Who is eligible for joining the Re-employment Allowance Pilot Scheme?
Participants should meet the following conditions – aged 40 or above; legally employable in Hong Kong; not engaged in any paid work in Hong Kong for 3 consecutive months or more before joining the Scheme; have no kinship ties with their employers; and not the sole proprietor, partner or director of the employing company. For the details, please refer to the Notes for Participants.
How to register for the Scheme?
Eligible participants may register online here or complete and return the Participant Registration Form (available here) to the service spots of the service organisations or job centres of the Labour Department in person or by post. If needed, participants may also seek assistance from the staff at the service spots or job centres in completing the registration. Upon successful registration, you will receive an email confirmation.
If the participants enter into employment before joining the Scheme, can the participants still register for the Scheme?
Eligible persons should register for the Scheme as soon as possible. Under special circumstances, post-registration may be allowed within one month after commencement of the relevant job. The commencement date of the relevant job must fall on or after 15 July 2024 and within the implementation period of the Scheme.
After registration, do the participants need to report their employment? If so, how can they report?
Upon successful employment, participants must report it to the service organisations by returning the completed Employment Report Form within 1 month with proof of employment.
How can the participants apply for the re-employment allowance? Can the participants apply for two phases of allowance concurrently?
After completion of each phase of the Qualified Employment Period (i.e. having worked continuously for 6 or 12 months), participants should submit the Re-employment Allowance Application Form with proof of work to the service organisations within 2 months to apply for re-employment allowance of the respective phase. Participants shall not claim re-employment allowance of both phases all at once after working continuously for 12 months.
If the participants fail to complete the Qualified Employment Period, can they still receive the re-employment allowance?
Participants would only be eligible for the allowance after completion of the entire Qualified Employment Period (i.e. having worked continuously for 6 or 12 months). No pro-rata allowance will be payable to participants who did not complete the relevant Qualified Employment Period.
If the participants change jobs during the Qualified Employment Period, will it still be considered continuous employment?
Participants are allowed to change jobs, provided that the break between the two jobs is no more than 30 days. If the break exceeds 30 days, the continuity of the existing Qualified Employment Period will be regarded as broken, and the participant shall commence a new Qualified Employment Period.
If the participants change the employment mode from full-time job to part-time job, how will the re-employment allowance be calculated?
Modes of employments can be changed within the Qualified Employment Periods, e.g. from a full-time job to a part-time job. If no less than two-thirds of the working days in a Qualified Employment Period are under a full-time employment, re-employment allowance for the entire period will be calculated on a full-time basis. Otherwise, re-employment allowance will be calculated on a pro-rata basis.
What is the Qualified Employment Period for "Casual Work"?
The Qualified Employment Period of "Casual Work" is comprised of work periods each with 30 consecutive days. When counting the aggregate working hours in each work period, the number of employers involved will be limited to 5. If the aggregate working hours are 76 hours or more in a work period, participants will be regarded as completing a part-time job during the period. If the aggregate working hours are 128 hours or more in a work period, participants will be regarded as completing a full-time job during the period.
How do the service organisations commissioned by the Labour Department follow up participants' cases?
The Labour Department has commissioned The Hong Kong Federation of Trade (FTU) and The Federation of Hong Kong & Kowloon Labour Unions (FLU) as the service organisations, assisting in implementing the Scheme. FTU and FLU will assign case officers to provide employment support and follow-up services for participants, including employment consultation, job matching assistance, follow-up and support after commencement of employment, and assistance in applying for the re-employment allowance.
Are the participants required to register the Scheme and apply for the allowance through their employers?
Not required. Eligible participants may register online here or complete and return the Participant Registration Form (available here) to the service spots of the service organisations or job centres of the Labour Department in person or by post.
Upon successful employment, participants must report it to the service organisation by returning the completed Employment Report Form within 1 month with proof of employment. After working continuously for 6 or 12 months, participants should submit the Re-employment Allowance Application Form with proof of work to the service organisations direct to apply re-employment allowance of the respective phase.
Can the employers of the Scheme participants enrol in the Employment Programme for the Elderly and Middle-aged (EPEM)?
Employers of the Scheme participants can at the same time enrol in EPEM to provide on-the-job training (OJT) to the participants and will be granted OJT allowance. The duration of OJT period will be extended accordingly. For more information, please refer to the dedicated webpage of EPEM.
Are persons' eligibility to claim various means-tested social welfare programmes provided by the Government will be affected as a result of their receipt of re-employment allowance under the Re-employment Allowance Pilot Scheme?
There are various means-tested social welfare programmes provided by the Government to persons in need in the community. Each means-tested social welfare programme provided by the Government has its eligibility criteria and requirements, and applicants shall consult the relevant authorities after implementation of the Re-employment Allowance Pilot Scheme in case they have any enquiries on whether the allowance payable under the Scheme will affect their entitlements under various social welfare programmes. Information of some commonly known social welfare programmes is provided below for reference.
The WFA Scheme encourages self-reliance. Applications under the WFA Scheme are made on a household basis (including singleton households). A household meeting the working hour requirements, income and asset limits may apply for the allowance. The re-employment allowance payable under the Scheme is not counted as household income under the WFA Scheme.
OALA aims to provide a monthly allowance to supplement the living expenses of the elderly persons aged 65 or above who are in need of financial support and having income and assets not exceeding the prescribed limits. The current monthly allowance of OALA is $4,195. The re-employment allowance payable under the Scheme is not counted as income and assets under the OALA. The payment to OALA beneficiaries will not be affected.
The CSSA Scheme provides financial assistance to bring the income of needy individuals and families up to a prescribed level to meet their basic needs. To be eligible for assistance, CSSA applicants must satisfy the residence requirement and pass both the income and asset tests. The re-employment allowance payable under the Scheme is not counted as income and assets under the CSSA Scheme. In other words, the CSSA payment to CSSA recipients will not be affected.
For persons receiving the re-employment allowance under the Scheme, is the allowance taxable income?
Yes. Section 8(1) of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112) (IRO) provides that "income from employment" is chargeable to salaries tax. Section 9(1)(a) further defines "income from employment" to include "any wages, salary, leave pay, fee, commission, bonus, gratuity, perquisite, or allowance, whether derived from the employer or others". It is well settled in law that income chargeable to salaries tax under section 8 of the IRO is not confined to income earned in the course of employment but includes payments made in return for acting as or being an employee, and payments in the nature of a reward for past, present and future services. On the authority of the above established legal principle, the re-employment allowance, although it is paid by the Labour Department instead of the employer, constitutes "income from employment" and is chargeable to salaries tax.