Completing five years of service does not automatically create a long service payment. The decisive issue is usually how employment ends.
Ordinary resignation for a new job, study, migration or personal preference normally does not qualify by itself. Possible qualifying circumstances include dismissal other than summary dismissal for serious misconduct, non-renewal of a fixed-term contract, death in service, resignation at age 65 or above, and resignation supported by the required medical certification of permanent unfitness for the current work.
Check eligibility before calculating
A monthly paid employee's statutory formula is generally two-thirds of the last month's wages for each reckonable year of service, subject to statutory wage and total-payment caps. A proportionate amount can apply to an incomplete year. Where the law permits, the employee may elect to use average wages over the relevant 12-month period.
Commission, allowances, unpaid leave and irregular pay can change the wage basis. Use the Severance and Long Service Payment Calculator for an estimate and the Average Daily Wage Calculator to organise variable earnings, but confirm eligibility separately.
Severance and long service payment are different routes
Redundancy may lead to severance payment, while other qualifying termination reasons may lead to long service payment. They are not both payable for the same period of service.
The MPF offset change has a transition date
1 May 2025 is the transition date. For an employee hired before that date, the calculation may need to separate pre-transition and post-transition service. Employer mandatory MPF benefits cannot offset the post-transition portion, while the pre-transition portion and employer voluntary contributions follow separate rules.
Check the Labour Department's abolition of MPF offset portal and its Concise Guide to severance and long service payment.
Before leaving, keep the employment contract, 12 months of pay records, termination documents, MPF records and details of final payments. This article was last checked on 29 July 2026.