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Employer (MPF Scheme)

Eligibility

Employer (MPF Scheme)

An applicant should apply in the capacity of a company/ corporation/ organisation/ natural person and must fulfil all of the following criteria:

Is not an employer listed in Part I of the Exclusion List（see list）；
Must have participated in MPF Schemes on or before 31 December 2021;
Has not been involved in winding up, deregistration or striking off process or has not become dormant; and
Has fully settled all clawback/penalty of 2020 Employment Support Scheme (if any) on or before 10 May 2022.

Wage Subsidy and Calculation Method

The government-appointed agent will base on the following four conditions and calculation methods to calculate the wage subsidy:

Reference month (for details, please click here)
Subsidised quota cap and maximum subsidy amount (for details, please click here)
Sector-specific cap (for details, please click here)
Chosen subsidised headcount (for details, please click here)

Means of Application and Information Required
（Please click here to read the list of information required for application for employers)

To facilitate the application, eligible employers of the 2022 ESS should have the following items ready:

"BCT Employer Website" password

PIN Re-generation Request Form (For Participating Employer)

2020 ESS Application Number and password (if applicable)

click here

Warm reminder from BCT: employer applicants need to pay attention to the following
Preparation before application: - Company supporting documents (e.g. Business Registration Certificate), please refer to the list of information required for application for employers - MPF Schemes Information (Applicable to applicants whose application for 2020 ESS had not been approved/not having applied for 2020 ESS) Names of MPF trustees Names of MPF schemes MPF scheme registration/participation numbers Documents clearly showing above three mentioned items - Respective subsidy headcount and salary figures according to the number of employees in May, June and July 2022 As 2020 ESS did not include casual employees of industry schemes (including those whose wages are paid on a daily basis), employer applicants of industry schemes can use the MPF scheme records in 2021 Q4 as reference month. Subsidy to be received each month will be calculated based on the respective chosen subsidised headcount in May, June and July 2022, not the respective subsidised quota in the reference month. The chosen subsidised headcount should not exceed the subsidised quota cap in the reference month. MPF contribution records for 2021 Q4 must be completed on or before 28 February 2022. Contributions for 2021 Q4 that were made on or after 1 March 2022 will not be taken into account in the calculation. For an employer who had submitted a 2020 ESS application, if his/her company has undergone restructuring, spin-off or other changes during the period between the 2020 ESS and 2022 ESS which have affected the quantity, number and name of the MPF schemes/Certificate of Incorporation/Business Registration Certificate, he/she should approach the government-appointed agent early by sending an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. via the registered email address under the 2020 ESS to explain the employer’s situation. The employer should set out the name, the employer’s MPF Registration/Participation Number before and after re-structuring or spin-off of the organisation in the email with the relevant supporting documents. The government-appointed agent will advise the employer what to do after reviewing relevant information. If an employer whose application had been approved in the 2020 ESS has switched to another MPF trustee, changed MPF scheme, or increased/decreased the number of accounts in the past year, relevant employers should declare ALL MPF schemes that are in force. They can submit relevant information when completing the online application form.

Warm reminder from BCT: employer applicants need to pay attention to the following

Preparation before application:
- Company supporting documents (e.g. Business Registration Certificate), please refer to the list of information required for application for employers
- MPF Schemes Information (Applicable to applicants whose application for 2020 ESS had not been approved/not having applied for 2020 ESS)
1. Names of MPF trustees
2. Names of MPF schemes
3. MPF scheme registration/participation numbers
4. Documents clearly showing above three mentioned items
- Respective subsidy headcount and salary figures according to the number of employees in May, June and July 2022
As 2020 ESS did not include casual employees of industry schemes (including those whose wages are paid on a daily basis), employer applicants of industry schemes can use the MPF scheme records in 2021 Q4 as reference month.
Subsidy to be received each month will be calculated based on the respective chosen subsidised headcount in May, June and July 2022, not the respective subsidised quota in the reference month. The chosen subsidised headcount should not exceed the subsidised quota cap in the reference month.
MPF contribution records for 2021 Q4 must be completed on or before 28 February 2022. Contributions for 2021 Q4 that were made on or after 1 March 2022 will not be taken into account in the calculation.
For an employer who had submitted a 2020 ESS application, if his/her company has undergone restructuring, spin-off or other changes during the period between the 2020 ESS and 2022 ESS which have affected the quantity, number and name of the MPF schemes/Certificate of Incorporation/Business Registration Certificate, he/she should approach the government-appointed agent early by sending an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. via the registered email address under the 2020 ESS to explain the employer’s situation. The employer should set out the name, the employer’s MPF Registration/Participation Number before and after re-structuring or spin-off of the organisation in the email with the relevant supporting documents. The government-appointed agent will advise the employer what to do after reviewing relevant information.
If an employer whose application had been approved in the 2020 ESS has switched to another MPF trustee, changed MPF scheme, or increased/decreased the number of accounts in the past year, relevant employers should declare ALL MPF schemes that are in force. They can submit relevant information when completing the online application form.

Subsidy Disbursement Arrangements

The government-appointed agent will notify applicants of their application results via SMS and email. If approved, the subsidy will be credited to the applicant's bank account listed in the application form.

The employers' wage subsidies will be paid in four tranches:

1^st tranche	100% of subsidies of May 2022
2^nd tranche	100% of subsidies of June 2022
3^rd tranche	70% of subsidies of July 2022
4^th tranche	30% of subsidies of July 2022 after deducting subsidies to be returned to the Government and penalties to be paid (if any)

Warm reminder from BCT: employers need to pay attention to the following in order to obtain the subsidy amount
If applicants hire new employees during the subsidy period, they are required to open MPF employee accounts for the relevant employees in that month, provide wage for May, June and July 2022 information to MPF trustees and make contributions on or before the MPF contribution day as announced by the MPF Schemes Authority to prove that wages have been paid to the relevant employees for the month. If applicants have hired employees aged 65 or above or casual employees (including those whose wages are paid on a daily basis), they are also required to report on or before the MPF contribution day the monthly wage of employees aged 65 or above and casual employees, and to make MPF contributions for the casual employees. If the applicant's MPF contribution period is not a complete calendar month, or if the employer is making contributions more/ less than once every month, please click here for the Illustrative Example on Calculating Monthly Wage.

Warm reminder from BCT: employers need to pay attention to the following in order to obtain the subsidy amount

If applicants hire new employees during the subsidy period, they are required to open MPF employee accounts for the relevant employees in that month, provide wage for May, June and July 2022 information to MPF trustees and make contributions on or before the MPF contribution day as announced by the MPF Schemes Authority to prove that wages have been paid to the relevant employees for the month.
If applicants have hired employees aged 65 or above or casual employees (including those whose wages are paid on a daily basis), they are also required to report on or before the MPF contribution day the monthly wage of employees aged 65 or above and casual employees, and to make MPF contributions for the casual employees.
If the applicant's MPF contribution period is not a complete calendar month, or if the employer is making contributions more/ less than once every month, please click here for the Illustrative Example on Calculating Monthly Wage.

Employers' Undertaking and Penalty

Applicants shall undertake to employ sufficient number of employees in fulfilling the criteria in each subsidy month, and reflect the respective employment situation in the records of the MPF Schemes. (for details, please click here)

If applicants could not fully fulfil the above undertaking in any month within the subsidy period, apart from returning the relevant subsidy amount, they are also required to pay a penalty equivalent to 10% of the subsidy amount to be returned.

Warm reminder from BCT: employers need to be aware of the following to avoid penalty
There are different definitions of monthly wages for "Half subsidy" and "Elderly subsidy" by the government. Details are as follows:
	At the time of application		when the subsidy is distributed
	"Half subsidy quota"	"Elderly subsidy quota"	"Half subsidy headcount"	"Elderly subsidy headcount"
Definitions of monthly wages	Employees with a monthly wage of at least $3,000 but less than $8,000	Employees aged 65 or above with a monthly wage less than $3,000	Employees with a monthly wage of $4,000 or above	Employees aged 65 or above with a monthly wage of $4,000 or above
Applicants should note that if they declare as "Half subsidy quota" and "Elderly subsidy quota" at the time of application, but the wages of employees in May, June and July 2022 are less than $4,000, they will be defined as could not fully fulfil the conditions of "Half subsidy headcount" and "Elderly subsidy headcount. Apart from returning the relevant subsidy amount, they are also required to pay a penalty equivalent to 10% of the subsidy amount to be returned.

Frequently Asked Questions by Employers of 2022 ESS https://www.ess.gov.hk/en/faq.html#section_er

About 2022 Employment Support Scheme

Overview

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has launched the 2022 Employment Support Scheme ("the Scheme") under the Anti-epidemic Fund to provide wage subsidies to employees for three months (i.e. May, June and July 2022) to retain their current employees or even employ more staff when the business revives as soon as the epidemic situation permits. Eligible self-employed persons can also apply for a one-off subsidy.

The application period of the Scheme is from 29 April 2022 at 8:00 am to 12 May 2022 at 11:59 pm.

Employer (MPF Scheme)

Self-employed Persons

Employer (ORSO Scheme)

Enquiry:
2022 Employment Support Scheme Website: www.ess.gov.hk
Telephone hotline (including booking for Service Centres): 1836-122
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Applicants who have submitted the application may click on the link and log into the system to check the application status.

Service Centres:
If applicants would like to seek help from dedicated staff, they may schedule an appointment through the hotline (1836-122) and visit the following service centres. Service hours during the application period (29 April to 12 May 2022): 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.