The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) called on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government and employers to implement more family-friendly employment practices to attract and retain talent, including promoting a culture of “disconnecting from work outside office hours” and introducing additional types of family leave.

The suggestions accompanied the release on Tuesday of a study on family-friendly employment practices.

The commission surveyed 1,000 family members of employees and 400 human resource managers in July and August last year.

READ MORE: Enhancing family life in Hong Kong by building stronger bonds

Family respondents reported that requiring employees to handle work matters or remain on-call outside regular office hours negatively affects work-life balance.

The study found that 16 percent of the family members spent over 40 hours per week on unpaid family duties — equivalent to that of a full-time job, and wished that their working family members could take leave to offer additional support, consider flexible work hours, a five-day work week and office-home hybrid working mode could enable employed family members to better fulfil their family responsibilities.

However, the study shows that less than 5 percent of employers allow the use of annual leave in advance, provide additional annual leave, or offer family-friendly leave.

Four percent of employers suggest employees consider resigning if they request additional leave for handling family affairs after they have exhausted their paid annual leave — a practice that could violate the Family Status Discrimination Ordinance, said Ferrick Chu Chung-man, EOC’s executive director overseeing operations.

According to the study, approximately 90 percent of participating HR professionals said their organizations had no formal family-friendly employment practices (FFEP) guidelines. Despite this, both sides agreed that implementing written FFEP policies will better safeguard employees’ family obligations.

Doris Tsui Ue-ting, EOC’s head of policy, research and training, suggested that employers promote a complete work disconnection culture outside office hours and added that the SAR government take the lead through gradual administrative measures and legislative amendments to establish additional types of family leave, such as caregiver leave or sick family member leave.

Family leave refers to a special day off to meet employers’ family needs, such as birthday leave and marriage leave.

READ MORE: HKFTU urges more steps to lift women’s workforce participation

Other suggestions include implementing flexible work arrangements during inclement weather, providing medical insurance coverage for employees’ families, and more robust anti-discrimination education for employers and HR professionals.

From 2022 to July this year, the EOC received 126 complaints related to the Family Status Discrimination Ordinance, primarily on resignation processes, leave denial, and missed salary increase opportunities. Most complainants were caregivers for newborns, family members with mental health conditions, or had children with special needs.

“Maintaining excellent employees requires considerable investment,” Chu said, adding that implementing family-friendly measures could help in attracting and retaining talent.

Contact the writer at stacyshi@chinadailyhk.com