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Jobs Support Scheme Singapore: what employers should know

Jobs Support Scheme Singapore pays employers a share of the monthly wages they give to local staff. The state started it in February 2020 and has raised it twice since. If you pay CPF for Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents, you will most likely receive money without filing a claim.

Sources: Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS), Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) page, as published in April 2020.

What the scheme is

The Jobs Support Scheme, or JSS, is a wage subsidy. The government co-funds part of what you pay each local employee, so you can keep that person on the payroll during a hard time for business. It covers Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents only. Foreign workers are not counted.

Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat announced it in the Budget on 18 February 2020. The aim was simple: help firms keep their local workers during a time of economic uncertainty.

Sources: IRAS, Jobs Support Scheme (JSS); Vulcan Post, Budget 2020 report on the 8 percent wage offset, February 2020.

How the rules changed in two months

The first version was small. It gave employers a cash grant of 8 percent of each local employee's monthly wage, on the first S$3,600 of that wage. It covered three months of wages, October to December 2019.

On 26 March 2020, in the Resilience Budget, the Minister raised the grant to 25 percent. He also lifted the wage cap from S$3,600 to S$4,600 a month. The scheme now covers nine months of wages instead of three.

Then, in the Solidarity Budget on 6 April 2020, the state topped up support for April wages to 75 percent for every sector. This was meant to help firms during the "circuit breaker" period. Support for the other months stayed as set in March.

Sources: Vulcan Post, Resilience Budget and the Jobs Support Scheme, March 2020; IRAS, Jobs Support Scheme (JSS).

How much you can expect

The rate depends on your sector. All three tiers apply to the first S$4,600 of each local employee's gross monthly wage.

  • Tier 1, 75 percent: airlines, airport operators and ground handlers, licensed hotels, licensed travel agents, gated tourist attractions, cruise operators and purpose-built meetings and exhibition venues.
  • Tier 2, 50 percent: licensed food shops and food stalls, including hawker stalls.
  • Tier 3, 25 percent: all other employers.

Gross wages here include the employee's own CPF contribution. They do not include the employer's CPF share. Here is a quick example. A shop in Tier 3 pays one local worker S$3,000 a month. The state co-funds 25 percent of that, which is S$750 for the month. A worker paid S$6,000 counts only up to S$4,600, so the same shop would get S$1,150 for that person.

The April top-up works a little differently. To get cash to firms quickly, IRAS first works it out from your October 2019 wages. It then adjusts later payouts once it knows what you actually paid in April. A worker who is retrenched or put on no-pay leave in April can therefore reduce a later payout.

Sources: IRAS, Jobs Support Scheme (JSS), including its worked examples and the April 2020 top-up section.

Who qualifies

Any employer that has paid CPF contributions for resident employees qualifies. Government agencies, government and government-aided schools, embassies, foreign military units, unregistered entities and some foreign representative offices are on the exclusion list.

Business owners are also left out. Sole proprietors, partners, and employees who are both shareholders and directors do not receive support on their own pay. They do receive support for the wages of their local employees. Employers who trade in their own personal capacity, such as families who hire a local domestic helper, are not eligible either.

If you think your firm sits in Tier 1 or Tier 2 and was placed in a lower tier, IRAS has an online tool to check and appeal forms by sector.

Sources: IRAS, Jobs Support Scheme (JSS), sections on who qualifies and the employer exclusion list.

When the money arrives

You do not need to apply. IRAS tells eligible employers by post which tier they are in and how much they will receive. The state brought the first payout forward from May to April 2020. There are three payouts in all.

  • 1 April 2020, for wages paid October to December 2019, plus the April top-up.
  • 2 July 2020, for wages paid February to April 2020.
  • 2 October 2020, for wages paid May to July 2020.

Your CPF contributions for the covered months must be paid by the due dates, which are 14 February, 14 May and 14 August 2020. Missed CPF payments mean missed support.

IRAS pays into the bank account you already use for GIRO. If you do not have one, it uses PayNow Corporate, and if that is not set up, it sends a cheque. Payouts can only go to the employer that paid the CPF, not to a third party.

What employers should do now

Check that your CPF filings are current and that your GIRO details are right. Then look at your IRAS notice to see which tier you are in. Finally, plan your cash flow around the three payout dates. The scheme is there to support wages, so that firms can keep their local workers.

Sources: IRAS, Jobs Support Scheme (JSS), including its FAQs on payment mode.