The Hong Kong Jockey Club (the Club) would like to state that the accusation made by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Staff Union (the “Union”) against the Club at the press conference earlier this afternoon regarding the Part-Time Employee Income Subsidy Scheme (the "Subsidy Scheme") is entirely unfounded and misleading.

In the interest of protecting its employees under the current COVID-19 situation, the Club has temporarily closed certain Club facilities including some Telebet centres.

The Club understood that this decision will affect the income of its regular part-time employees and hence has taken extra steps beyond its legal obligations to introduce the Subsidy Scheme in February to ease their financial burden. For the last 8 weeks, the Club provided a 50% income guarantee for approximately 7,800 part-time employees despite most of them not having reported duties. There will be more than 10,000 part-time employees benefiting from the Subsidy Scheme in the coming weeks. The Club believes that there are not many employers in Hong Kong undertaking similar actions for their employees.

It is disappointing that the Union disregarded the Club’s goodwill and distorted the Subsidy Scheme initiative. They tried to appeal to the public that a small number of part-time employees have not benefited from the Subsidy Scheme in February. What they have not revealed is that those concerned employees have been paid by the rostered working hours as well as a HK$200 special allowance on every race day. The total amount they received was higher than that offered under the Subsidy Scheme.

The Club is deeply disappointed by the unfounded accusation of the Union regardless of the Club’s exceptional support for its part-time employees during this challenging time.