Jobs Support Scheme (JSS)

Introduced in the Unity Budget in February 2020, the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) provides wage support for employers to retain their local employees (Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents) during this period of economic uncertainty. All active employers, except for Government organisations (local and foreign) and representative offices, are eligible for the JSS.

Under the JSS, the Government co-funds a proportion of the first $4,600 of gross monthly wages¹ paid to each local employee up to March 2021. In Budget 2021, JSS was extended by up to 6 months for firms in Tiers 1 and 2 sectors, covering wages paid from April 2021 to September 2021. The level and duration of support each employer receives depends on the sector in which the employer operates. Please refer to ‘How is each payout computed’ for more details.

While the subsidies are based on a percentage of employees' monthly wages, employers have the flexibility to allocate the subsidies for their businesses as necessary to keep the business running and to help them continue to retain their employees.

¹ Gross monthly wages include employee CPF contributions, but exclude employer CPF contributions.

All active employers, except for Government organisations (local and foreign) and representative offices, are eligible for the JSS. Employers in the employer exclusion list are not eligible for the JSS.

In order to qualify for JSS payouts, employers are required to make mandatory CPF contributions for their local employees (Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents) by the stipulated contribution deadlines.

Wages paid to business owners¹ or employers trading in their own personal capacity² will not be eligible for the JSS payout. They will continue to receive the JSS payout for wages paid to their local employees.

Shareholder-directors

On 21 Apr 2020, the Government extended the JSS to cover wages of employees in a company who are also shareholders and directors of the company (shareholder-directors)³. This applies only to wages paid that attract mandatory CPF contributions. Shareholder-directors receiving wages in other forms e.g. Directors’ fees, will not receive support for those wages. Such shareholder-directors may revise their remuneration structure and pay mandatory CPF contributions on their wages going forward to receive JSS support for them.

Wage support for shareholder-directors will only apply to companies registered on or before 20 Apr 2020, and for shareholder-directors with Assessable Income of $100,000 or less for the Year of Assessment 2019.

Shareholder-directors who missed the qualifying assessable income criterion for Year of Assessment 2019 but whose circumstances have changed since can submit an appeal.

To ensure all employers get cashflow support fast, please note that appeals will only be processed after payouts have been disbursed. 

¹Business owners are defined as follows:

a. Sole proprietor of a sole proprietorship
b. Partners of a partnership (including general partnerships, limited liability partnerships and limited partnerships); and

² Employers trading in their own personal capacity include but are not limited to hawkers who do not have UEN, employers hiring local personal drivers or local domestic helpers, etc.

³ Only local (Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents) shareholder-directors are eligible. The definition of director is as set out in Section 4(1) of the Companies Act. For companies limited by guarantee, this applies to employees who are both members and directors of the company.

Employers do not need to apply for the JSS. IRAS will notify eligible employers by post of the tier of support and the amount of JSS payout payable to them.

Declining JSS payouts

If you do not require wage support and wish to be excluded from all future JSS payouts, please sign up using the Decline JSS form.

To return a JSS payout that you have received, please refer to the following steps below.

1. Enter IRAS' bank account details as follow:
   
   Payee: Commissioner of Inland Revenue 
   Account Type: DBS Current Account  
   Account No.: 0010468669
   DBS Swift Code: DBSSSGSG
2. Under the “Beneficiary Reference / Purpose of Payment / Remittance Information / Payment Details” field, indicate your business name and purpose (e.g. ABC Pte. Ltd. Decline JSS). This is to facilitate the processing of your return.
3. Submit a screenshot of the transaction using the Decline JSS form (if you would like to decline future JSS payouts as well) or Payout form (if you are only declining the current payout).

Employers will receive up to 7 main JSS payouts and a special payout in May 2020, based on wages paid in the months shown in the table below. 

^{1Employers under Tier 3B will not receive any JSS payout under Payout 5.
2Employers under Tier 3 will not receive any JSS payout under Payout 6
3Employers under Tiers 2 and 3 will not receive any JSS payout under Payout 7.}

Under the JSS, the Government co-funds 25% to 75% of the first $4,600 of gross monthly wages paid to each local employee in a 10-month period (up to Aug 2020) and 10% to 50% of the same in the subsequent 7-month period (Sep 2020 to Mar 2021). JSS was extended by up to 6 months from Apr 2021 to Sep 2021 with co-funding at 10% to 30%. The base tier of support each employer will receive depends on the sector in which the employer operates. Please refer to the Specific Industries in Tiers and SSIC Codes on details for the list of sectors included in the respective tiers.

¹The Built Environment sector will receive Tier 1 support up to Oct 2020 wages, and thereafter Tier 2 support for Nov 2020 to Sep 2021 wages. This is in line with the phased resumption of construction activities.

²All sectors will receive Tier 1 support for the months of Apr and May 2020 (during the Circuit Breaker). Thereafter, firms that continue to not be allowed to resume operations on-site will continue to receive Tier 1 support until they are allowed to re-open, or until Mar 2021, whichever is earlier.

³Tier 3 sectors will be sub-divided into Tier 3A and Tier 3B. Tier 3B comprises the following sectors: biomedical sciences, precision engineering, electronics, financial services, information and communications technology, media, postal and courier, online retail, and supermarkets and convenience stores. These sectors have been managing well, and are less affected by COVID-19 than most other sectors. As such, JSS support was provided to cover up to Dec 2020 wages.

If there are any adjustments to the JSS amount, it will be offset in the next payout (if applicable).

On top of the base tier of support, the following additional support had been introduced:

1. Top-up of support to 75% for all firms in May 2020 during circuit breaker

To support firms during the circuit breaker period, wage support for the months of Apr and May 2020 were topped-up to 75% for all firms, regardless of sector.

2. JSS support for phased reopening post-circuit breaker

As circuit breaker measures are gradually eased, employers whose firms are not listed in the List of Permitted Services and therefore not yet allowed to resume operations will continue to receive Tier 1 wage support. This will continue throughout the period for which they are not allowed to resume operations, or until Mar 2021, whichever is earlier. Thereafter, JSS support for employers whose firms continue to not be allowed to resume operations will revert to the firms' base tier.

Employers allowed to resume operations will revert to receiving their base tier of support. Pro-ration will be applied if operations resume in the middle of the month, i.e., an employer that resumes operations on 5 Jul 2020 will continue to receive 75% wage support for the first 4 days of Jul, and its base tier of support thereafter.

The additional JSS support during this period is determined by the List of Permitted Services, which includes firms in specific SSIC codes. Individual firms can also check their status at https://www.gobusiness.gov.sg/exemptions/login. Firms that have submitted appeals to MTI will be notified of their status via email. More information can be found in the FAQ section.

Further details of how each payout is calculated are given in the illustration below. Worked examples are in the FAQs.

The scenario below shows the amount a Tier 3A employer will receive in each payout for a local employee earning $4,600 a month. In this scenario, we assume that the employee’s monthly wages remain the same at $4,600 from Oct 2019 to Mar 2021.

The Government will subsidise 25% of the first $4,600 of each local employee’s gross monthly wages for a period of 10 months, and 10% of the first $4,600 of each local employee’s gross monthly wages for a period of 7 months. In addition, the employer can expect the following adjustments:  

1.  To provide cashflow support for firms during the circuit breaker period, the Government has provided an additional support of 50% of the first $4,600 of Apr 2020 wages. To ensure speedy disbursement, this additional support was first computed based on Oct 2019 mandatory CPF contribution data.

2.  Similarly, to support firms during the extended circuit breaker period, the Government has provided additional support of 75% of the first $4,600 of May 2020 wages. To ensure speedy disbursement, this payment is first computed based on Nov 2019 mandatory CPF contribution data.

3.  As the additional support for the circuit breaker period was first computed using past mandatory CPF contribution data, adjustments were made to account for differences in actual wages paid by employers. 50% of Oct 2019 wages is subtracted from Payout 2 to adjust for differences between Oct 2019 and actual Apr 2020 wages paid.

4.  Similarly, the Government will subtract 75% of Nov 2019 wages from Payout 3 to adjust for differences between Nov 2019 and May 2020 wages.

5.  If the firm is not allowed to resume operations post-circuit breaker in Jun 2020, the level of wage support for the month will remain at 75%, until operations can be resumed or until Aug 2020, whichever is earlier. If the firm is not allowed to resume operations after Aug 2020, the wage support for the firm will remain at 50% until operations can be resumed or until Mar 2021, whichever is earlier.

6.  From Sep 2020, the level of wage support will be revised to 10%, assuming the firm has been allowed to resume operations.

7. Employers in Tier 3 will not be eligible for JSS payouts for Payout 6 and 7.

Employers who have terminated or put some of their employees on no-pay leave will see their subsequent Payouts adjusted down, based on the actual wages that they pay from Feb 2020 onwards.

The table below shows a worked example of how the JSS payout is computed for an employer with 3 local employees earning different wages.

Payouts 1, 2 and 3:

Payouts 4 and 5:

⁴According to base tier of support, before adjustments.

⁵Tier 3B employers will not receive payout 5.

Payout 6:

Payout 7:

You may submit an appeal using the forms for the relevant sectors below:  

   a.  Aviation sector

   b.  Aerospace sector

   c.  Licensed hotels

   d.  Licensed travel agents

   e.  Gated tourist attractions

   f.  Cruise lines

   g.  Built Environment

   h.  Purpose-built Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions venue operators

   i.  Licensed food shops and food stalls (including hawker stalls)

   j.  Retail

   k.  Arts and Culture

   l.  Private Bus and Limousine Operators

   m.  Marine and Offshore

   n.  All other sectors

Please note that appeals will only be processed after payouts have been disbursed.

Successful appellants will receive the new tier of wage support for the first $4,600 of gross monthly wages, for each local employee under the company’s employment. They will also receive top-ups in respect of the difference vis-a-vis earlier JSS payouts that their company has received, as illustrated below. These adjustments will be made in subsequent payout tranches.
 

Measures to Curb JSS Abuse

IRAS takes a serious view on any attempt to abuse the scheme. Offenders may have their JSS payouts denied and can be charged under Section 420 of the Penal Code, where they may face up to 10 years of imprisonment and a fine

Examples of JSS Abuse

When ascertaining whether an arrangement is abusive, IRAS will consider all relevant facts and circumstances and conduct in-depth verifications where necessary. Some unacceptable practices include but are not limited to:

1. Making purported mandatory CPF contributions for non-genuine employees
   
   

   This is a fraudulent arrangement. Employers should not make any mandatory CPF contributions to individuals who are not their genuine employees. Individuals are reminded that providing their personal information to facilitate such schemes may make them accomplices to the fraud, resulting in criminal liability for the individuals. Individuals should not give out their personal information such as NRIC, SingPass or bank account details in exchange for CPF contributions and/or money.

2. Continuing purported mandatory CPF contributions for employees who have been retrenched or put on no-pay leave
   
   Employers should stop making mandatory CPF contributions for employees who have been retrenched or are on no-pay leave. However, employers can continue to make voluntary CPF contributions to the CPF accounts of employees on no-pay leave by applying for a separate CPF submission number with CPF Board. (For more details on making voluntary CPF contributions for employees, please find out more at the CPF Board website).
3. Maintaining purported mandatory CPF contribution amounts based on past wages for employees who have suffered wage cuts
   
   CPF mandatory contributions are based on employees’ wages, age and citizenship. A wage cut on the employees’ part should see a corresponding decrease in the mandatory CPF contributions. However, employers can continue to make voluntary CPF contributions to the CPF accounts of employees whose wages have been cut by applying for a separate CPF submission number with CPF Board.(For more details on making voluntary CPF contributions for employees, please find out more at the CPF Board website).
4. Increasing purported mandatory CPF contributions for employees without any actual wage increase
   
   CPF mandatory contributions are based on employees’ wages, age and citizenship. The prevailing CPF contribution rates can be found on the CPF website.
5. Inflating purported mandatory CPF contributions and deducting these excess contributions from employees’ wages in cash
   
   This is a fraudulent arrangement. Employers should only make the correct amount of mandatory CPF contributions based on the actual wages paid to their employees.
6. Artificially splitting the wages of employees across multiple related business entities
   
   Employers should only make mandatory CPF contributions to employees for the business entities they are working for, instead of artificially splitting the wages of its employees across related business entities to circumvent the $4,600 salary ceiling.
   
   
7. Making purported mandatory CPF contributions for purported wages paid without expectation of any work to be done (e.g. solely to fulfill regulatory requirements or quotas, or family members who are not involved in the business)
   
   Employers should only make mandatory CPF contributions to employees for wages paid for work performed as part of a contract of service.
8. Making purported mandatory CPF contributions for wages that are not commensurate with the volume or nature of work of the employees         
   
   Employers should only make mandatory CPF contributions to employees for wages paid that are commensurate with the volume or nature of work of the employees, instead of making purported mandatory CPF contributions based on inflated wages to increase the amount of JSS subsidy.
   

    

   Businesses or individuals who wish to report to IRAS any malpractices or potential abuses of the JSS may do so via email to jssreport@iras.gov.sg or online at go.gov.sg/jssreport. IRAS will ensure that the identities of informants are kept strictly confidential.

    

For employers

For enquiries on:

1. Eligibility for Tier 1 or Tier 2 status   
   If you are not eligible for Tier 1 or Tier 2 of the JSS, but believe that you should be, you can submit an appeal using the relevant form here.

   Please note that appeals will only be processed after payouts have been disbursed.

2. Tier 3B status 
   If you are classified as Tier 3B, but believe that you have been either incorrectly classified or have been significantly affected by COVID-19 despite being in Tier 3B, you can appeal for Tier 3A support through the JSS appeals form. 
3. Receiving your JSS payout 
   The following payouts have been completed 
   

   • Apr 2020 Payout

   • Additional May 2020 Payout

   • Jul 2020 Payout
   • Oct 2020 Payout¹
     
     

If your company had an existing GIRO arrangement with IRAS or was registered for PayNow Corporate before the disbursements, you would have received a payout titled “Jobs Support Scheme” (GIRO) or “GOVT” (PayNow Corporate).

All other companies will receive their payouts by cheques mailed to their registered business address.

If your company has yet to receive any of the 2020 payouts, please enquire via go.gov.sg/payout.

¹ Companies which have been selected for review will only receive their Oct 2020 payouts after the reviews have been completed.

If your company has an existing GIRO arrangement with IRAS or is registered for PayNow Corporate as at 26 Mar 2021, you will receive a payout titled “Jobs Support Scheme” (GIRO) or “GOVT” (PayNow Corporate) in your bank account from 30 Mar 2021.

Other employers will receive their cheques from 5 Apr 2021 mailed to their registered business address.

Employers who are not allowed to reopen after the Circuit Breaker will automatically be granted 50% subsidy (tier 1) for Payout 4 in Mar 2021 for the period that they were not allowed to resume on-site operations after the Circuit Breaker. However, the notification letter will only show their base tier for the JSS, based on the sector that the firm belongs to. Employers can use the JSS calculator (here) to compute the amount of subsidy that should be granted for businesses that are not allowed to reopen under the respective tiers, or obtain a breakdown of the JSS payout using the e-services at this link: https://mytax.iras.gov.sg/ESVWeb/default.aspx?target=JSSEmployerBreakdownRequest

As part of the checks for JSS eligibility, a small number of employers will receive letters from IRAS asking them to conduct a self-review of their CPF contributions and to provide declarations or documents to substantiate their eligibility for JSS payouts. Their Mar 2021 payouts will be withheld pending the self-review and verifications by IRAS. The payout will only be disbursed after the completion of the review. If your company has been selected for self-review, please refer to Self-review for Eligibility of JSS and JGI for more information.

For employees
For enquiries on:

1. Qualifying for the JSS
   The JSS is aimed at providing support to employers and help them retain their local employees. JSS payouts are therefore disbursed to eligible employers. Employees who require financial assistance can visit the MSF website for more information on the various support schemes for individuals.
2. Allocation of JSS subsidies by employer
   While the JSS subsidies are based on a percentage of employees’ monthly wages, employers have the flexibility to allocate the subsidies for their businesses as necessary to keep the business running and continue to retain their employees.
   
   While the government is subsidising part of your wages, businesses still have other costs to bear and hence pay cuts may be unavoidable. Both employees and employers are encouraged to take a longer-term view and mutually agree on work and salary adjustments, taking reference from the Tripartite Advisory on Salary and Leave. Workers should accept wage sacrifices to keep businesses going, and employers should make every effort to keep their workers, and help them through this difficult period.
   
   However, if you feel that your employer was irresponsible or unfair in implementing cost-saving measures, you can file a complaint to MOM at www.mom.gov.sg/lsa for MOM to investigate. Employers found to have been irresponsible in implementing cost-saving measures will be disqualified from Government support and may have their work pass privileges curtailed.

 For other enquiries, please enquire via go.gov.sg/payout or call 1800 352 4728 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. from Mon to Fri (peak hours from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.). As we are currently experiencing a high volume of enquiries, we seek your understanding that the waiting time may be longer than usual.