Most of the JSS excess payouts to be recovered via deductions
More than 90 per cent of excess Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) payouts totalling $370 million will be recovered by the Government through automatic deductions from upcoming JSS payouts, or returned by larger firms that have pledged to do so.
This was revealed by the Ministry of Finance (MOF), Ministry of Manpower and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) in a joint statement yesterday, following their announcement that some firms had received an excess of $370 million in wage support due to errors.
Affected businesses will be notified through letters and e-mails. Businesses may log in from Saturday to go.gov.sg/reopeningdate to check if they are affected.
The remaining 10 per cent or so of excess payouts, amounting to about $30 million, is spread out over 1,000 companies, and the Government will work with them on repayment. Instalment payment arrangements may be made for businesses that need them.
FUTURE PAYOUTS
For companies whose excess payouts will be automatically deducted from future JSS payouts, MTI, MOF and the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore will inform them of any outstanding excess amount to be returned after their final JSS payout, said the ministries.
About 100 larger firms contacted by MTI and other agencies have committed to returning $200 million of the excess JSS payouts, while about $140 million will be recovered from other affected firms through automatic offsets from subsequent JSS payouts.
UOB and security firm Aetos Holdings were among those that discovered discrepancies in the payout for October in November and alerted the authorities.
"We immediately set aside the excess funds to be returned in full, pending their investigations. We are reassured that a convenient process has been set up for companies to return the excess JSS funds," said Mr Dean Tong, head of group human resources at UOB.
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