Coronavirus: Hong Kong welfare minister warns against employer cheating as details of HK$80 billion subsidy plan unveiled
- The first tranche of funds will cover wages for the months of June, July and August, welfare minister explains
- Those who sack employees then replace them with family and friends to collect additional benefits would face criminal liabilities
Hong Kong employers who fail to fully transfer wage subsidies obtained under the city’s new HK$80 billion (US$10.25 billion) coronavirus relief scheme to their employees face cash penalties or even criminal liability, officials have warned.
The note of caution came as the city’s welfare minister unveiled more details of how the employment support scheme (ESS) for more than 1.5 million private sector employees would work.
Speaking to the press on Tuesday evening, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong said the government would distribute the first tranche of ESS funds by June – releasing the subsidies for June, July and August in one go – while details of the second tranche, covering September to November, would be announced later. Applications for the subsidy will be open in May.
“To make the scheme easier to implement, we basically have just two rules for employers,” he said. “The number of employees on payroll in June to August cannot be smaller than the number of employees in March [including those on unpaid leave], and the money received by employers must all go to the employees.”
Under the scheme, the government would, via employers, pay 50 per cent of salaries for half a year, with each worker’s monthly subsidy capped at HK$9,000.