Absentee Payroll Funding
Download the slides here to learn more about Absentee Payroll Funding.
Absentee Payroll (AP) funding is a grant to help employers defray the manpower costs incurred when they send their employees for certifiable skills training during working hours.
For training conducted outside working hours, the grant is meant to alleviate the opportunity costs incurred by the employees. Hence, the funding is to be paid to the employees together with the mandatory top-up by the employer.
Note:
The Absentee Payroll funding is not applicable to on-the-job training (OJT) hours.
Eligibility Criteria
In order to be eligible for Absentee Payroll funding, the applicant company must meet the following criteria:
- Company must be registered or incorporated in Singapore
- Trainees must be fully sponsored by their employer for supportable cost components (such as course fees) incurred on the training course;
- Trainees must be full-time or permanent part-time employees of the sponsoring company;
- Trainees must continue to receive their salary when they attend training;
- Trainees must have achieved at least 75% attendance;
- Trainees must have sat for and passed the examinations/ assessments where applicable; and
- Trainees must complete the course whilst under employment of the sponsoring company.
Note:
With effect from 1 April 2009, government entities are not eligible for AP funding. This includes private entities held under a government agency whose expenditure on manpower is partially government funded.
Courses Approved For Absentee Payroll Funding
Courses which are supported for Absentee Payroll funding will be pre-approved with an Absentee Payroll funding component.
Go to ‘Course Details’, look under ‘Course Funding Details’. For courses which are pre-approved with an Absentee Payroll funding component, the ‘Type of Funding’ field will contain either “Training Grant and Absentee Payroll only” or “Absentee Payroll only”.
Absentee Payroll Funding Rates
| Normal Funding Rates | Funding Rates under the Workfare Training Support (WTS) Scheme (with effect from 1 July 2013)
(Only applicable for Singapore citizens aged 35 years & above, with salary up to $1,900) |
Funding Rates for SMEs (with effect from 1 July 2012) | ||
| AP for training during working hours |
80% of hourly basic salary (capped at $4.50 per trainee-hour) |
95% of hourly basic salary | 80% of hourly basic salary (capped at $7.50 per trainee-hour) | |
|
(i) AP for training outside working hours |
80% of hourly basic salary capped at $4.50 per trainee-hour) | 95% of hourly basic salary | 80% of hourly basic salary (capped at $7.50 per trainee-hour) | |
|
(ii) Mandatory AP top-up by employer for training outside working hours |
Balance 20% of hourly basic salary (capped at $1.10 per trainee-hour) | Balance 5% of hourly basic salary | Balance 20% of hourly basic salary (capped at $1.90 per trainee-hour) | |
|
Total AP receivable by employees for training outside working hours, |
100% of hourly basic salary (capped at $5.60 per trainee-hour) | 100% of hourly basic salary | 100% of hourly basic salary (capped at $9.40 per trainee hour) | |
With effect from 1 December 2010, absentee payroll funding per trainee is capped at $6,500 per year or per course, whichever is earlier.
Computing Basic Hourly Salary
Basic hourly salary is computed using the formula: (Monthly salary * 12 months per year) / (Hours worked per week * 52 weeks per year)
In the SkillsConnect system, applicant companies are required to fill in the variable fields – ‘Monthly salary’ and ‘Hours worked per week’. SkillsConnect will compute the basic hour salary from these information.
With effect from 9 March 2009, allowances that are subject to CPF contributions, such as shift allowance, can be included in the monthly salary. Please note that overtime should not be included. You may refer to the CPF website for the list of allowances that are subject to CPF contributions.
Calculating Absentee Payroll Funding
Examples of how to calculate AP funding are available below. You can also make use of the Absentee Payroll Funding Calculator
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- Employer intends to send an employee for training DURING working hours. The course duration is 120 hours. Employee is a Singapore citizen, 30 years old, with salary of $2,000 per month and works 44 hours per week.
Hourly basic salary = (Monthly Salary x 12 months) / (44 hours per week x 52 weeks per year) = ($2,000 x 12) / (44 x 52) = $10.49
Based on the employee profile, normal funding rate of 80% of basic hourly salary capped at $4.50 per trainee-hour applies.
80% of hourly salary = 80% x $10.49 = $8.39
As the hourly basic salary exceeds $4.50, funding will be capped at $4.50 per trainee-hour.
Absentee Payroll funding claimable by employer = $4.50 per trainee-hour x 120 hours = $540.00
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- If training is conducted OUTSIDE working hours instead, mandatory top-up by employer will apply. The Absentee Payroll funding claimed by the employer, together with the mandatory top-up will be given to the trainee.
Mandatory top-up by employer is the balance 20% of hourly basic salary capped at $1.10 per trainee-hour.
Balance 20% of hourly salary = 20% x $10.49 = $2.10
As the balance 20% of hourly basic salary exceeds $1.10, funding will be capped at $1.10 per trainee-hour.
Mandatory top-up by employer = $1.10 per trainee-hour x 120 hours = $132.00
Total amount received by employee = Absentee Payroll claimed by employer + Mandatory top-up = $540.00 + $132.00 = $672.00
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- Employer intends to send an employee for training DURING working hours. The course duration is 120 hours. Employee is a Singapore citizen, 50 years old, with salary of $1,000 per month and works 44 hours per week.
Hourly basic salary = (Monthly Salary x 12 months) / (44 hours per week x 52 weeks per year) = ($1,000 x 12) / (44 x 52) = $5.24
Based on the employee profile, WTS funding rate of 95% of basic hourly salary applies.
95% of hourly salary = 95% x $5.24 = $4.98
Absentee Payroll funding claimable by employer = $4.98 per trainee-hour x 120 hours = $597.60
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- If training is conducted OUTSIDE working hours instead, mandatory top-up by employer will apply. The Absentee Payroll funding claimed by the employer, together with the mandatory top-up will be given to the trainee.
Mandatory top-up by employer is the balance 5% of hourly basic salary.
Balance 5% of hourly salary = 5% x $5.24 = $0.26
Mandatory top-up by employer = $0.26 per trainee-hour x 120 hours = $31.20
Total amount received by employee = Absentee Payroll claimed by employer + Mandatory top-up = $597.60 + $31.20 = $628.80
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- An SME intends to send its employee for training DURING working hours. The course duration is 120 hours. Employee is a Singapore citizen, 30 years old, with salary of $2,000 per month and works 44 hours per week.
Hourly basic salary = (Monthly Salary x 12 months) / (44 hours per week x 52 weeks per year) = ($2,000 x 12) / (44 x 52) = $10.49
Based on the employer (SME) and employee profiles, normal funding rate of 80% of basic hourly salary capped at $7.50 per trainee-hour applies.
80% of hourly salary = 80% x $10.49 = $8.39
As the hourly basic salary exceeds $7.50, funding will be capped at $7.50 per trainee-hour.
Absentee Payroll funding claimable by employer = $7.50 per trainee-hour x 120 hours = $900.00
-
- If training is conducted OUTSIDE working hours instead, mandatory top-up by employer will apply. The Absentee Payroll funding claimed by the employer, together with the mandatory top-up will be given to the trainee.
Mandatory top-up by employer is the balance 20% of hourly basic salary capped at $1.90 per trainee-hour.
Balance 20% of hourly salary = 20% x $10.49 = $2.10
As the balance 20% of hourly basic salary exceeds $1.90, funding will be capped at $1.90 per trainee-hour.
Mandatory top-up by employer = $1.90 per trainee-hour x 120 hours = $228.00
Total amount received by employee = Absentee Payroll claimed by employer + Mandatory top-up = $900.00 + $228.00 = $1,128.00