The Social Security System (SSS), the government agency that accepts and processes the applications for the Department of Finance’s (DOF’s) Small Business Wage Subsidy (SBWS) Program, extended the application period from 30 April 2020 to 8 May 2020.
It will be recalled that on 15 April 2020, DOF unveiled the Php 51-billion SBWS Program for middle-class workers employed by small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to help mitigate the impact of the Enhanced Community Quarantine in Luzon and various local government units.
This came after the announcement of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) of the suspension of acceptance of applications for the Php 5,000 financial assistance under the COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP) due to the large influx of applications which ballooned beyond the capacity of DOLE’s resources.
Under the SBWS, the government mandates the SSS to provide a wage subsidy of between 5,000 to 8,000 pesos (based on the regional wage arrangement) per month per eligible employee for two months.
To be eligible of the subsidy program, enterprises must meet two criteria: first will be size of business, whether a corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship, it must not be included in BIR’s Large Taxpayer Service (LTS) list; and second on the impact of the ECQ to the small business operations.
However, the government has also set in place conditions to avail of the program: 1) employers must maintain the employment status of all eligible employees before the ECQ and for the duration of the SBWS program; and 2) employees must not resign during the ECQ period.
Employers are given until May 8, 2020 to submit their applications. For further inquiries regarding the program, you may contact SSS through [email protected].
