Hong Kong’s new cash incentives of up to HK$45,000 (US$5,740) to encourage welfare recipients to take up jobs are expected to benefit many single-parent families, lawmakers have said, while urging more flexible eligibility rules and stronger employment support.
Legislators made the remarks on Tuesday as the government unveiled a three-year pilot scheme, funded by the Community Care Fund, set to launch on October 1. The programme aims to help welfare recipients achieve self-reliance through sustained employment.
It targets families transitioning from the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) scheme to the Working Family Allowance (WFA) programme, offering up to HK$45,000 in cash incentives over three years: HK$10,000 in the first year, HK$15,000 in the second, and HK$20,000 in the third.
Lawmaker Tang Ka-piu said single-parent families could benefit most, noting they faced significantly lower working-hour thresholds under the WFA. Applicants need only 36 hours of work per month to qualify for the basic tier, compared with 144-192 hours for general applicants.
“This scheme may in fact be most relevant to single-parent families,” he said.
He urged the Labour Department to provide more targeted job matching for women with caregiving responsibilities, such as flexible-hour roles in hotel housekeeping and to make better use of existing after-school care services.
To qualify for the incentives, eligible households must leave CSSA and secure approval for at least two consecutive WFA applications within 12 months, receiving payments for at least 10 of those months.
