List: All the support measures for employers after Singapore extends Circuit Breaker

After the Multi-Ministry Taskforce announcement to extend Singapore’s Circuit Breaker period until 1 June 2020, Singapore’s Ministry of Finance (MOF) have assured that the Government will continue to provide support measures for employers and workers during this period.

A full list of the measures is given below:

New: Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) wage subsidy remains at 75% for all sectors for May 2020

In the Solidarity Budget, the JSS was raised to provide 75% wage support on the first S$4600 of gross monthly wages for local employees across all sectors for the month of April 2020. The Government will extend the 75% JSS across all sectors for another month, i.e. in the month of May 2020.

This enhanced payout for May 2020 will be disbursed by end-May 2020 for employers on PayNow or having existing GIRO arrangements with IRAS. Other employers will start receiving their cheques in early-June. All employers are encouraged to sign up for PayNow to receive their payouts faster.

Similar to the arrangement for April, the 75% subsidy for May 2020 will first be computed and disbursed based on November 2019 wages. [Read here for computation details and worked examples]

Point to note: Employers who put local employees on mandatory no-pay-leave or retrench them will not be entitled to the enhanced JSS payout for those employees.

New: JSS to cover shareholder-directors

The Jobs Support Scheme payout will be extended to cover wages of employees of a company who are also shareholders and directors of the company (shareholder-directors).

This support will only apply to companies that were registered on or before 20 April 2020, and for the wages of shareholder-directors with Assessable Income of S$100,000 or less for Year of Assessment 2019. It is expected to benefit about 50,000 shareholder-directors.

Point to note: The May 2020 and subsequent JSS payouts will include support for qualifying shareholder-directors, as well as back-payment for companies with qualifying shareholder-directors whose wages were excluded from the first JSS payout in April 2020.

New: Foreign Worker Levy Waiver and rebate extended by one month

The Foreign Worker Levy (FWL) waiver and FWL rebate will be extended by one month. This assistance will support firms with workers who are unable to work due to the circuit breaker and/or Stay Home Notice (SHN) measures.

Firms should use the assistance for their workers’ wages and subsistence needs. MOM will provide further details.

Ongoing: Previously announced support and relief measures

• Support for Self-Employed Persons (SEPs): SEPs with less means and family support will receive the Government’s assistance through the SEP Income Relief Scheme (SIRS) until December 2020. Eligible SEPs will automatically receive three quarterly cash payments of $3,000 each in end-May, July and October 2020.
• Solidarity Payment for adult Singaporeans: About 90% of adult Singaporeans received the Solidarity Payment of S$600 through direct bank transfer on 14 April 2020. The rest will be receiving this payment through their recently registered bank accounts on 28 April 2020, or by cheque from 30 April 2020 onwards.
• For lower- to middle- income Singaporeans: Lower- to middle-income Singaporeans who require urgent help with their basic living expenses can apply for the Temporary Relief Fund which provides a one-off cash grant of $500 in April. From 1 May 2020 onwards, Singaporeans who are unemployed due to COVID-19 can apply for the COVID-19 Support Grant, which provides a cash grant of $800 a month for three months. MSF will provide more details on how to apply soon.

Image / MOF