2. Information
  3. Employment Programme for the Elderly and Middle-aged
  4. Job Seekers: Application Guides
Employment Programme for the Elderly and Middle-aged
Employment Programme for the Elderly and Middle-aged

Job Seekers: Application Guides

Eligibility

  1. Job seekers must (i) be Hong Kong residents aged 40 or above at the time of employment, (ii) have an unemployment period of not less than 1 month within 1 year prior to the commencement date of employment, (iii) be lawfully employable in Hong Kong(Note 1), (iv) not be the specified classes of persons(Note 2), and (v) be registered as an employment service user with job centres of LD.

    (Note 1)

    For the definition of "lawfully employable in Hong Kong", please visit the webpage of the Immigration Department: https://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/useful_information/dont-employ-illegal.htmlFor the avoidance of doubt, persons and their dependants admitted to Hong Kong on employment and student conditions are not eligible to join EPEM.

    (Note 2)

    Refer to persons and their dependants who have been admitted to Hong Kong through various admission schemes for talents and capital investors. Such schemes include, but are not limited to, the Top Talent Pass Scheme, the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, the Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates, the General Employment Policy (GEP), the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals (ASMTP), the GEP and ASMTP (Technical Professionals Stream), the Technology Talent Admission Scheme, the Admission Scheme for the Second Generation of Chinese Hong Kong Permanent Residents, the Vocational Professionals Admission Scheme, the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme and the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme.

  2. The placed job seeker commences employment after the vacancy has been accepted for display by LD and there is no kinship tie or prior employment relationship between the placed job seeker and the employer (including proprietor, partner or director of the company/organisation).

Registration

  1. No prior registration as an employment service user under the Employment Programme for the Elderly and Middle-aged (EPEM) is required. After job seekers have secured full-time or part-time (part-time means (1) employed under a continuous contract(Note); and (2) working hours of (i) less than 30 hours per week, or (ii) less than 120 hours in every four-week period) employment from long-term job vacancies accepted for display by LD, and their employers have submitted the completed "Preliminary Application Form for On-the-Job Training" (1,054KB) to LD within the first month of employment, they can complete the relevant registration procedures at any job centre.

    (Note)

    The new requirement of "continuous contract" is applicable from 18 January 2026@. An employee is regarded as being employed under a "continuous contract" if the following criteria are met:

    1. the employee has been employed continuously by the same employer for four weeks or more; and
    2. the employee has met one of the working hours requirements:
      1. worked for at least 17 hours each week; or
      2. (if worked less than 17 hours in any week) worked for the employer concerned for 68 hours or more in a four-week period comprising that week and the three weeks next preceding that week.

    @ The new requirement has no retrospective effect. For an employment period before this date, an employee is required to be employed continuously by the same employer for four weeks or more and has worked for at least 18 hours or more each week to meet the "continuous contract" requirement.

    Please click here to browse information on latest job vacancies of EPEM.

On-the-job Training

  1. Under EPEM, employer has to provide on-the-job training (OJT) to the placed job seeker during the OJT period approved by the Labour Department, and assign an experienced employee as mentor. Since the provision of OJT is mainly to enable newly hired elderly or middle-aged employee to adapt to new work environment and acquire essential job-specific skills, it is advised that mentor adopts a side-by-side coaching approach for OJT. Employer can formulate the appropriate OJT content based on the business nature, job seeker's qualifications and job requirements, etc.

  2. In general, OJT lasts for 3 months for employees aged 40 to 59 and 6 months for employees aged 60 or above. Depending on the case circumstances (e.g. the employee already possesses the job skills and/or experience required for the position before employment), LD has the right to approve a shorter OJT period than in general cases, or to refuse the relevant application. On the other hand, subject to the approval of LD, the OJT period may be extended to a maximum of 6 months and 12 months respectively for deserving cases in which employers have to provide information for vetting.

  3. After verification on preliminary application, LD will notify employers and employees by issuing a "Letter of Approval-in-Principle". Employers shall then commence the approved OJT according to the date specified in the "Letter of Approval-in-Principle". LD will provide copies of the "Preliminary Application Form for On-the-Job Training" (1,054KB) and relevant training forms (if applicable) submitted by the employer to the employee concerned.

  4. Upon completion of OJT by eligible employees under EPEM, the employers may apply for OJT allowance from LD. For application procedures, please refer to the section of "Employers: Application Guides for On-the-job Training Allowance".

Points to note

  1. LD has the right to require the employer or employee to produce relevant information and records, such as Business Registration Certificate, employment contracts, “Training Plan”, wage and attendance records, MPF records, training records, employment proof of mentor, employer’s tax records, employer's return of remuneration and pensions and other information for examination. LD also has the right to meet with relevant persons (including but not limited to employees, representatives and mentors of the company/organisation) to obtain information related to application for EPEM for examination. LD also has the right to conduct on-site inspections to the workplace to verify the application information.

  2. The employer, employee and mentor shall provide true and accurate information. Provision of false or erroneous information for obtaining or intending to obtain any allowances under this programme is liable to an offence, and the case may be referred to other divisions of LD, other government departments and/or statutory bodies for follow-up.

  3. LD reserves the final right to approve preliminary application for OJT, to determine the length of OJT period and to grant OJT allowance and its amount. In case of disputes over the application or interpretation of terms and clauses of EPEM, the authority of final decision rests with LD. The employer and the employee shall undertake to submit to the decision of LD.

  4. For submission by post, please make a copy of the filled application forms for record and ensure sufficient mailing time and postage to make delivery in order. Underpaid mail will be rejected. For submission by fax, please keep the fax-generated logsheet that shows the successful transmission record.

  5. The Application Guidelines will be updated at times and the terms should be subject to the latest version. For enquiries, please contact the EPEM Hotline at 2150 6398, email to epem_enq@labour.gov.hk, post to Units 3507-3512, 35/F, Tower 1, Millennium City 1, 388 Kwun Tong Road, Kwun Tong, Kowloon (no counter service), or visit the EPEM dedicated webpage on the Interactive Employment Service website at www.jobs.gov.hk.

For enquiries, please contact EPEM Hotline : 2150 6398