[krypton]

If there is cap set by HK law on contractual work hours per week or can that be anything upto 24x7. I am not including overtime or voluntary hours put in, just the work hours per your employment contract.

[shri]

No caps by law.

http://www.cityu.edu.hk/searc/labour...tml/HK_3.7.pdf

[krypton]

Thanks Shri. Could not find such a summary on .gov.hk. Not that I have read in details the laws for other cities but this sounds pretty bad, especially the annual leave part. I wonder if the situation is similar in other major cities in the region (will look around for info).

[PDLM]

And yet in both the companies I have worked in here we have found it extremely hard to persuade many local employees to take the paid leave to which they are entitled. It's all a matter of perception - for someone coming from Europe where many countries mandate a minimum of 25 days per year paid annual leave (see to be EU standard) it all looks very strange.

[ronsby]

I think it's the common phenomone to many Asian workers eg. Japanese, Chinese, etc. They work hard and don't know how to enjoy their lives at the same time. For example, many Japanese overwork to death. Asian workers are used to having long hours working as they don't have labour union to protect or fight for them. On the other hand, some would think Asian countries have higher productivity than European countries as the workers enjoy fewer holiday.

[KnowItAll]

When I left my company I walked away with a good 5 months salary as cash, from unpaid leave.

Sometimes when you work at a senior level .... you have to take ownership of the situation. Would you answer a call from an MD at a major multi-million dollar account on a Sunday? Just when you're about to sit down for a long brunch?

And please .. dont' give me the nonsense that you would not because you are European.

We had a simple mathematical situation .. if you dealt with customers on your time of, you were comp'ed.

(Junior employees could not cash out on leave .. senior employees at a regional level had a LOT of flexibility on what was considered a holiday and what was comped.)

[freeier]

alot of ppl tend to claim that japanese working their life to death, or asians working hard, but how many ppl actually know how the ppl think and how they behave.

i've met french (of all ppl) that are far more hardworking. coming into office at 7am each morning working through lunch and leaving at 10pm at night.
when are you in a position having to make decision, u just can't walk away from the responsibilities.

so my take is, its not the culture. its the responsibility.
a responsible person wld end up working longer hours to fulfill what they need to do. whereas one that care less about what's happening around them (with the protection of unions) can afford to leave everyday on the dot.

[KnowItAll]

>> i've met french (of all ppl) that are far more hardworking.

The minority that keep that nation alive and going ....

>> its not the culture. its the responsibility.

Amen.

[krypton]

Originally Posted by KnowItAll

(Junior employees could not cash out on leave .. senior employees at a regional level had a LOT of flexibility on what was considered a holiday and what was comped.)

That is quite different from my experience and what I think works. Junior employees are more likely to be comp'ed for overtime and work on holidays. As senior management you are expected to handle situations as and when they happen. Extra work is part of your fat pay package.

Anyway, my initial questions was more for work hours are per your contract. It is what your employer mandates as hours you have to sit on your desk, even when you are staring at the rest of the office.

How long you work to get the job done in a crunch is different from how long you have to be at work in normal operating environments.

[KnowItAll]

Your employment contract should have the normal working hours in it. 40 seems to be the average on the contracts.