Funding guide for employers
Absentee Payroll Funding, and how to claim it
Subsidies cover the course. Absentee Payroll covers the hours your staff are off the job attending it. We handle the enrolment — here is what you do next. For the other schemes that stack on top of this one, see course funding.
Training costs you twice
Absentee Payroll is the support that covers the second half — paid to the company, after the course, not to the employee.
Administered by the Skills and Workforce Development Agency (SWDA) — formerly SSG, merged with WSG on 1 July 2026. Claims run through the Enterprise Portal for Jobs and Skills (EPJS).
Claimable
- Hours actually attended on a funded course
- Staff who stay employed and paid throughout
- Courses where assessment requirements are met
Not claimable
- On-the-job training hours
- Scheduled hours a trainee did not attend
- Unpaid leave taken to attend training
Training outside working hours is a special case: AP offsets the overtime pay or allowance you paid, so you need an HR policy and the payment must have been made.
How much you get
Flat rate since 2022 — the employee's actual wage does not change it.
Capped at S$100,000 per organisation per calendar year, tracked by UEN and counted on the date funding is paid out, not submitted.
Enhanced Absentee Payroll for lower-waged employees
S$4.50 per training hour, whatever the employee earns.
Applies to any eligible employee on a SWDA-funded course.
Up to 95% of hourly basic salary, capped at S$13 per training hour.
For Singapore Citizens aged 30 and above (13 and above for persons with disabilities) earning an average gross monthly income of not more than S$3,000, subject to the full WSS criteria.
Worth checking before you declare. On a 16-hour course, the difference between the two on a single employee is over S$130.
WSS criteria and current rates: SWDA · Workfare Skills Support
Current rates and caps: SWDA · Absentee Payroll Funding
Who qualifies
All four have to be true.
CPF is the quickest test for the employee. For the course, the test is whether it appears in the Course Directory — if it is not SWDA-funded, there is no Absentee Payroll on it, whatever else the course is accredited for.
If you are unsure whether a particular course run is funded, ask us and we will check it for you. Chat with us on WhatsApp or email hello@thtc.com.sg.
Eligibility criteria: SWDA · Absentee Payroll Funding · Check our courses: Course Directory for Business
Who does what
We file the enrolment and attendance records. The portal does the rest on its own, and from the email onward it is yours — the declaration is a statement by the employer about its own staff, so it cannot be submitted for you.
Set up before the email arrives
Minutes if the right person is around. Days if they are not.
Your Corppass administrator assigns at least one user to the EPJS Enterprise User role.
Give it to whoever handles your SWDA transactions, usually HR or finance.
Disbursements go to your Corporate PayNow, linked to your UEN. There is no cheque fallback.
Update PayNow UEN details in the profile section of the e-Service.
Step-by-step with screenshots — the Absentee Payroll Claim Onboarding Guide for Enterprises, linked from: SWDA · e-Services
Submitting the declaration
In EPJS, under the AP Funding tab:
Once submitted, the declaration is locked. Any amendment has to be raised with SWDA through the Service Portal, which adds weeks. Check the figures before you submit.
Tracking your claim
The status tells you whose court the ball is in.
Check the dashboard before chasing anyone. Every grant carries a Grant Lapse Date, after which it cancels itself — the Grant Lapse Overview under the AP Funding tab lists what is approaching that date, in windows of up to three months.
Common snags
Official sources
Everything on this page comes from these. Bookmark them — they are the version that counts.
The Enterprise Course Funding Calculator on the e-Services page gives you the net course fee after subsidies. AP is claimed separately, on top of that.
Questions
Do I need to apply before the course starts?
No pre-application. Tell us at registration that the training is employer-sponsored and give us the UEN of the entity paying salary and CPF. Once we file the attendance records the portal takes over on its own, and you will be emailed when the declaration is ready.
Can THT Academy submit the declaration for us?
No. We submit the enrolment, attendance and assessment records, which triggers the claim. The declaration is a statement by the employer about its own employees and their salaries, so it must be submitted by your organisation through EPJS using Corppass.
How long after the course does the email arrive?
It varies. The claim goes through eligibility and disbursement checks first, so it is not immediate. A few weeks is normal. If it stretches well beyond that, check the dashboard status, then speak to us.
What if I made a mistake on a submitted declaration?
You cannot edit it yourself. Amendments go through SWDA's feedback channel, which adds time.
How much is Absentee Payroll?
A flat S$4.50 per hour of attended training, capped at S$100,000 per organisation per calendar year, for courses starting on or after 1 January 2022. Employees who meet Workfare Skills Support criteria attract up to 95% of hourly basic salary, capped at S$13 per training hour.
Who can I claim for?
Singapore Citizens, Permanent Residents and Long Term Visit Pass Plus (LTVP+) holders, fully sponsored by you for the training, and for whom you make CPF contributions. Ineligible trainees still appear on the declaration page, but the portal will not let you select or submit a claim for them.
Is AP the same as a course fee subsidy?
No. Subsidies reduce what you pay for the training. AP defrays the manpower cost of releasing the employee to attend. They are separate and both can apply to the same course, alongside SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit.
What happens if a trainee misses part of the course?
The claim is computed on hours actually attended, not the scheduled length, so partial attendance reduces the funding. Assessment requirements also have to be met.
THT Academy is an SSG-approved training organisation, not a funding authority. Absentee Payroll is administered by the Skills and Workforce Development Agency (SWDA), which sets and changes the rates, eligibility criteria, portal screens and deadlines described here. This page summarises SWDA guidance published at SkillsFuture for Business, together with the Absentee Payroll Claim Onboarding Guide for Enterprises (v20.0). Where anything here differs from the official sources, the official sources apply. We cannot confirm your organisation's eligibility, guarantee approval of a claim, or submit a declaration on your behalf. Verify your position with SWDA before committing training budget. General information only, not funding, tax or legal advice.
Questions about a claim?
Give us the UEN of the entity that pays your trainees' salary and CPF. Get that right at registration and the rest of the claim follows.
WhatsApp 8887 2797 hello@thtc.com.sg Call 6269 5269