The Labour Department today announced the launch of the Re-employment Allowance Pilot Scheme ​(REA Scheme), which is open for registration to encourage elderly and middle-aged people to join the labour force.

The Chief Executive announced the introduction of a three-year REA Scheme in the Policy Address last year.

Hong Kong residents aged 40 or above who are legally employable in Hong Kong and have not been in paid employment for three consecutive months or more are eligible to join the scheme.

REA Scheme participants will receive an allowance of $10,000 after working full-time for six consecutive months, and they will get an additional allowance of $10,000 for working continuously for 12 months. The allowance for completing part-time employment will be halved.

Each participant can receive a maximum re-employment allowance of $20,000 during the implementation period of the scheme.

Employers of the REA Scheme participants can concurrently enrol in the Employment Programme for the Elderly & Middle-aged (EPEM), and will be provided with on-the-job training (OJT) allowance.

To encourage employers to employ the participants of the REA Scheme, the department will extend the duration of the OJT training allowance under the EPEM for eligible employers to six to 12 months.

Call the hotline at 2116 0131 / 2397 7277 or the department at 2951 4634 for enquiries.