YRSG [2022] No.9

Human resources and social security bureaus and finance bureaus of cities at or above the prefectural level, tax services of Guangzhou and other cities at or above the prefectural level and of the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin of the State Taxation Administration, the third taxation branch of Guangdong Provincial Tax Service, and the Administration of Social Insurance Fund of Guangdong Province,

　　In accordance with the Notice of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration on Utilizing the Unemployment Insurance to Stabilise Employment,Improve Vocational Skills and Prevent Unemployment (RSBF [2022] No. 23, hereinafter referred to as Document 23), upon the consent of the People’s Government of Guangdong Province, it is hereby announced relevant matters as follows:

　　I. Continue to implement the unemployment insurance refund policy. Insured enterprises in the province that have not laid off employees in the previous year or the layoff rate is not higher than the control target (5.5%) of the surveyed urban jobless rate in the previous year, as well as the insured enterprises with 30 employees or fewer whose layoff rate is not higher than 20% of the total number of insured employees, can apply for unemployment insurance refunds.

　　A large enterprise will still receive a refund equal to 30% of the actual unemployment insurance premiums paid by the enterprise and its employees in the previous year, while micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) will receive a refund equal to 90% of the actual unemployment insurance premiums paid by the enterprises and their employees in the previous year. Refunds to social groups, foundations, social service agencies, law firms, accounting firms, and self-employed households insured as public employers shall be implemented with reference to this policy. The implementation period of the policies abovementioned is until December 31, 2022.

　　Types of enterprises are classified in accordance with the Notice of the National Bureau of Statistics on the Issuance of Measures for the Classification of Large, Small, Medium- and Micro-Sized Enterprises for Statistical Purpose (2017) (GTZ [2017] No.213, hereinafter referred to as Document 213); social groups, foundations, social service agencies, law firms, accounting firms, and self-employed households insured as public employers are classified with reference to other industry standards not specified in Document 213 (a business with an average of 300 insured employees or more is a large enterprise, or it falls into the category of MSMEs). Local governments should further integrate and optimise the process, facilitate online services, vigorously promote the “entitlement without application” approach, and send the unemployment insurance refund directly and accurately to the public accounts upon data matching in the back-end system. For small- and micro-sized enterprises that do not have a public account, the funds can be returned directly to the account provided by the tax agencies according to the Tripartite Agreement on Entrusting Banks (Financial Institutions) to Transfer Tax and Fee Paymentssigned with the enterprises.

　　II. Broaden the coverage of the unemployment insurance supported skills improvement subsidy.The requirements for applying for the subsidy shall be further loosened to those employees who have been covered by unemployment insurance for more than one year, and the scope of applicants shall be extended to those who receive unemployment insurance benefits. The abovementioned persons can apply for the subsidy with their eligible primary (level-5), intermediate (level-4) or senior (level-3) vocational qualification certificates or certificates of vocational skill level. The subsidy standard is as stipulated in the Notice of the Human Resources and Social Security Department of Guangdong Provinceand the Department of Finance of Guangdong Provinceon Issues Related to Unemployment Insurance Support for Insured Workers to Improve Vocational Skills (YRSG [2017] No.13). The subsidy for workers with senior (level-3) vocational qualification certificates or certificates of vocational skill level, who are in shortage and urgent need, can be increased by 30%. Each person is entitled to the subsidy up to a maximum of three times per year, and the same certificate can only be placed for application once (including the Labour Force Vocational Skills Improvement Subsidy). The implementation period of the policies abovementioned is until December 31, 2022.

　　III. Continue to implement the vocational training subsidy policy. For unemployed persons who receive vocational training while receiving unemployment insurance benefits, a vocational training subsidy may be granted in accordance with the current regulations of the province.

　　IV. Continue to implement the pilot policy of extending the coverage of the unemployment insurance fund in seven eastern provinces (municipalities). Cities at or above the prefectural level may continue to use the unemployment insurance fund to support four kinds of expenditures including the vocational training subsidy, the vocational skill certification subsidy, the post allowance and the social insurance subsidy for individuals and employers participating in unemployment insurance and satisfying the application criteria for employment subsidy funds.

　　V. Issuethe one-off vocational training subsidy. From January 1 to December 31, 2022, cities at or above the prefectural level with one medium- or high-risk area for COVID-19 or more may issue the one-off vocational training subsidy (500 yuan for each insured employee) to MSMEs that are temporarily unable to operate normally due to the severe impact of COVID-19, and support enterprises in organising employees to train in the form of work. Subsidies for social groups, foundations, social service agencies, law firms, and accounting firms with fewer than 300 insured employees, and self-employed households insured as public employers shall be implemented with reference to this policy. The policy will be implemented until December 31, 2022, in accordance with the Guidelines for the Issuance of One-Off Vocational Training Subsidy (see Appendix).

　　VI. Further support vocational skills training. Under the unified management of the unemployment insurance fund at the provincial level, the fund will be withdrawn to a special fund for the provincial vocational skills improvement campaign by the end of 2022 at a rate of 5% based on the accumulated balance of the unemployment insurance fund at the end of 2021. The special fund will be used for vocational skills training programmes organised by the province. The specific measures shall be reported to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the Ministry of Finance for registration as required. If there is a balance in the funds earmarked for the vocational skills improvement campaign by local governments, funding for various vocational skills training programmes shall be first drawn from this balance.

　　VII. Implement policies to reduce rates and defer social insurance premiums payment. The implementation of the policy to temporarily reduce unemployment insurance and work-related injury insurance contribution rates, and the policy of floating unemployment insurance contribution rates will be extended for one year until April 30, 2023, as stipulated. The policy of temporarily deferred payment of pension insurance, unemployment insurance and work-related injury insurance premiums is implemented for catering, retail, tourism, civil aviation, and highway, waterway and railway transportation enterprises. The payment of pension insurance premiums can be deferred for three months and that of unemployment insurance and work-related injury insurance premiums can be deferred for up to one year. No overdue fine will be charged during this period. If self-employed households and all types of individuals in flexible employment, who are covered by basic pension insurance for enterprise employees as individuals, have difficulties in paying pension insurance premiums in 2022, they may defer their payments until the end of 2023. The specific measures are implemented in accordance with the Notice of the General Office of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the General Office of the State Taxation Administration on Temporarily Deferring the Payment of Corporate Contributions to Social Security in Specially Distressed Industries (RSTF [2022] No.16)and the province’s opinions on the implementation thereof.

　　VIII. Guarantee the basic livelihood of the unemployed. We continue to implement the policy of extending unemployment insurance coverage and provide an unemployment subsidy for unemployed persons who still cannot find a job after the expiry of the period of receiving unemployment insurance benefits, and to insured unemployed persons who do not meet the conditions for receiving unemployment insurance benefits. The measure applies to insured persons who lose their jobs between January 1 and December 31, 2022, in accordance with the Notice on the Handling of Unemployment Subsidies and Temporary Living Allowance. Before the unemployment insurance fund is placed under provincial-level unified management, local governments continue to pay unemployment subsidies in accordance with the municipal standards; after the unified management, the subsidy rate for unemployed persons who have been insured for one year or above is 50% of the local unemployment insurance benefit, and the rate for unemployed persons who have been insured for less than one year is 15% of that. Local governments shall also continue to work on the routine distribution of livelihood entitlement, such as releasing unemployment insurance benefits and paying medical insurance.

　　IX. Effectively prevent risks to the fund. The implementation of the abovementioned policies by cities at or above the prefectural level is subject to the provisions of Document 23 on the preparatory period. Cities with insufficient preparatory period before the unemployment insurance fund is placed under the provincial-level unified management may implement the above policies upon the relevant conditions being met for the provincial-level unified management. Local social security agencies shall strengthen their work research and judgment, and propose to the Administration of Social Insurance Fund of Guangdong Province in a timely manner, through joint efforts with the financial departments at the same level, the spending plans in accordance with the implementation of unemployment insurance policies and fund expenditures, so as to ensure that local funds can be paid in full and on time. Local governments should improve the whole-process supervision mechanisms covering fund auditing, public announcement and disbursement, carry out regular spot checks on expenditure, strengthen human and technical prevention, make full use of information technology to verify qualifications, and improve the system for matching and verifying information on benefits applications. Local governments shall strictly assume the responsibility of recovering irregular subsidies, coupled with year-round action to improve the management of social insurance funds and the province’s special campaign on rectifying behaviours to obtain unemployment insurance benefits through fraudulent labour relations. Those engaged in fraud, embezzlement, and swindling of relevant funds will be punished in accordance with the Social Insurance Law and the Measures of Guangdong Province for Investigating and Handling Infringements on Social Insurance Funds.

　　X. Strengthen organisation and leadership. Local governments shall make sure that policies that benefit businesses and the public are put into effect, such as using unemployment insurance to support livelihood entitlement, employment stabilisation and skill improvement programmes. The “smooth application and safe handling” of unemployment insurance benefits, the “escort action” to assist enterprises in stabilising their employment and the skills improvement subsidy dubbed “Zhanchi Action” shall be vigorously carried out, the handling services optimised, and the support of information systems strengthened, in order to roll out more policies of collecting subsidies without visiting relevant departments in person, entitlement without application, and processing without certification, and to promote the early release of policy dividends.  In order to keep abreast of the implementation of policies around the province, Guangdong will from time to time carry out policy implementation and coordination, and field research and supervision. Local governments shall pay attention to drawing on advanced experiences and highlighted practices, and report them to the Human Resources and Social Security Department of Guangdong Province. When problems are encountered in the implementation of policies, they shall be reported to the Human Resources and Social Security Department of Guangdong Province, the Department of Finance of Guangdong Province and the Guangdong Provincial Tax Service, State Taxation Administration in a timely manner.

　　Appendix: Guidelines for the Issuance of the One-Off Vocational Training Subsidy.docx

　　Human Resources and Social Security Department of Guangdong Province

　　Department of Finance of Guangdong Province

　　Guangdong Provincial Tax Service, State Taxation Administration

　　May 24, 2022