Catering Employer with Daily-Paid Staff and a Below-Threshold Cleaner
Wing Hing Cha Chaan Teng is a Hong Kong restaurant with 22 staff. The owner, Mr Lau, uses a master trust scheme for full-time staff but has not enrolled anyone paid by the day, believing casual staff are outside the MPF system. Payroll shows: (a) a full-time server, age 58, monthly salary HK$26,000; (b) a part-time cleaner, age 66, monthly salary HK$5,500; (c) a casual dim sum chef, age 40, paid HK$900 per day and working 12 days this month; (d) a new full-time manager, age 35, monthly salary HK$45,000, starting in two weeks. Mr Lau asks an MPF intermediary to 'keep costs low'. He suggests recording the cleaner's salary as HK$6,500 so that 'nobody has to contribute', and asks whether the chef can be paid cash without MPF. The intermediary must advise on enrolment, contributions and the owner's proposal.
1. Calculate the mandatory contributions for each of the four workers for this month. State who contributes, the contribution base, and any cap or exemption, and explain your reasoning.
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Full-time server, age 58, HK$26,000 monthly. She is within the 18–64 age band, so both she and the employer must contribute 5% of relevant income. HK$26,000 is below the HK$30,000 monthly cap, so each contributes HK$1,300. The employer must deduct her HK$1,300 from wages and remit both shares to the trustee.
Part-time cleaner, age 66, HK$5,500 monthly. Age is decisive. Mandatory contributions apply to employees aged 18 to 64; at 66 she is outside the mandatory regime. The employer does not have to make mandatory contributions for her, and she does not have to contribute, even though HK$5,500 is below the HK$7,100 employee threshold. The employer may offer voluntary contributions under scheme rules, but they are not mandatory.
Casual dim sum chef, age 40, HK$900 per day for 12 days. He works in catering as a casual employee, so the industry scheme applies. Contributions are calculated on daily relevant income. HK$900 is below the daily cap equivalent to HK$30,000 per month (HK$1,000 per day for a 30-day month). Each day: employee 5% = HK$45; employer 5% = HK$45. For 12 days: HK$540 each. He is above the minimum relevant income level for employee contributions, so the employee share is due.
New manager, age 35, HK$45,000 monthly. Relevant income is capped at HK$30,000 per month. Employee contribution: 5% x HK$30,000 = HK$1,500. Employer contribution: HK$1,500. The excess HK$15,000 is not mandatory-contribution income, though voluntary contributions could be arranged separately.
2. What enrolment and scheme-type steps should the employer take, and what are the consequences of following Mr Lau's suggestion to record the cleaner's salary as HK$6,500?
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The employer must enrol the full-time server and the new manager in an MPF scheme within the statutory enrolment period (within 60 days of employment). Because the restaurant already uses a master trust scheme for full-time staff, those two can be enrolled there. The casual chef cannot simply be paid cash outside MPF: casual employees in the catering and construction industries are covered by the industry scheme, and the employer must enrol him and remit daily contributions. Using a master trust scheme for him would not be appropriate if the industry scheme applies.
Mr Lau's proposal to record the cleaner at HK$6,500 is not a legitimate cost-saving measure. It misstates relevant income, avoids the employer's contribution obligation if she were under 65, and creates false payroll and MPF records. Even though the cleaner is 66 and outside mandatory contributions, falsifying her salary is still a compliance and record-keeping breach and could mislead the trustee and the MPFA. The intermediary must not assist in preparing or submitting false information. The intermediary should explain the correct position in writing, decline to implement the misreporting, and escalate the matter internally if the employer insists.
3. The owner says the cleaner is 'only part-time' and asks whether she can be excluded from the scheme altogether. How should the intermediary answer, and what practical records should be kept?
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Part-time status alone does not exclude an employee from MPF. The test is age and relevant income, not the label 'part-time'. If the cleaner were aged 18–64 and earning HK$5,500 monthly, the employee would not have to contribute because her relevant income is below HK$7,100, but the employer would still have to contribute 5% of HK$5,500 (HK$275 per month). Because she is 66, the mandatory regime does not apply at all, so she can be excluded from mandatory enrolment on age grounds-not because she is part-time.
The intermediary should record the basis of the advice: her date of birth, salary, employment contract and the age-based exemption. For the casual chef, keep daily wage records, days worked and industry scheme contribution records. For the full-time staff, keep enrolment forms, relevant income records and remittance statements. These records should be retained in the firm's system and be sufficient to show that the employer considered the correct rules. The intermediary should also document that the salary-reduction proposal was rejected.