Wage subsidies provided under the ESS are calculated based on 50% of wages in a specified month subject to a wage cap of $18,000 per month for six months. The amount of subsidy for an employer would be calculated based on the actual wages paid to employees at a specified month (any month between January - March 2020 as designated by the employer).
Payment will be made in two tranches, with the first payout no later than the end of June to subsidise employers to pay employees' wages from June to August.
After approval of the application, the number of employees on payroll shall not be less than the number of employees in March and the wage subsidies applied by employers must be used fully for employees' wages.
Under the ESS, self-employed people who have contributed to the MPF from January 1, 2019 to March 31 will be granted a one-off subsidy of $7,500.
The scheme is expected to benefit over 260,000 employers who have been making MPF contributions or have set up Occupational Retirement Schemes for 1.7 million employees, and about 215,000 self-employed people.
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