Update on processing 2022 Employment Support Scheme applications
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A Government spokesman said today (June 20) that the 2022 Employment Support Scheme (2022 ESS) Secretariat has so far approved wage subsidies for May for about 152 000 employers, involving a total of about $10 billion for over 1.2 million employees. They represented about 86 per cent of all applications received from employers.
Moreover, the Secretariat is issuing notifications to some 4 000 unsuccessful employer applicants. Reasons for rejection include employers not making the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) contributions for their employees, or employees not meeting the eligibility criteria for the 2022 ESS. Applicants who intend to request a review of the application results should provide the relevant MPF remittance statements for the fourth quarter of 2021 showing that they have made contributions to their relevant employees on or before February 28, 2022.
For the remaining some 10 per cent of applications pending processing, the government-appointed agent is seeking supplementary information from the relevant employers or MPF trustees. The Secretariat’s target is to complete processing these cases within June.
Also, the Secretariat will, by next week, notify the first batch of employers of their final approved wage subsidies for June. They will receive the June wage subsidies within seven working days upon receiving notifications.
As for self-employed persons (SEPs), the Secretariat has so far approved nearly 72 000 applications, involving a total of about $570 million. They represented about 60 per cent of all SEPs applications received. Starting from next week, notifications will be issued to around 30 000 unsuccessful SEPs applicants. Their applications were not approved mainly because of not having an eligible SEPs MPF account. The Secretariat targets to complete vetting the remaining approximately 15 000 applications within June.