← Back to all posts

Labour Tribunal in Hong Kong: How a Filipino Worker Files a Claim, What It Can Decide, and What Happens at the Hearing

NewsOtherGeneral

By iStart Editorial Team·Published October 27, 2026

Labour Tribunal in Hong Kong: How a Filipino Worker Files a Claim, What It Can Decide, and What Happens at the Hearing

The contract has ended, or it was cut short. Your employer says the wages you are owed, for the last month, the notice period and the untaken leave, will come "later". And you are already counting the days you are allowed to stay in Hong Kong.

Here is the honest map. In Hong Kong, the Labour Department offers free conciliation for a money claim against an employer. If that does not settle it, smaller claims go to the Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board (MECAB) and larger ones to the Labour Tribunal. This guide follows the authorities' own pages, as they read on 19 October 2026.

Behind most questions sits a quieter one: can I afford to claim at all, with the visa and the next job on my mind? A claim is a legal right, not a favour.

What the Labour Tribunal Is, and Which Claims It Can Hear

The Judiciary describes the Labour Tribunal as "a quick, informal and inexpensive way of settling monetary disputes between employees and employers." No legal representation is allowed, so each party conducts the case themselves. Tribunal Officers help you draft your claim form and the Presiding Officer assists during hearings, but the Tribunal does not give legal advice.

Its jurisdiction starts where MECAB's ends: claims of more than HK$15,000. Claims by no more than 10 claimants for up to HK$15,000 each go to MECAB, a limit the Labour Department says has applied since 17 September 2021. It also hears claims arising from a failure to comply with the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57) or the Minimum Wage Ordinance (Cap. 608), and claims for breach of a term of an employment contract.

The claims employees most often bring, in the Judiciary's own list:

  • wages due for work done
  • wages in lieu of notice, when the employer ended the contract without the required notice
  • pay for statutory holidays, annual leave or rest days
  • severance pay, long service payment or terminal payments
  • end of year payment, double pay or annual bonus

The outer time limit, in the Judiciary's words: "Claims that arose more than 6 years ago may be barred by the Limitation Ordinance (Cap. 347)." Some deadlines are far shorter; see the questions below.

Start With Conciliation at the Labour Department

The Labour Relations Division of the Labour Department provides free, voluntary conciliation to resolve claims under the Employment Ordinance or an employment contract. If conciliation fails, the Department refers the case, at the parties' request and depending on the amount, to MECAB or the Labour Tribunal. The Judiciary encourages parties to settle at any stage.

MECAB will not accept a claim that has not first gone through conciliation. The Labour Tribunal asks only for the Department's referral number "if applicable", so conciliation is not a stated condition there, though the Judiciary points you to the Division if you want to try settling.

A Labour Tribunal claim in Hong Kong, step by step, as the Labour Department and the Judiciary describe it in October 2026: free, voluntary conciliation, required only for the Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board (MECAB); filing at the Tribunal above MECAB's limit, as smaller claims go to MECAB; the call-over hearing, attended in person; the trial; then judgment, and review, appeal or enforcement. The Judiciary encourages parties to settle at any stage.

How to reach the Department:

  • 2717 1771, the 24-hour enquiry hotline
  • 2157 9537, the dedicated hotline for helpers
  • any branch office of the Labour Relations Division, Monday to Friday except public holidays, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.
  • the online enquiry and complaint forms on the Foreign Domestic Helpers Portal, which also has a Tagalog section

The Department's own advice: "You should never acknowledge receipt of any unpaid wages." If you are underpaid without a reasonable explanation, go to one of its offices immediately. If you were dismissed without notice and want to claim pay in lieu of notice, go without delay.

How to File a Claim at the Labour Tribunal

Above MECAB's limit, the Judiciary describes these steps:

  1. Book an appointment. Call the 24-hour Telephone Appointment Booking System at 2625 0056, or visit the Judiciary's website.
  2. Bring your documents. Your Hong Kong Identity Card, the Labour Department referral number if you have one, and every supporting document: the contract, wage receipts, leave records, messages with your employer.
  3. Give the correct address. You must give your employer's correct address; a P.O. Box number is not accepted. If the employer is a company, give its registered office address.
  4. Work with the Tribunal Officer. The officer helps you put your claim in writing on Form 1 (Title to Claim) and Form 2 (Form of Claim, with the grounds, the items and the amount). You must sign Form 2, and you may complete the forms in Chinese or English.
  5. The filing fee. The Judiciary's fee table, dated "as at December 2017", runs from HK$20 for a claim of HK$2,000 or less to HK$50 for a claim over HK$10,000, plus HK$10 per defendant's address. Fees may be reduced, remitted or deferred if you give good reasons in writing to the Registrar.

In most cases the claimant bears the burden of proof, the Judiciary's trial guidelines say. That is why the documents matter more than the story. Keep the originals.

What Happens After You File

From here on, the Judiciary's papers call you the claimant, your employer the defendant, and the two of you the parties. You receive Form 3, the notice of your first hearing, called the call-over hearing. It is fixed on a date between 10 and 30 days after you file. Meanwhile the Tribunal Officer investigates with both parties and prepares a Summary of Facts for the Presiding Officer. A defendant who disputes the claim should file a defence, by witness statement, saying which items it disputes and why, with supporting evidence, and send you a copy. It is your responsibility to make sure the other party has copies of your documents.

What the employer can do next:

  • pay in full or in part
  • agree but ask for time; an instalment settlement is binding once both sides sign it
  • admit what is owed but say they cannot pay; the Presiding Officer may then enter judgment on the sum admitted
  • dispute it, with or without a counterclaim
  • ignore it

If the employer ignores it and does not attend, the Presiding Officer may enter judgment in the defendant's absence. You will be asked to give evidence on oath to prove what you wrote on Form 2.

If the defendant agrees to pay in full before the call-over, the Tribunal Officer has it confirmed in writing and the hearing is vacated. Agree only later, and the Presiding Officer makes the orders in open court, where the Judiciary warns there may be costs implications.

What Happens at the Hearing

The call-over hearing

Attend the call-over: if you are absent when your case is called, the Presiding Officer may strike out your claim, and restoring it takes a Form 18 application within 7 days, with a fee of HK$45. The call-over is not a trial: it checks that both sides have filed enough documentary evidence, may explore settlement, and ends with directions and a date for mention or trial.

A lawyer may only sit in the public gallery; you attend in person, and a registered trade union may represent you with the Tribunal's permission.

The trial

The Presiding Officer hears each side, lets the claimant and the defendant question each other and their witnesses, may order more evidence, and gives judgment at the end of the hearing or on a fixed date. The standard of proof is the balance of probabilities, and in a summary-dismissal case the employer bears the burden.

Two more duties from the Judiciary's trial guidelines: apply for a witness summons no later than 21 days before the trial, and have any document that is not in Chinese or English translated.

What the Tribunal Can Decide, and What Comes After the Award

It decides money disputes and makes an award or order. Where a dismissal breaks the Employment Ordinance's employment-protection rules, the Labour Department says the remedies include reinstatement or re-engagement, or terminal payments and compensation.

To challenge the result, you may apply for a review on Form 13 within 7 days of the award, usually before the same Presiding Officer. An appeal is not automatic: you need leave to appeal from the Court of First Instance of the High Court, on a point of law or because the claim was outside the Tribunal's jurisdiction, within 7 days after the decision is served on you. A refusal of leave is final, lawyers may act at that stage, and the Judiciary warns that legal costs can be substantial. An application for leave to appeal does not automatically stop an award being enforced.

The Labour Department's Concise Guide says an employer who wilfully and without reasonable excuse fails to pay an award for wages or other statutory entitlements within 14 days after it is payable is liable to prosecution, with a maximum fine of HK$350,000 and imprisonment for three years.

You can apply to enforce an award through the Labour Tribunal Registry, but the Judiciary is candid: there is no guarantee enforcement succeeds, and if it fails, its costs fall on the winning party. If an employer cannot pay because of bankruptcy, the Labour Department's guide for helpers says the helper will be referred to the Legal Aid Department and to the Wage Security Division for an application to the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund.

The Visa Question: Can You Stay While Your Claim Is Heard?

The Immigration Department says helpers are normally admitted for two years or until two weeks after the contract is terminated, whichever is earlier. "Only in exceptional circumstances" may a helper apply to its Foreign Domestic Helpers Section to extend her stay as a visitor, on form ID 91. The Secretary for Security told the Legislative Council in a written reply on 26 March 2025 that these include attending a tribunal hearing over a labour or monetary dispute. You apply with Labour Department or Labour Tribunal papers showing your case is accepted or being processed. If an extension is granted, its length depends on your circumstances, and you may not work during it.

Two clocks run separately: the two weeks start at termination, but a call-over can come up to 30 days after filing. So call the Immigration Department (2824 6111) and the Labour Department early, before your permitted stay ends. Staying beyond your permitted stay is an offence.

The law also protects the act of claiming. The Labour Department says an employer who dismisses a helper for giving evidence or information in proceedings to enforce the Employment Ordinance commits an offence.

A Filipina domestic worker rinses fresh greens at the sink of a small Hong Kong kitchen in late-morning light, absorbed in her work.

A Claim Is Part of Your Career, Not the End of It

A worker who knows exactly what her contract owes her, and keeps the record that proves it, is not a difficult employee. The habits a claim forces on you, from dated wage receipts and a leave record to written notice and copies of everything, are the same habits that make the next contract safer. Start them on day one of every job, beginning with what your Hong Kong contract already guarantees.

The Labour Department says a helper normally returns home before changing employers, with exceptions that include evidence of abuse or exploitation. A Hong Kong employment agency may charge a job-seeker only the prescribed commission, currently 10% of the first month's salary after successful placement; report overcharging to the Employment Agencies Administration, and read the Code of Practice for Employment Agencies before you sign with one. For the Philippine side, read what the Philippine post can do, and if an agency back home took money or lied about the job, see filing against the agency back home.

Before You File: A Checklist

  • Your contract and any renewal
  • Wage receipts and bank records, month by month
  • Your leave record and rest days
  • The termination letter or messages, with dates
  • The last day of your permitted stay, and a call to the Immigration Department before then
  • Conciliation (required only for MECAB), and the referral number if it fails

The Questions Filipinos Ask Us Most

Do I need a lawyer at the Labour Tribunal? No. Legal representation is not permitted. The Judiciary's review and appeal pamphlet names the Free Legal Advice Scheme of the Duty Lawyer Service for free advice, not representation.

How much is redundancy pay in Hong Kong? The Labour Department says severance payment is due after at least 24 months' continuous employment when you are dismissed, or not renewed, because of redundancy; long service payment applies after at least five years, when the reason is anything other than serious misconduct or redundancy. For the amount, use the Department's Statutory Employment Entitlements Reference Calculator, which it says is for initial reference only.

How can I make a complaint to the Hong Kong Labour Department? Go to a Labour Relations Division branch office, call 2717 1771 (helpers: 2157 9537), or use the online forms on the Foreign Domestic Helpers Portal. Report breaches of the Employment Ordinance on 2815 2200.

How long do I have to file a claim? The Judiciary says claims that arose more than 6 years ago may be barred by the Limitation Ordinance, but some deadlines are far shorter. The Labour Department's Concise Guide says a severance-payment or employment-protection claim needs written notice to your employer within three months of the dismissal or contract change (the Commissioner for Labour may extend this), and an employment-protection claim must be filed at the Tribunal within nine months of the same date. Our advice: do not wait.

Sources