Unemployment support funds are approved first and then reviewed. More than half of the employees of the Jockey Club betting shop have to return to the water recently.

The Hong Kong government launched unemployment assistance earlier, and eventually about 350,000 applicants were approved for 10,000 yuan.

However, its "approval before review" mechanism has aroused controversy.

"Hong Kong 01" received help from a number of Jockey Club betting shop employees who had been out of work for more than a month. They indicated that they were recently notified by the government that they were not eligible and requested to return the full amount of the subsidy. "Before "full term", he was immediately asked to "return to the water".

The government replied that in order to disburse the subsidy as soon as possible, it will not verify the authenticity of the self-declaration information during the approval process, but will conduct an ex post review after the subsidy is disbursed. Recently, it was found that about 520 applicants were ineligible, including about 350 Jockey Club betting shop staff. , has issued payment slips one after another, requesting the refund of the subsidy, which means that the government treasury is expected to recover about 5.2 million yuan.

Some Jockey Club employees questioned the mechanism was sloppy and "sloppy", "It's obvious that you are the first to approve after the review, and then you turn around and then take it back, which is really disturbing to the people."

▼On March 23, citizens registered for the government's temporary unemployment support program▼

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The fifth wave of the epidemic is severe. In February this year, the government launched the "Temporary Unemployment Support" scheme to help unemployed wage earners or people who have been suspended from work due to the epidemic to tide over the difficulties. The beneficiaries include full-time, part-time and self-employed people.

However, applicants must meet specified conditions, including being unemployed since the end of December last year, and those who have been suspended from work are limited to those employed in restaurants and scheduled premises under Chapter 599F.

The Government estimated at the time that most cases would be disbursed within 3 to 4 weeks after the submission of applications.

Betting shop employees have been suspended for about three months, and more than 10 people have filed for unemployment benefits

During the period, the Hong Kong government has tightened various anti-epidemic measures. Since January this year, the Jockey Club has announced the closure of all off-track betting offices in Hong Kong to reduce public health risks. Racecourse events are mainly held behind closed doors.

Ms. Yu, who works part-time at the Jockey Club betting shop and is over 60 years old, is one of the affected employees. She temporarily suspends work from the end of January to the end of April, even after the Jockey Club announced that the betting shop will be reopened from April 21, until the end of May. He was arranged to work on a shift. "During the period, there was no work, and we had to rely on relatives and friends to help." It is understood that many employees of the Jockey Club betting shop had applied for unemployment assistance at the time, including Miss Yu.

The government launched the "Temporary Unemployment Support" scheme in February this year. Applicants must meet specified conditions, including being unemployed since the end of December last year, and those who have been suspended from work are limited to those employed in restaurants and scheduled premises under Chapter 599F.

(Screenshot of the official website of the "Temporary Unemployment Support" Scheme)

The fifth wave of the epidemic is severe. Since January this year, the Jockey Club has announced the closure of all off-market betting offices in Hong Kong and will reopen at the end of April.

A number of Jockey Club betting shops were recently notified by the government that they were not eligible and demanded a full refund of the subsidy.

(file picture)

However, the application process was full of twists and turns. Ms. Yu pointed out that at that time, the application encountered a "water thorn" and asked for an appeal. The staff then explained to her that the Jockey Club betting shop was not a listed place, so she corrected the reason for the appeal on her behalf, because she was still in the She had no income during the reporting period, and she finally succeeded in the review in July this year and was approved for funding.

"After reviewing and approving me, turn around and withdraw"

Ms. Yu received a sudden call earlier this month, and the other party informed her that her application was confirmed to be ineligible after a review, and she had to refund the full amount of the subsidy to the government.

Because she was too busy at the time, she was unable to follow up in detail, but she later called the hotline to find out, "It turned out that the (planning office) had been closed, and I tried to call 1823 for help, but they couldn't help me with referrals." There was no way for her to ask for help. She felt hesitant, and worried about the authenticity of the caller. "I didn't receive a text message notification, and the other party said there would be a letter, but I never received it." It is reported that many horse club bets Station employees have also received government repayment notices one after another.

According to the Government's Cap. 599F, places of public entertainment are designated scheduled premises. The FEHD replied that both Sha Tin Racecourse and Happy Valley Racecourse are licensed as places of public entertainment, but the Jockey Club Betting Station is not included.

"Hong Kong 01" compares the application conditions and believes that Ms. Yu belongs to the "double non" situation, that is, she is employed in non-listed premises and is not unemployed, so she is not eligible.

After explaining, she expressed her understanding, but she bluntly expressed her disappointment with the government's arrangement, "The most irritating and unacceptable thing is that after you finished the review, you went to approve me first, and then turned around and said that you want to take it back. It's so disturbing. It's not my fault, it's really a bit of that."

Government: Ex-post review will be conducted after disbursement of subsidies to prevent misuse of public funds

Another affected Jockey Club betting shop employee pointed out that after receiving the subsidy, the daily expenses have been subsidized. "How can I pay back the money than the government? Ma Ji has closed the gong again, and it will be able to start normally in mid-September."

The Innovation Office, which is responsible for coordinating the plan, has ceased operations after the change of government. The Policy Address Unit, which took over the relevant work, replied to the "Hong Kong 01" inquiry that, in order to disburse the subsidy as soon as possible, the authenticity of the self-representation information would not be verified during the examination and approval process, but the plan There is a review and monitoring mechanism, which will conduct ex post review after disbursement of subsidies to ensure proper use of public funds and prevent abuse. So far, about 520 applicants have been found to be ineligible, and demand notes have been issued successively to request the refund of subsidies.

▼The fifth wave of epidemic situation▼

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The spokesman also mentioned that the off-track betting premises are not listed premises under Cap 599F.

If the applicant is not employed at a scheduled premises, he or she must have been unemployed for at least 30 consecutive days at the time of filing to be eligible.

The spokesman went on to point out that during the subsequent review process, it was found that many Jockey Club betting shop staff had reported that they were unemployed at the time of application or review, but their latest MPF records showed that the applicants did not appear to have left the job (for example, no The last working date may still be paid by the Jockey Club), and they are calling applicants to clarify their employment status. So far, about 350 Jockey Club betting shop employees who have received subsidy under the scheme admit that they were not unemployed when they submitted their applications and will return the subsidy to the government .

The spokesman stressed that the government will continue to contact the remaining relevant applicants, and hopes to appeal to the relevant applicants to cooperate with the government or government agents to return the funding as soon as possible.

The government’s press release at the end of last month disclosed that it had received a total of 470,000 applications, of which 350,000 were approved for funding. At the time, the press release stated that the applications far exceeded expectations, “exceeding the original budget of 300,000, and the total funding was 300,000. However, under the

relaxed

arrangement, about 120,000 applications were still not approved (see the table below for reasons). Violations of other program terms and conditions, including making false representations about employment or income, will require the applicant to return the grant.

The government has successively issued notices to relevant parties.

According to the figures returned by the Policy Address Unit, if those who do not meet the qualifications repay in full, the government coffers will recover about $5.2 million.

There were 470,000 applications for the "Temporary Unemployment Assistance" program. The government said at the end of last month that 350,000 applicants had been approved for subsidy, but under the relaxed arrangement, about 120,000 applications could not be approved, including the reasons mentioned above.

(Photo of the Information Services Department)

Unemployment Support Fund｜Workers in non-listed premises were suspended without pay and failed to apply for the union to take over 100 requests for temporary unemployment assistance｜Over 170,000 applications The dishwasher who filled in the form sighed that the whole family lost 10,000 yuan of temporary unemployment support fund | The actual test application has a ten-part time limit of 60 minutes to upload documents. Temporary unemployment support | 470,000 applications, 120,000 people were DQ 39 cases involving fraud, transferred to the police for arrest, temporary unemployment support, 30% of the review was still not approved by the Federation of Trade Unions, the review was not serious