Anti-epidemic Fund│How does the second round of fund benefit 16 sectors benefit most? Any doubts?

Political situation

Written by: Zhai Ruimin, Peng Zhuowei

2020-04-09 07:00

Chief Executive Lin Zhengyue held a press conference today (8th) and announced the launch of the second round of anti-epidemic and anti-epidemic funds, involving 137.5 billion yuan, of which 21 billion yuan is expected to be used to provide 16 support projects to benefit tutoring agencies, passenger transportation, tourism, and aviation 16 industries including restaurants and restaurants.

In addition, the government has also spent 80 billion yuan to launch a "employment protection" measure to provide employers in Hong Kong with a six-month wage subsidy, capped at HK $ 9,000; but the plan only covers employers who have contributions to employees' MPF accounts, and Self-employed MPF contributors will be provided with a one-off subsidy for the food and beverage, construction and taxi, red minibus driver-based transportation industries that are not fully covered by the MPF scheme.

"Hong Kong 01" sorts out what kind of allowances citizens can benefit from in different industries and scenarios, and the government has yet to answer the doubts in the "employment protection" plan.

Lin Zhengyue announced the details of the second round of "Epidemic Prevention and Anti-epidemic Fund". (Photo by Yu Junliang)

Scenario 1:

As the owner of the fitness center and I am self-employed as a fitness coach, can I get the subsidies for obtaining "employment protection" and anti-epidemic funds at the same time?

As the owner of the fitness center, because the government ordered the closure on the 28th, the government will issue a subsidy of 100,000 yuan; at the same time, it can apply for the "employment protection" plan to pay the employees. The subsidy is calculated on the basis of the employee ’s 50% salary. The salary cap is 18,000 Hong Kong dollars and the subsidy cap is 9,000 Yuan. As self-employed persons, if they contribute to the self-employed MPF scheme, they will also receive a one-off subsidy from the government.

If the fitness center is renting a government property, from April to September 2020, the rent relief for eligible merchants or institutions in the government property will be increased from 50% to 75%. Fully closed tenants (such as cross-border ferry terminals and government school snack kiosks) are eligible for full rent relief; holders of short-term government land leases and lease exemptions can also be closed if required or voluntarily closed due to government regulations Apply for a full relief.

In addition, the fitness center can also benefit from the government ’s reduction of 75% of the water and sewage charges payable for non-residential accounts for an additional 4 months (that is, August to November 2020), with a maximum monthly allowance of 20,000 per household Yuan and 12,500 yuan.

The anti-epidemic fund benefits 16 sectors including:

1. Tuition club

2. School-related service providers

3. Registered sports coach

4. Instructor of interest class in social service center

5. Private waste collector

6. Local and agricultural producers

7. Participants of small and medium exchanges and licensees of the China Securities Regulatory Commission

8. Licensed real estate agent and salesperson

9. Passenger Transport

10. Theater, Yuanchuangfang Design Center, printing and publishing industry

11. Tourism

12. Construction related enterprises

13. Non-profit organizations operating in different historical buildings and open space projects under the Development Bureau

14. Aviation industry

15. Restaurants

16. 11 industries ordered to be closed

▼ Official supplementary information of the epidemic prevention and epidemic prevention fund ▼

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Scenario 2:

I am a taxi driver, and my employer has not contributed to my MPF. Can I be covered by the "employment insurance" measure?

The "employment protection" measure will pay 50% of the 6-month salary based on the information of the MPF contribution account, but some industries that are not fully covered by the MPF scheme include the catering industry, construction industry and taxis, red small For the transportation industry dominated by bus drivers, the government will also provide subsidies to its employers, including a monthly allowance of $ 6,000 for each eligible regular taxi and red bus driver for a period of 6 months; Taxi and red bus drivers who meet the eligibility requirements but meet certain conditions will be granted a one-off allowance of RMB 7,500; 59,000 taxi drivers and 2,500 red bus drivers are expected to benefit.

In addition, the government will grant a subsidy of over 30,000 yuan to each registered taxi and red bus owner. A total of 18,163 taxis and about 1,030 red bus owners are expected to benefit.

Scenario 3:

If I have been laid off earlier, can I benefit from the "employment protection" measure?

Employers may decide to use the subsidy to recruit employees or increase their salaries. The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Luo Zhiguang, said that the incentive for the entire subsidy scheme is to hope that employers will not lay off employees.

To support the unemployed, the government also announced that it will temporarily relax the asset review for CSSA applications and provide a time-limited unemployment support program through the CSSA system, doubling the asset limit for the able-bodied for six months. It is estimated that it will benefit 40,000 households. In the next two years, the government will invest 6 billion yuan to create about 30,000 time-limited (not more than 12 months) jobs in public and private institutions, covering people with different educational backgrounds and skills, including professional and technical personnel, and college graduates. , Middle-level and grass-roots workers.

11 industries were ordered to be closed by the government on the 28th, including fitness centers. The government will issue a one-off grant of 100,000 yuan. (Photo by Gao Zhongming)

Scenario 4:

My employer has contributed to the employee's MPF account. How can I ensure that the employer gets "employment insurance" subsidy to pay the employee's salary?

Once the employer applies for the "employment protection" subsidy and is approved, the government will list the relevant companies on the public list, and the employees can check and supervise themselves. Although the pre-examination and approval will not be too detailed in order to save approval time, the government will review whether the subsidy received by the employer is used for employee salaries.

Scenario five:

I am a civil servant, can I benefit from the "employment protection" measures?

All employers who make MPF contributions for employees are eligible, but employees of the Hong Kong SAR Government, statutory bodies and government-funded organizations are exempt.

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There are still unanswered questions about the "employment protection" plan

At the press conference, Lin Zheng still had several unanswered questions about the 80 billion yuan "employment protection" plan that the media repeatedly asked about.

1. If an enterprise fails after obtaining government subsidies, can the government pursue them?
2. The government calculates based on the salary of relevant employees? Is it feasible for an employer to immediately add labor to employees to obtain a subsidy of up to 9,000 yuan?
3. If an enterprise asks the government to take unpaid leave after obtaining government funding, is there a loophole and can the government pursue it?
4. If an enterprise dismisses employees after receiving government subsidies, what are the government's penalties?

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