In response to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic in Hong Kong, the government has recently launched relief measures to support companies affected by the fifth wave by providing wage subsidies to employers and easing the financial burden of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The measures include Employment Support Scheme and Special 100% Loan Guarantee Scheme.
The Hong Kong Government has recently launched a new round of the Employment Support Scheme (ESS) to provide wage subsidies to eligible employers in order to retain or hire more employees when the company recovers from the Covid-19 outbreak. Employers will receive wage subsidies up to HKD 8,000 per month for each employee from May to June 2022.
Employers can apply for the scheme from 29 April 2022 at 8 am to 12 May 2022 at 11.59 pm.
To be eligible for the ESS, employers must meet the following requirements:
Approved applicants for the 2020 ESS must choose to either use (1) their MPF/ORSO records for the 2020 ESS or (2) their MPF/ORSO records for the fourth quarter of 2021 as a basis to calculate the subsidised quota cap and the maximum subsidy amount.
If approved applicants choose:
Applicants who were not approved or did not apply for the 2020 ESS must use the second method to calculate the subsidised quota cap and the maximum subsidy amount.
The subsidised quota is divided into three categories (fully, half and elderly), and the maximum subsidy amount is calculated based on the applicant’s RM.
Subsidy quota | Monthly wage of the RM (per employee) | Maximum subsidy amount |
Fully subsidy quota | HKD 8,000 or more | HKD 8,000 |
Half subsidy quota | HKD 3,000 but not more than HKD 8,000 | HKD 4,000 |
Elderly subsidy quota | HKD 3,000 for each employee ages 65 and above | HKD 4,000 |
In each subsidy month, applicants applying for ESS 2022 must undertake to employ a sufficient number of employees, and the employment status must be recorded in the MPF or ORSO scheme records.
The undertaking requirements that must be met are:
In the case that employers cannot satisfy the above requirements in any month during the subsidy period, employers must return the subsidy amount and pay a penalty of 10% of the subsidy amount to be returned.
To reduce the hassle of having to apply for the scheme by yourself, Acclime can support you with the following:
The Special 100% Loan Guarantee Scheme under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme aims to enhance cash flow support for SMEs that are experiencing reduced income by providing loans at a low-interest rate. This will alleviate the financial pressure on companies and reduce the number of companies having to shut down or lay off staff.
Companies can apply for the Special 100% Loan Guarantee scheme until 30 June 2023.
To be able to benefit from this scheme, companies must meet the following requirements:
Terms and conditions that apply to loans under the Special 100% Loan Guarantee Scheme are:
If you are applying for the Special 100% Loan Guarantee Scheme, Acclime can help you with the following:
In summary, both the ESS and Special 100% Loan Guarantee Scheme aims to financially support local SMEs by providing wage subsidies and low-interest rate loans to enterprises. All employers except employers listed under Part 1 of the Exclusion List are eligible to apply for the ESS and receive wage subsidies of up to HKD 8,000 per month for each employee from May to June 2022.
Under the Special 100% Loan Guarantee Scheme, eligible companies will receive loans to alleviate any financial burden so the enterprise can recover from income loss and continue to operate their businesses during the outbreak. If you need any support applying for the schemes, do not hesitate to contact Acclime. We can help you with anything, from gathering the required information and submitting the application to following up on the application to ensure you receive the entitled subsidies or loans.