Moving to Taiwan, the UK, Canada or Australia while your parents stay in Hong Kong, cared for by the family helper, is an increasingly common arrangement. Being away raises three practical questions: how does she get paid, how do you keep records, and how does family on the ground help? This guide covers each.
1. Paying remotely, reliably
Most emigrant employers keep a Hong Kong bank account, and the simplest arrangement is a fixed monthly FPS transfer or a standing instruction. What matters is not the channel but the fixedness: same date, same amount, every month — so any later dispute has a clean transfer trail.
Remember that wages must be paid within 7 days of the end of the wage period; paying late breaches the Employment Ordinance. Time zones make this easy to miss, so schedule the transfer before the period ends.
2. The PDF payslip is your remittance and employment record
When you are not in Hong Kong, paper matters more than ever: contract renewals, labour disputes, and future care arrangements for your parents may all require proof of past payment. MaidDay exports a bilingual payslip PDF each period — base salary, overtime, holidays and deductions, with signature lines for both parties. Export one after each payday and file it.
3. The key feature: calendar sharing — family in HK records, you review from abroad
The blind spot of remote management is the day-to-day: which day she rested, worked overtime, or took sick leave. MaidDay's calendar sharing exists for exactly this — generate an invite link in Settings and a family member in Hong Kong (a sibling, say) joins the same calendar as a co-manager with their own account.
- Family in HK does the recording: rest days, overtime, sick leave, as they happen.
- You open the same calendar from abroad: the salary breakdown is computed, the payslip PDF is one tap away.
- Every day entry shows who updated it and when — both sides see the same audit trail.
4. Holidays and rest days: built in
From abroad it is easy to lose track of Hong Kong's statutory holidays. MaidDay ships with the 2026 and 2027 statutory and general holiday dates built in and marks them automatically. The full dated list is in the 2027 statutory holiday dates; holiday pay and substitution rules are in the statutory holiday rules.
5. Contract end, handled remotely too
The worst time to be absent is when the contract ends and the final payment must be right. MaidDay's contract-end settlement works out payment in lieu of notice, pro-rata annual leave, and severance or long service payment eligibility, and produces a signable settlement statement. Afterwards the helper's record can be archived — kept intact and reviewable, without standing in the way of hiring the next helper for your parents.
This article is for general reference only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Salary calculations may be inaccurate. Please verify all information against your employment contract, the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57), and professional advice. See our full Disclaimer.