LCQ20: Re-employment Allowance Pilot Scheme
Following is a question by Reverend Canon the Hon Peter Douglas Koon and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (May 7):
Question:
The 2023 Policy Address announced the launch of a three-year Re-employment Allowance Pilot Scheme (the Pilot Scheme), targeting at elderly and middle-aged persons aged 40 or above who have not been in paid employment for three consecutive months or more. To encourage these persons to rejoin the workforce, those who have worked for six consecutive months will be provided with a maximum allowance of $10,000, while those who have worked for 12 consecutive months will be given an additional maximum allowance of $10,000. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it will further improve the Pilot Scheme, such as increasing the amount of allowance, and strengthening employment counselling, job referral and post-placement follow-up services; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(2) whether performance indicators have been set for the Pilot Scheme, and whether the effectiveness of the Scheme in promoting re-employment among elderly and middle-aged persons is reviewed in a timely manner; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
Launched by the Labour Department (LD) on July 15, 2024, the three-year Re-employment Allowance Pilot Scheme (REA Scheme) encourages persons aged 40 or above who have not been in paid employment for three consecutive months or more to join the employment market. Each eligible participant who has worked full-time for six consecutive months will be provided with a re-employment allowance (REA) of $10,000, while those who have worked full-time for 12 consecutive months will be given an additional allowance of $10,000. Half-rate REA will be given to those who have worked part-time. Each participant may receive a maximum REA of $20,000 during the implementation of the REA Scheme. In response to the Member's question, the reply is provided below.
The response to the REA Scheme is very favourable. From July 15, 2024 toMarch 31, 2025, over 38000 participants and more than 16000 placements were recorded, far exceeding the original target of benefiting 6000 employed persons during the three-year implementation period.
The LD has been providing free and diversified employment services for participants of the REA Scheme. Participants may search for jobs through the LD's Interactive Employment Service website (www.jobs.gov.hk), job centres across the territory, the Telephone Employment Service Hotline (29690888) or other channels. In addition, the LD from time to time stages large-scale job fairs targeting the elderly and middle-aged as well as district-based job fairs on part-time employment, etc, to promote the employment of the elderly and middle-aged. In tandem, the Government has commissioned two service providers, which have set up 12service spots across the territory and two telephone hotlines, to assist with the implementation of the Scheme.
The LD will closely monitor the implementation of the REA Scheme and make timely adjustments to the implementation arrangements in light of the employment market situation and the views of the stakeholders.
The LD plans to conduct a mid-term review on the REA Scheme in the first quarter of 2026 to evaluate the effectiveness of the Scheme and map out the way forward. As the number of employment placements may be affected by various factors such as the economy, labour market situation and the personal circumstances of job seekers, it is not appropriate to set key performance indicators for the REA Scheme.
