What the law says — 4 situations where employers aren't liable
Under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance (Cap. 282), when an employee meets with an accident arising out of and in the course of employment resulting in injury or death, the employer is generally liable to pay compensation regardless of whether the employee was at fault or negligent — that's the core of the "no-fault" compensation system. But the Ordinance also sets out 4 exceptions where the employer is not liable. To understand your policy's actual coverage, see our complete Employees' Compensation Insurance guide.
| Exception | In plain terms |
|---|---|
| Injury did not cause loss of normal wages | Applies only to minor injuries without permanent incapacity |
| Employee's deliberate self-inflicted injury | The accident itself was self-inflicted on purpose |
| False declaration of a prior injury at hiring | Knowingly false statement of never having had that injury/disease |
| Accident directly caused by drugs or alcohol | Unless the injury resulted in death or serious permanent incapacity |
Source: Employees' Compensation Ordinance (Cap. 282); Labour Department "A Concise Guide to the Employees' Compensation Ordinance" (April 2026 edition).
Who isn't covered by the Ordinance in the first place?
Beyond the 4 exceptions above, the Ordinance also excludes 3 categories of people from its coverage entirely:
- Persons employed on a casual basis — with its own carve-back: part-time domestic helpers, casual employees engaged by an employer in that employer's own trade or business, and casual employees engaged and paid by a club for playing games or sports, remain covered. See our guide on EC insurance for part-time, casual and self-employed staff for the detailed breakdown.
- Outworkers — people who take materials home or to their own premises to process, outside the employer's direct supervision, aren't treated as being in an ordinary employment relationship under the Ordinance.
- Family members living with the employer — unless the employer's policy expressly extends cover to family members, in which case the Ordinance still applies. Check your actual policy wording on this point.
On the flip side — situations the law specifically deems "arising out of employment"
It's not all exceptions. The Ordinance also specifies several situations that are deemed to have arisen out of and in the course of employment, even though they might not look like "working hours" on the surface — good news for employers and staff alike, especially with typhoon season still active:
- The employee is travelling as a passenger on transport operated or arranged by the employer to or from the workplace (excluding public transport);
- The employee is driving or operating employer-arranged or provided transport, on the direct route between home and the workplace, in connection with their work;
- During a Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 8 or above, a Red/Black Rainstorm Warning, or an "extreme conditions" announcement, an accident occurring while travelling directly from home to the workplace within 4 hours before working hours begin, or from the workplace to home within 4 hours after working hours end; or
- The employee, with the employer's permission, travels for work purposes between Hong Kong and a place outside Hong Kong, or between two places outside Hong Kong.
A typhoon-season reminder
Many employers assume that once a Signal 8 or higher is hoisted, whatever staff choose to do is no longer the company's concern. In fact, the law specifically brings the designated commuting window during a Signal 8+ or Black Rainstorm Warning within scope. Worth knowing precisely before you're asked about it by an employee.
Beyond the statutory exceptions, what should you also check in your policy?
The 4 exceptions and 3 excluded categories above are exceptions built into the Ordinance itself — they're not the same as every clause in your specific policy. Different insurers' policies carry their own requirements and additional exclusions around force majeure, disclosure obligations, and renewal notice, so actual coverage always depends on your policy wording. If a colleague is actually injured at work, remember to follow the statutory steps in our separate work injury reporting deadline guide too — don't treat the insurance side as the whole picture.
"We have EC insurance, so everything's covered" — that assumption is risky
EC insurance is a statutory requirement, but that doesn't mean every injury case automatically gets compensated. The 4 exceptions and 3 excluded categories above are common blind spots for employers — particularly around how casual or outsourced work is classified, and whether an employee's health declaration at hiring was accurate.