Understanding how cohabitation…Read More
Legal Update: Banking (Amendment) Ordinance 2025
Fraud, particularly digital fraud, is on the rise globally. Hong Kong, as an international financial centre, trading hub and an intermediary between Mainland China and the global market, has strengthened its anti-fraud efforts. These include enhancing information sharing through public-private partnerships between the Hong Kong Police Force and the banking sector. However, there remains an information gap which is often exploited by criminals to move…Read More
Working Mothers: Maternity Rights under Hong Kong Law
Maternity Rights Under Hong Kong Law a pregnant woman is entitled to maternity benefits from her employer, provided she is employed under a “continuous contract”. That requires employment of over 18 hours per week, for four or more consecutive weeks (from 18 January 2026, “continuous…Read More
Hiring Foreign Domestic Helpers in Hong Kong, Pitfalls and Misconceptions
In Hong Kong when most people mention “helpers” they actually mean a “Foreign Domestic Helper” (“FDH”) employed from overseas via a recruitment agency or directly via an advertisement or referrals. In order to employ a FDH and obtain a work visa for that employment, the…Read More
“You’re married to him?!” Is it an issue for employers in making employment decisions?
A person’s “marital status” is one of the protected characteristics under the Sex Discrimination Ordinance (“SDO”). In the case of Cheuk Kit Man v FWD Life Insurance Company (Bermuda) Limited and Others [2025] Ms Cheuk claimed against FWD Life Insurance Company (Bermuda) Limited (“FWD”) and…Read More
Legal Update: PCPD’s Investigation Reports on Two Data Breach Incidents
In this update, Pádraig Walsh from our Data Privacy team looks at two investigation reports published by the Hong Kong Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (“PCPD”) into data breach incidents occurring in 2024. Data breach incident of Kwong’s Art Jewellery and My Jewelry Brief overview:…Read More
Legal Update – Is stress an injury: when does ‘psychiatric trauma’ amount to a workplace injury?
In the recent case of Chan Man Sau[1] (“Chan”), the District Court looked at whether ‘psychiatric trauma’ can be regarded as a workplace injury. We summarise the key points of the decision as to whether and what conduct can cause mental injury to an employee…Read More
How Can a Beneficiary be Discouraged from Contesting my Will
Gifts in wills can stir up strong emotions, especially if someone feels they have been treated unfairly by the person who made the will. If the person writing the will (called the testator) wants to give gifts that might seem unfair, they can consider including…Read More
Key Employment Issues from the 2025 Policy Address
On 17 September 2025 the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR delivered his 2025 Policy Address. Amongst the topics were several notable employment related issues. We summarise them below: Statutory Minimum Wage (“SMW”) Labour Support and Protection Nurturing Talents Other Relevant Information Russell Bennett…Read More
SFC Consultation Conclusions and Consultation Proposal on Financial Resources Rules
The SFC recently proposed various amendments to the Securities and Futures (Financial Resources) Rules (“FRR”) for public consultation which would be relevant for any licensed corporations engaging in, or seeking to engage in, over-the-counter derivatives (“OTCD”) activities. The SFC initially proposed changes to the FRR…Read More
Technology Risks and Rewards from Process Automation and Artificial Intelligence
In recent years, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has actively encouraged banks in Hong Kong to replace rules-based robotic process automation (RPA) with AI-enhanced transaction monitoring (TM) systems to improve efficiency and effectiveness in detecting financial crimes. Banks must conduct comprehensive pre-implementation assessments addressing…Read More
Understanding Costs in Children’s Proceedings – A Recent Judgment
Earlier this month, we published an article on Hague and non-Hague principles applicable to the Court’s determining whether to return a child to his home country. On 9 May 2025, the Hong Kong court awarded costs to the Father, diverging from the usual practice of…Read More
