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IMPACT – HIGH
What is the change? The Ministry of Manpower will soon begin checking the addresses of work pass applicants to make sure they are housed in compliance with all housing regulations. Authorities will also begin requiring work pass applicants living in Housing Development Board flats to be registered as tenants with HDB before their pass is issued.
What does the change mean? Employers and foreign nationals should be sure they meet MOM housing requirements when applying for work passes. For those living in HDB flats, tenancy agreements must be submitted before passes will be issued. Employers are encouraged to use this checklist to ensure that their employees staying in private residential units are housed properly.
Business impact: A completed Occupants Declaration Form and an IRAS Property Tax statement must be completed by the property owner and submitted to MOM at this email address before work passes will be issued.
Background: Housing requirements for foreign employees vary, depending on the type of housing arrangement. Some key requirements are as follows:
In some cases, additional restrictions may apply based on nationality. Employers should check to make sure that HDB flat owners registers their employees with HDB before they move in. They should also be sure to obtain a copy of the HDB approval letter.
A full list of the housing options for foreign workers and MOM’s housing requirements is available here.
BAL Analysis: Singapore continues to be aggressive in enforcing its housing laws for foreign workers. Employers are required to exercise due diligence to make sure housing requirements are met. Those who fail to do so risk not only having work pass applications rejected, but also facing prosecution and a ban on hiring foreign workers in the future.
This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group and our network provider in Singapore. For additional information, please contact your BAL attorney.
Copyright © 2018 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries please contact copyright@bal.com.
What is the change? The Ministry of Manpower has set a Sept. 1 deadline for all companies to switch to Singapore Corporate Access, or CorpPass, when using Employment Pass Online or conducting other business transactions with the government. CorpPass will replace the SingPass login.
What does the change mean? Companies that are still using SingPass should register a CorpPass account as soon as possible. MOM is urging companies to register with CorpPass as part of the authorities’ drive to protect both personal and business information.
Background: MOM launched the use of CorpPass for companies using Employment Pass Online last year. The ministry initially said that CorpPass would become mandatory for companies using Employment Pass Online in December of last year, but the deadline was subsequently extended until the third quarter of this year.
BAL Analysis: Companies that have not created a CorpPass account should do so as soon as possible.
This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group in Singapore. For additional information, please contact singapore@bal.com.
IMPACT – LOW
What is the change? Workforce Singapore has begun requesting specific information from companies that seek to obtain employment passes about applicants who applied for jobs that were advertised through the JobsBank.
What does the change mean? The change follows the Ministry of Manpower’s removal of a question on the Employment Pass Online application that had asked employers to indicate the number of applicants who have applied for jobs. It appears that Workforce Singapore, previously known as Singapore Workforce Development Agency, is now stepping in to gather similar information directly from employers.
Background: The Ministry of Manpower removed the question about the number of job applicants from the Employment Pass Online application form earlier this month. Officials provided no information about their reason for doing so or what the long-term impact would be for employers. Since then, Workforce Singapore has begun contacting companies going through the Employment Pass application process, asking specific questions about people who had applied for jobs through the JobsBank. These questions generally include applicants’ names, whether they were interviewed and whether they were offered a job or were rejected.
BAL Analysis: The change is consistent with efforts to protect Singapore’s local workforce and ensure that employers are exercising fair employment practices and giving local workers proper consideration. Employers who have advertised on the JobsBank should anticipate the possibility that Workforce Singapore will contact them seeking specific information about their recruitment activities. BAL will continue to monitor this situation and will provide additional information as it becomes available.
What is the change? The Ministry of Manpower has removed a question from its Employment Pass Online application related to the Fair Consideration Framework recruitment practices.
What does the change mean? The question asking employers to indicate the number of applicants who have applied for jobs—and to provide a breakdown of Singaporean, permanent resident, and foreign applicants–has been removed.
Background: Last November, the ministry added several detailed questions regarding recruitment practices to its application process for Employment Passes. The changes are consistent with policies aimed at promoting the local workforce and encouraging companies to upskill and hire Singaporean job candidates over foreign workers whenever possible.
BAL Analysis: Although MOM authorities have not revealed the reason for the unannounced change to the questionnaire, it could signal that more changes are coming. BAL will continue to monitor and will provide an update once available.
IMPACT – MEDIUM
Delivering a May Day address, the incoming Minister of Manpower, Josephine Teo, outlined her priorities for the position she took over Tuesday from the outgoing minister, Lim Swee Say.
Teo said the Ministry of Manpower will focus on creating programs to retrain Singaporean workers to keep up with changing skill requirements and new industries and expand productivity consistently throughout the economy. Teo has also emphasized the initiatives of the tripartite partnership—made up of MOM, employers and unions—and urged employers to adopt the tripartite standards introduced last year to promote progressive employment practices. More than 850 companies have signed up to at least one of the seven standards, which cover term contract employment, flexible work arrangements, grievance handling, recruitment practices, procurement of services from media freelancers, unpaid leave for unexpected care, and contracting with self-employed individuals. Teo announced the launch of an eighth standard on age-friendly work practices to support older Singaporeans who want to continue working for as long as they are able. More than 160 employers affecting 200,000 workers have already signed on as early adopters of the standard.
Employers can expect the tripartite partners to develop additional standards that will provide employers with “concrete, actionable practices” to implement at their workplaces.
“We need to keep adjusting, to sharpen our focus on what is most relevant to the times,” Teo said. In particular, she cited greater inclusiveness in the workforce for older workers, women, people with disabilities and ex-offenders, and further improvements in workplace safety and health.
BAL Analysis: Employers should anticipate that the ministry will continue to implement policies that strengthen the Singaporean core and broaden the opportunities and skills for local workers, which will have an indirect impact on the foreign workforce. For in-depth analysis on Singapore’s immigration environment and how companies can remain strong amidst tighter policies, read BAL’s white paper “Singapore Outlook for Global Business” here.
What is the change? Singapore’s State Courts have sentenced the director of the shell company Triyon Corporation Pte Ltd to seven months’ imprisonment for fraudulently obtaining work passes for five foreign workers with no intention of employing them.
What does the change mean? Employers and individuals are reminded that it is illegal under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act to be complicit in fraudulently bringing foreign workers to Singapore and it is a serious offense to profit from fraudulent work pass applications. The Ministry of Manpower continues to aggressively pursue prosecutions for work pass violations.
Background: In the last two years, MOM has prosecuted and convicted five people for the illegal importation of labor. The latest case involved the registered director of Triyon Corporation Pte Ltd., a shell company, which illegally obtained work passes for five Chinese workers with no intention of employing them. The individual falsely declared to MOM that the foreign workers would be employed by Triyon Corporation Pte Ltd as construction workers, though the foreign workers were subsequently made to find their own employment. The individual was charged with five counts of the illegal importation of labor, was sentenced to seven months in prison, and is permanently barred from employing foreign workers. An investigation into an alleged co-conspirator is ongoing.
BAL Analysis: Employers are reminded that the Ministry of Manpower takes work pass violations seriously and has stepped up prosecutions in this area. All information declared in an application should be accurate. The occupation and company listed in the work pass applications should match the foreign worker’s job description and duties. The salary information should meet the ministry guidelines of base monthly salary and fixed monthly allowance. BAL recommends that the employment contract reflect salary information in case the ministry requests supporting documentation. Employers who violate these rules not only face fines but will be banned from hiring foreign workers. Repeat offenders face imprisonment.
The Ministry of Manpower has reported the first decline in total employment since 2003, attributing the reduction to lower numbers of foreign work permit holders in the marine and construction industries. Locals make up a growing proportion of the Singaporean workforce (not counting domestic workers) at 67.2 percent, a 0.8-percent increase from 2016. The proportions reflect the two-to-one local-to-foreigner ratio that Singapore stressed as a key workforce benchmark in the 2016 budget speech.
Key points:
Background: The Singaporean government has increased its focus on protecting local workers following predictions of weaker job growth in the next three to five years. The country has long stressed the importance of not only developing a strong local workforce, but developing employee-lean operations, with officials saying that Singapore’s limited workforce could be a “bottleneck” to growth.
Authorities expanded the Fair Consideration Framework rules in March to include employers with 10 or more employees. Originally introduced in 2014, the Framework requires that employers provide fair consideration to Singaporean job candidates and fulfill local advertising criteria before hiring a foreign national for a job opening. According to Minister for Manpower Lim Swee Say, the total number of companies that have been on the watch list over the past two years has reached 500 – including about 150 that have changed their practices and have since been removed. The information provides yet another indication of how aggressive Singapore has become in protecting and promoting its local workforce.
BAL Analysis: All indications point to a continued government focus on promoting the local workforce, which may lead to greater scrutiny of foreign workers and employment pass applications to ensure that companies do not discriminate against local job applicants. Foreign workers are still in demand in Singapore due to a potential bottleneck in local employment growth. For additional information from the Labour Market Report 2017, view BAL’s previous alert here.
What is the change? Minister for Manpower Lim Swee Say said Monday that 500 companies have been placed on the agency’s watch list over the past two years, providing yet another indication of how aggressive Singapore has become in protecting and promoting its local workforce.
What does the change mean? Lim, who made the remark when responding to questions in Parliament, also indicated that the Ministry of Manpower will expand the Fair Consideration Framework rules to more employers in an effort to increase the hiring of Singaporean candidates. Companies should be aware of the ministry’s emphasis on enforcing the Framework as part of its overarching goals to strengthen the Singaporean workforce by rewarding companies that favor local workers and penalizing those whose employment practices treat local workers unfairly.
Background: The Framework was introduced in 2014 and requires employers to give fair consideration to Singaporean job candidates and fulfill local advertising criteria before hiring foreign nationals for job openings. Last year, authorities revealed that the number of companies on the watch list had expanded to 250. According to Lim, the total number of companies that have been on the watch list over the past two years has now reached 500—including about 150 that have changed their practices and have since been removed.
BAL Analysis: The increase in the number of companies on the watch list should serve as a reminder to employers that the Ministry of Manpower is focused on the Fair Consideration Framework as part of its overall strategy to force companies to strengthen their local workforce.
What is the change? The Ministry of Manpower will expand the Fair Consideration Framework rules to more employers in an effort to increase the hiring of Singaporean candidates, Minister Lim Swee Say said in a speech to Parliament.
What does the change mean? Employers with 10 or more employees will be covered by the rules, and jobs that pay a fixed monthly salary below 15,000 Singapore dollars (about US$11,375) must be advertised for 14 days on the National Job Board. Under current rules, employers with 25 or fewer employees and jobs paying S$12,000 or more per month are exempt from the rules. Additionally, S-Pass minimum salaries will gradually increase through 2020. The current monthly salary for an S-Pass is S$2,200 and this will be increased to S$2,300 at the start of 2019 and S$2,400 at the beginning of 2020.
Background: The Fair Consideration Framework was introduced in 2014 to strengthen the Singaporean workforce and make sure that employers were giving local workers fair consideration for jobs before sponsoring foreign workers for work passes. The framework has been gradually tightened over the years. Most recently, the Ministry of Manpower expanded its list of companies that are noncompliant with the framework from 100 to 250, and updated the employment pass application form to require employers to answer detailed questions about their hiring practices and to document their consideration of Singaporean candidates at each stage of the hiring process.
BAL Analysis: The changes are consistent with the ministry’s recent trend of strengthening its Fair Consideration Framework rules, particularly in light of signs of weaker job growth in coming years. Although foreign workers are still needed, employers should be aware of the stricter environment and the likelihood that their applications will be closely scrutinized. All employers who rely on foreign employees are encouraged to review their recruitment, hiring and training strategies to align them with these efforts to strengthen the local workforce.
What is the change? Increases to foreign worker levies in the marine shipyard and process sectors will be deferred for another year, Singapore Minister of Finance Heng Swee Keat said this week. Foreign worker levies will remain unchanged for all other sectors as well.
What does the change mean? The basic-tier foreign worker levy rate (R2) for the marine shipyard and process sectors will remain at 400 and 450 Singapore dollars, respectively (about US$303 and US$341). Levy rates were originally scheduled to increase July 1 by between 50 and 100 Singapore dollars. Foreign worker levy rates for all other sectors will remain unchanged until at least July 1, 2019. Rate changes for 2019 will be announced next year.
Background: In 2016, Singapore placed a one-year freeze on levy increases in the marine and process sectors because of a reduction of work permit holders in those sectors. The finance minister released a budget proposal this week that pushes off the increases at least one more year.
BAL Analysis: Singaporean officials continue to stop planned levy increases in sectors where the number of work permit holders has declined. The Ministry of Manpower’s Labour Market Report 2017 showed the first decline in total employment in nearly 15 years and attributed the decline to lower numbers of foreign work permit holders in the marine and construction industries. Employers can plan on levies remaining the same until at least July 1, 2019.