Further Financial Support For Companies Hiring Locals in 2021

During the Budget 2021 announcement by Deputy Prime Minister Mr Heng Swee Keat, he declared that the government will undertake further measures to support local companies in terms of hiring of new employees and retaining existing workers.

This come mainly in the form of an extended Jobs Support Scheme and also more budget allocation to the SGUnited Traineeship Program.

Extension of The Jobs Support Scheme (JSS)

JSS was enacted in 2020 when the pandemic was at it’s worse. The scheme helped subsidise  salaries for companies for up to 75%. This latest extension of the scheme will see the Government investing a further S$700 million.

The JSS will be extended for companies in Tier 1 and 2 sectors, subsidising salaries paid till September 2021. The subsidy will be between 10% to 30%, capped at $4,600 per month per employee.

Tier 1 (aviation, aerospace and tourism)
April 2021 to June 2021 – 30%
July 2021 to September 2021 – 10%

Tier 2 (retail, food services, arts and culture, and marine and offshore)
April 2021 to June 2021 – 10%
July 2021 to September 2021 – 0%

All employees with mandatory CPF contributions will be considered towards the JSS subsidy. Employees who are also shareholder-directors of the company may also be eligible subject to conditions.

SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package

The SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package will get an additional $5.4billion boost to support more hiring of locals in 2021. The main support will go towards funding the Jobs Growth Incentive for another further 7 months till September 2021.

The jobs growth incentive encourages companies to hire locals to fill the vacant position. In doing so, the Government will help subsidise the 25% of the new employee’s gross salary for up to S$5,000.

If the company hire locals whom are ages 40 and above, persons with disabilities or ex-offenders, the company will get a further 6 months salary subsidy, bring the total up to 18 months. The salary cap will also be increase to S$6,000, up from S$5,000.

The basic eligibility criteria for the jobs growth incentive is that the company must increase their local hire headcount and the minimum wage to be at least S$1,400.

As the world is slowly recovering from the aftermath of the damage caused by the pandemic, companies must continue to keep themselves lean and competitive in order to sit through this difficult period. At the same time, for companies who are looking to expand, this could be a very good time to utilise the various support given by the Government to companies.

If you are looking to relook at how your company operate in order to achieve greater efficiency or you would like to take advantage of the various support given by the Government to companies, do come talk to us today!

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