Hong Kong’s Labour Department announced yesterday that the Subsidy Scheme for Employment Agencies introduced under the sixth round of the government’s Anti-epidemic Fund (AEF) will be now be open for application.

The Department made the announcement last month that it would launch a subsidy programme to help employment agencies recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The dates for application run from 17 March to 29 April.

Employment agencies with a valid licence issued by the Department will be granted a one-off lump sum subsidy under the Scheme. A subsidy of HKD 50,000 (USD 6,388) will be granted for each main licence of employment agencies that provide a foreign domestic helper (FDH) placement service. For agencies that do not provide a FDH placement service, a subsidy of HKD 30,000 (USD 3,832) will be granted for each main licence. An additional subsidy of HKD 10,000 (USD 1,277) will be granted for each duplicate licence for a branch office of both kinds of employment agencies.

A Labour Department spokesman said, "The Labour Department has simplified the application procedure for employment agencies which were granted subsidy under the Scheme under the second round of the AEF in 2020 and meeting the eligibility criteria for the current round of subsidy.”