Sociedade de Jogos de Macau SA (SJM), the Macau operations unit of Hong Kong-listed casino firm SJM Holdings Ltd, says it will be paying its eligible employees what it termed “living subsidies” equivalent to “two months or 1.5 months” of salary. The subsidies will be paid “in two equal payments in January and July respectively, with the first payment to be made on 6 January 2021,” said the company in a Monday statement.
The statement quoted Daisy Ho Chiu Fung, chairman of the board of directors, as saying: “We would like to thank our staff members for their diligent work and dedicated support amidst the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The SJM press statement did not specify what categories of employees were eligible for the living subsidies. SJM Holdings’ current flagship property in the Macau market is the Grand Lisboa casino hotel (pictured). The firm is expected to launch its Cotai casino resort scheme, Grand Lisboa Palace, later this year.
SJM’s eligible employees earning a monthly salary of MOP20,000 (US$2,505) or below will be entitled to a bonus equivalent to two months of salary, according to an internal memo seen by GGRAsia. Staff earning above MOP20,000 will be entitled to one-and-a-half months of salary, or MOP40,000, whichever is higher, according to the memo.
Employees that have been working for the company for less than a year will be entitled to receive the bonuses on a pro-rata basis, added the memo.
The SJM group had confirmed to GGRAsia in November 2019 that the company had extended for an additional three years – starting from 2020 – its annual bonus scheme for eligible employees.
SJM’s “living subsidy” scheme was launched in 2014, in what the company described as a “guaranteed allowance” for its employees. In August 2014, SJM Holdings had pledged to retain its bonus scheme until at least the year 2020.
