Subsidy Scheme for Employment Agencies open for application
2020-06-19
The Labour Department (LD) today (June 19) announced that the Subsidy Scheme for Employment Agencies (EAs) (the Scheme) introduced under the Anti-epidemic Fund will be open for application from June 22 to July 21.
Under the Scheme, a one-off lump sum subsidy will be granted to EAs with a valid licence issued by the LD. A subsidy of $50,000 will be granted for each main licence of EAs which provide a foreign domestic helper (FDH) placement service. For EAs which do not provide a FDH placement service, a subsidy of $30,000 will be granted for each main licence. An additional subsidy of $10,000 will be granted for each duplicate licence for a branch office of both kinds of EAs.
An EA eligible for applying for a subsidy under the Scheme must hold a valid licence issued by the LD under section 52 of the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57) as at May 31, 2020, or must have submitted an application for licence renewal to the LD in accordance with Regulation 2 of the Employment Agency Regulations (Cap. 57A) as at May 31, 2020. If the validity period of the current licence of the EA is less than two months as at the date of submission of an application for subsidy, the EA should first submit an application for licence renewal to the LD before submitting an application for subsidy.
An LD spokesman said, "An invitation letter will be sent to each licensed EA by post or email to invite them to submit an application on June 22. Application forms will be available on the same day at the office of the Employment Agencies Administration (EAA) of the LD, or available for downloading at the LD's website (www.labour.gov.hk) and the EA Portal (www.eaa.labour.gov.hk). EAs applying for a subsidy of $50,000 will be required to declare that they had provided an FDH placement service on or before May 31, 2020, and may be required to submit documentary proof as necessary."
The application must be submitted by the licensee of the EA. If the EA is a partnership, the application should be submitted by the designated partner with an authorisation letter signed by all partners. If the EA is a limited company, the application should be submitted by the authorised company director with a company seal affixed on the application form.
The completed application form and required documents must be submitted to and received by the office of the EAA of the LD (Address: Unit 906, 9/F, One Mong Kok Road Commercial Centre, 1 Mong Kok Road, Kowloon) by post (the postmark date will be regarded as the date of receipt of the application) or in person on or before July 21. Application by email and facsimile will not be accepted. Late applications, application forms with incomplete information or late submissions of required documents will not be considered.
For enquiries about the Scheme, please contact the EAA of the LD at 2115 3665.
Ends/Friday, June 19, 2020
Issued at HKT 11:00
