Hong Kong Executive Bonus Commission can become messy when dates, forms and evidence are scattered. Caira helps organise the record. Ask about Hong Kong law, draft letters or forms, and upload files for review.
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Check the dismissal date, deadline, contract, warnings, pay records and messages first.
For HKD 10 million of salary, bonus or severance, a careful chronology can change the negotiation.
Preserve lawful evidence, but avoid taking confidential files you should not access.
Use Caira to build a timeline and draft a response checklist.
An unpaid bonus or commission dispute in Hong Kong usually turns on documents, not job title. Senior employees often describe the claim as a bonus claim, but the evidence may show several different rights: contractual commission, annual bonus, discretionary award, end of year payment, payment in lieu of notice, accrued wages, or a settlement promise made during termination. Before filing or negotiating, separate each amount and identify the legal and contractual source for it.
The official starting points are the Labour Tribunal page, the Labour Department's Concise Guide to the Employment Ordinance, and the Employment Ordinance FAQ on end of year payment. The Labour Tribunal commonly deals with employment-contract and ordinance-based monetary claims, including wages, bonus, double pay, annual bonus, and commission. The Labour Department guidance also cautions that end of year payment depends on the contract and whether a payment is contractual or genuinely discretionary.
That distinction is crucial for executives whose documents use a mix of incentive, target, discretionary, not automatic, and clawback language.
Break The Claim Into Components
Do not file one large number called unpaid bonus. Build a table. For each item, state the pay period, scheme name, formula, trigger date, amount claimed, amount paid, reason given for non-payment, and source document. A sales commission claim might depend on booked revenue, collected cash, client acceptance, allocation between team members, or whether the employee was still employed on a payment date. A bonus claim might depend on individual performance, company performance, board approval, continued employment, or a written can help.
Read the offer letter, employment contract, bonus plan, commission plan, staff handbook, annual review, termination letter, and any post-termination emails together. Employers sometimes rely on a single discretion clause while employees rely on a target letter or past practice. The useful question is not whether the employee deserved the money in a broad moral sense. It is whether the documents, conduct, and numbers show an entitlement that can be presented clearly.
Evidence That Usually Matters
Preserve originals where possible. Screenshots are helpful, but tribunal-ready files should include source emails, signed plans, CRM exports, payslips, bank records, payroll summaries, tax forms, and messages showing approval. If access to company systems may end, lawfully save personal copies of documents you are entitled to keep. Do not take confidential client files or internal data beyond what advice confirms you can use.
Contract file: offer, employment contract, variation letters, bonus or commission rules, clawback terms.
Performance file: KPI targets, review scores, sales dashboards, deal lists, approvals, board or manager emails.
Payment file: payslips, payroll summaries, bank credits, tax records, prior-year bonus letters, commission statements.
Termination file: notice, reason, final pay calculation, release draft, settlement messages, garden leave terms.
Dispute table: amount claimed, calculation method, document reference, employer response, and missing document.
Discretionary Does Not End The Analysis
If a plan says the award is discretionary, that is important but not always the end of the conversation. The employee should still gather evidence showing how discretion was usually exercised, whether targets were met, whether comparable employees were paid, whether the employer gave reasons, and whether a specific amount was promised. At the same time, avoid saying the Labour Tribunal must award a discretionary bonus. The better position is narrower: ask what the contract says, what past practice shows, and whether the refusal is supported by the scheme and facts.
Commission claims need the same discipline. Identify the revenue, client, invoice, payment receipt, split, and calculation date. If commission is payable only after collection, attach collection evidence if available. If the employer says a deal closed after termination, show the employee's role, internal approvals, and the scheme wording. If the scheme changed, preserve the old and new versions and the date of consent or notice.
Traditional Chinese Demand Note
Use this as a document request, not a final pleading:
主旨：要求確認未付花紅/佣金及最後工資計算
本人請公司於[日期]前書面提供下列資料：相關花紅或佣金計劃、本人於[期間]的業績紀錄、已計算及未支付金額、拒絕付款的合約依據，以及最後工資明細。本人保留就僱傭合約及《僱傭條例》下的權利向勞資審裁處或相關機構提出申索的權利。
Before Filing Or Settling
Check jurisdiction, claim value, limitation timing, and whether any arbitration, share-plan, or equity award clause changes the route. Some executive disputes include share units, deferred compensation, confidentiality obligations, and restrictive covenants. Those may need separate advice even if the ordinary wage or commission element looks suitable for Labour Tribunal handling.
A settlement conversation should state what is undisputed, what is disputed, and what documents would narrow the gap. If the employer offers a lump sum, ask whether it is salary, bonus, commission, ex gratia payment, notice, leave, or full and final settlement. Tax, confidentiality, non-disparagement, and future references may matter as much as the headline number.
The practical advantage is clarity. A claim that links every dollar to a document, period, formula, and event is easier to assess than a general allegation that the employer acted unfairly. Hong Kong bonus and commission disputes can be strong, weak, or mixed; the evidence table is how you find out which one you have.
Free copyable template: This guide includes a free draft you can copy into Microsoft Word, adapt to your facts, and compare against your documents before uploading the file to Caira.
Copyable Hong Kong bonus and commission demand draft
Copy the wording below into Microsoft Word or Google Docs, then replace every square-bracketed section. If you want a .docx file, copy from the first line of the draft to the signature block, paste it into Microsoft Word, and save or download it as a Word document.
BONUS AND COMMISSION DEMAND
Dear [name],
I refer to [contract], [bonus plan] and [messages / approvals]. My position is that HKD [amount] remains unpaid, made up of [bonus], [commission] and [deferred amount].
Please confirm whether the company disputes the calculation. If so, identify the clause, target data, deal record and approval relied on.
Documents attached: [contract, plan, CRM, signed order, approvals, termination letter, payslips, MPF records]. Please respond by [date].
Example filled-in Hong Kong bonus and commission demand draft
This example is deliberately a little messy: real files often involve children, blended families, business interests, offshore accounts, disputed valuations, old messages and incomplete paperwork. Use it as a model for the level of detail to gather, not as facts to copy.
BONUS AND COMMISSION DEMAND - EXAMPLE
I refer to my employment contract dated 1 January 2024, the 2026 Sales Incentive Plan, and the WhatsApp confirmation from 18 March 2026 that the Mainland enterprise deal would count toward my annual target.
My position is that HKD 2,850,000 remains unpaid: HKD 1,600,000 annual bonus at 92% target achievement, HKD 950,000 commission on the Shenzhen CloudBank contract, and HKD 300,000 deferred retention bonus. I attach the signed contract, incentive plan, pipeline report, CRM export, client order form, approval email from the regional CFO, termination letter, final payslip and MPF contribution record.
Separate bonus, commission and deferred pay
A senior employee pay claim can become muddled if every unpaid sum is described as a bonus. Separate the categories: earned commission on closed deals, annual performance bonus, deferred bonus, retention payment, salary in lieu, expenses and share-related amounts.
For Hong Kong executives, the most persuasive documents are often commercial rather than legal: CRM records, signed order forms, board approvals, finance emails, target dashboards and prior-year payment patterns. Preserve them before system access is removed.
Build a table with deal, date, amount, rate, approver and document.
Explain whether the deal closed before or after termination.
Identify any discretion clause and evidence of how discretion was used before.
Ask for the employer's calculation, not just payment.
This article is general information, not legal, financial, medical or tax advice.
