Do you need to make MPF contributions for a domestic helper?

Employers about to hire a foreign domestic helper usually focus interviews on salary and holidays — but there is a legal question to settle first: do you need to contribute MPF for her? The answer may surprise you — under the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance, “domestic employees” enjoy the MPF domestic helper exemption, and employers need not enrol them or contribute.

Do employers need to contribute MPF for a foreign domestic helper?

No. Foreign domestic helpers are “domestic employees” under the law and are exempt from joining MPF schemes. A “domestic employee” is someone whose employment contract is wholly or mainly for providing domestic services in the employer’s residence; helpers arrive in Hong Kong on the express condition that they may only serve at their designated employer’s home, which fits the definition exactly — so the MPF system does not cover them.

Do drivers, gardeners and bodyguards get the MPF domestic helper exemption?

Drivers, gardeners and bodyguards hired by individuals also fall under the “domestic employee” umbrella — but whether they are exempt depends on where they mainly work:

Those not exempt must be enrolled by their employer once they turn 18 and have been employed for 60 days. Note that local domestic helpers and confinement nannies are trickier — they mainly work inside the residence yet are not exempt persons, a distinction turning on self-employed versus employed status; check with the MPFA or a professional adviser before hiring. More on employer duties in the MPF education hub.