What should I do if a former helper fled and creditors are now contacting me?

The short of it: the debt is not yours

When a foreign domestic helper leaves suddenly and the phone starts ringing, the first fear is almost always the same — am I now on the hook for what she borrowed? You are not. Licensed money lenders and their debt collectors are barred from trying to recover a debt, directly or indirectly, from anyone who is not in law indebted to them, and they are barred from harassing anyone while trying to locate a borrower (FSTB).

This holds whether or not the helper is still working for you. The Government has said plainly that an employer or former employer who finds their residential address being used improperly, and who feels harassed, may complain to the money lender concerned and demand the behaviour stop immediately (Government reply to LegCo, May 2025).

Common beliefs, corrected

Many employers believe that signing as a referee makes them a guarantor. In fact, under no circumstances is a referee liable for repayment of a loan — the referee's role is confined to giving information about the intending borrower at the application stage (FSTB).

Many employers believe that having been a referee entitles the lender to keep calling. In fact, the referee's role ends once the loan is granted, and irrespective of whether the employer ever acted as a referee, the lender should not be contacting the employer about any matter related to the debtor after the loan is granted (Government reply to LegCo, November 2024). If you never gave written consent to be a referee at all, the lender should not be contacting you about the loan in the first place (FSTB). And if your signature on a referee consent was not in fact yours, the lender must immediately stop using your information once it is informed or aware of that.

Many employers believe that harassment by a licensed lender is merely unpleasant rather than unlawful. In fact, a breach of the licensing conditions in the course of business is an offence, punishable on conviction by a fine of up to $100,000 and 2 years' imprisonment (FSTB). A complaint of this kind can also become a ground for the Registrar of Money Lenders or the Police to apply to the Licensing Court to revoke the licence or refuse its renewal (Government reply to LegCo, November 2024).

Many employers believe there is no point going to the Police unless something is damaged. In fact, the Police record non-crime harassment — repeated phone calls and visits — separately from crime reports, assess whether the conduct may escalate, and classify cases as high or low threat (Government reply to LegCo, 2017).

Where a complaint actually goes

A complaint can be made to the money lender direct — every licensed money lender is required to provide a complaints hotline — or to the Companies Registry's Money Lenders Section on 2867 2634 (Companies Registry; FSTB). Where the Companies Registry receives complaints from employers of foreign domestic helpers about harassment during debt recovery, it refers those cases to the Police for follow-up (Government reply to LegCo, May 2025).

One important distinction: this route covers licensed money lenders. Banks, restricted licence banks and deposit-taking companies sit under the Hong Kong Monetary Authority instead (Companies Registry). Work out which kind of creditor is calling before you complain, or the complaint lands in the wrong place.

The scale here is small and the channel is real: the Companies Registry received 11 such complaints in 2024 and 4 in the first four months of 2025, with the outstanding debts, where disclosed, ranging from about $1,000 to $16,800 (Government reply to LegCo, May 2025; November 2024). You are not the first employer to make this call.

Don't let the termination itself become the bigger problem

One thing to be clear about before the paperwork: the borrowing is not why this contract is ending. A personal loan is the helper's own lawful business, and taking one is not misconduct. Summary dismissal is reserved for very serious matters such as wilful disobedience of a lawful and reasonable order, dishonesty, or habitual neglect of duties (Labour Department). None of that describes a helper who took out a loan. What triggers the termination here is simply that she has gone, and a contract cannot be left open once one side has left.

The creditors are the noise. The exposure that actually reaches you is the termination paperwork. When a contract ends early, both the employer and the helper must give the Director of Immigration written notice within 7 days of the date of termination (GovHK). Miss it, or get the date and the acknowledgement wrong, and you are the one holding an unclosed file — which matters directly when you come to hire again.

If a helper ever asks you not to inform Immigration, the answer is no. An employer who agrees, and so helps her overstay, may be liable for aiding and abetting a breach of condition of stay, carrying a fine of $50,000 and 2 years' imprisonment on conviction (ImmD). After a premature termination a helper may stay only 2 weeks or the remainder of her permitted stay, whichever is earlier, and those who stay beyond that are liable to prosecution — as are those who help them (GovHK).

Separately, either party ending a contract early must give not less than one month's notice in writing, or one month's wages in lieu (ImmD). Where a helper has left without notice, what you owe and what you don't needs working out properly rather than guessed at — an underpaid final settlement is how a quiet departure turns into a Labour Department claim months later.

Ready to Close Out This Termination Properly?

GMA has been placing foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong families since 2003, from our Sha Tin office. We handle the termination end to end — the Immigration notification within the deadline, the final payment calculation to the dollar, and getting you cleanly into your next hire.

Start with our termination service, or talk to us directly — bring the dates and the last payslip and we will tell you exactly where you stand.