On April 21, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced a four-week extension of the circuit breaker measures till Jun 1. While the number of COVID-19 community cases has fallen in recent days, the same cannot be said for the number of unlinked cases. It suggests the possibility of a ‘larger, hidden reservoir of cases in the community’, of which we are unable to detect.
To further support businesses in this extension, the Government has announced a few measures.
#1 Tightened List of Essential Services To Remain Open
From April 21 onwards, only critical consumer services can remain open. Only F&B outlets that sell meals can remain open for takeaway and delivery services. Retail stores and manufacturing facilities that sell beverages, confectionaries, packaged snacks and desserts will have to close.
Manufacturing facilities can continue to sell food products online if operations are conducted at a licensed central kitchen or warehouse. As mentioned, products such as chocolate, chips, ice cream and confectionery are prohibited. Hair salons and barbers must now close.
Consumer-facing businesses, such as optician shops, can only accept appointments. No walk-in customers are allowed.
Some businesses that were previously allowed to operate at work premises must now suspend on-site activities. Those that were affected will be notified by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and have 24 hours to wind down their operations. For those businesses that can remain open, a digital check-in application called SafeEntry must be used for contact tracing.
Employers with foreign workers should continue to ensure that appropriate housing options and food arrangements are provided. Movement of workers in and out all dormitories are no longer allowed.
Retail establishments that can continue operation after April 21 are:
- Food (Supermarkets, convenience stores, grocery stores)
- Health & Social Services (Pharmacies and Personal Care Items)
- Hardware Stores
- Optical Shops
- Pet Supplies Store – Only online retail and delivery of pet food and supplies allowed
- Laundry – Industrial laundry services can continue, retail services can only provide online sales and delivery
The aim of this tightening is to reduce the amount of people moving around performing their work duties, from the current 20% to 15%.
Read Also: Retrenchment Should Be The Last Resort: 4 Options Companies Can Consider To Reduce Cost First
#2 Businesses From All Sectors To Receive 75% Of Wage Support In May
Under the Jobs Support Scheme, it was previously announced that all businesses will receive 75% wage support in the month of April 2020. Most businesses would have already received their first payout, for the first $4,600 of local employee’s gross monthly wages.
This is will be further extended to the month of May 2020. It will be credited to employers by end May, via PayNow or the existing GIRO arrangements that the business has with IRAS. If both options do not apply, employers will receive wage support via cheque in early June. Companies are encouraged to sign up for PayNow Corporate for faster payouts.
The 75% wage support for May will be disbursed based on November 2019 wages. According to MOF, employers who do not pay wages in May, or place employees on no-pay leave will not benefit from this additional wage relief.
This can be seen in the table below, from the blue text in the row of Payout 3. Assuming that the wages you paid in November and May are the same, the deduction in Payout 3 will not affect you. But if May’s wages are lower than that of November, this difference will be deducted from your overall wage relief payout.
Read Also: What Is PayNow For Business And 3 Reasons Why Businesses Should Adopt It Soon
#3 Jobs Support Scheme: Wage Support To Now Include Shareholders & Directors
The Jobs Support Scheme was further enhanced to include wages of shareholders and directors of the company. Previously, these employees did not qualify for the wage relief and were also unable to claim for support under the Self-Employed Person Income Relief Scheme (SIRS).
Now, shareholder-directors with companies that were registered on or before April 20 will qualify. Your Assessable Income must also be $100,000 or less for Year of Assessment 2019. According to IRAS, assessable income refers to your total income after deducting allowable expenses and approved donates. This includes trade income for the accounting year, employment income, and other income such as rental or royalty income.
With this enhancement, companies will receive wage relief for shareholder-directors in the subsequent payouts accordingly in May, July and October. The next payout (May) will also include wage relief for shareholder-directors in the first Jobs Support Scheme payout that was already disbursed.
50,000 shareholder-directors are expected to benefit from this change.
#4 Foreign Worker Levy Waiver And $750 Rebate Extended By 1 Month
During the Solidarity Budget, it was announced that the foreign worker levy for April was waivered. Levy rebate payouts of $750 for each worker was also provided. With the extension of circuit breaker measures, the foreign worker levy for May will be waived, along with an additional rebate of $750 for each worker.
Over 62,000 employees are expected to get about $675 million in rebates from April 21. Employers need not apply for the levy rebate and will be informed as soon as the rebates have been successfully credited to them. Business owners may check their eligibility and amount of rebate to receive here.
Subscribe To The DollarsAndSense Business Pass
Enjoy what you are reading and want more? Join The DollarsAndSense Business Pass and unlock access to valuable tools, exclusive networking opportunities, and tap into the wisdom of industry experts to fuel your business expansion!
