DAB Meets the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, calls for family focused reforms to foreign domestic helper policy

Aug 14

2 min read

14 August 2026

Foreign domestic helpers have long been essential to Hong Kong families. With an ageing population and rising care demands, there is a clear need to review and enhance the helper policy to better support families.

Recent public concerns have focused on the minimum wage, employment agencies, contract arrangements and alleged violations. To better understand these issues and explore improvements, members of the DAB Women Affairs Committee, a sub‑committee of the Policy Advocacy Committee met with Secretary for Labour and Welfare Mr. Chris Sun yesterday. The discussion centred on optimising the helper policy and strengthening family support. Attendees included LegCo Members Ms. Kwok Fu-yung, Ms. Chik Kit-ling and Mr. Cheung Pui-kong, DAB Executive Committee Member Mr. Ngan Man-yu, and several district councillors.

During the meeting, Ms. Chik Kit-ling, Mr. Ngan Man-yu, and district councillors conveyed residents' difficulties with helpers — including unfair contract terminations, loan issues, medical liabilities, child safety concerns, and uneven agency quality.

They noted that families often pay upfront fees without full access to helpers' work histories. An unsuitable match or early contract termination can cause extra costs and disrupt care for children and the elderly.

Participants called for systemic improvements to close regulatory gaps and boost agency transparency, urging the Government to tighten agency regulation, enhance recruitment transparency, improve matching and dispute resolution, and provide support for both employers and helpers.

The Secretary and officials said helper policy spans multiple departments. Suspected unlawful cases should be reported to the Police. Non‑compliant agencies will be dealt with under existing rules. Labour Department noted that post‑pandemic complaints on early terminations had dropped sharply from several thousand cases.

Media Enquiries:

Ms. Kwok Fu-yung, LegCo Member (New Territories South West) – 5573 3207

Ms. Chik Kit-ling, LegCo Member (Hong Kong Island East) – 6953 3151

Mr. Cheung Pui-kong, LegCo Member (Kowloon East) – 6386 3637