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IMPACT – MEDIUM
What is the change? Government and private offices in Singapore will be closed Monday, July 28, in observance of Hari Raya Puasa.
What does the change mean? Muslim countries and countries with large Muslim populations will be closed for a minimum of one day next week and up to a full week.
Background: Singapore will observe the end of Ramadan on July 28. Hari Raya means “celebration day” and is also known as Eid or Eid al-Fitr in other parts of the world. The festival of the Breaking of the Fast is celebrated by Muslims around the world and is one of the most important dates on the Muslim calendar. Malaysia and Indonesia will officially close for business Monday and Tuesday, July 28-29, and a number of businesses may be closed for up to a week.
BAL Analysis: Government processing times will be affected by these closures.
This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group in Singapore. For additional information, please contact singapore@bal.com.
Copyright © 2016 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 added a new category that will be exempt from the new Fair Consideration Framework.
What does the change mean? Companies will not have to advertise for short-term assignments of less than one month.
Background: The Ministry of Manpower recently announced the new exemption in anticipation of the Fair Consideration Framework, which begins Aug. 1 and requires employers to advertise job positions before applying for Employment Passes for foreign workers.
The Ministry of Manpower will not require employers to advertise for workers on short-term contingencies of less than one month.
Other previously announced exemptions from advertising include ICTs (intracompany transferees), jobs in firms with 25 or fewer employees, and jobs that pay a fixed monthly salary of US$12,000 or more.
BAL Analysis: Employers can now avoid the lengthy and burdensome advertising requirement for short-term job assignments.
What is the change? Under the new Fair Consideration Framework, employers who sponsor foreign workers for Employment Passes will be asked several questions about why Singaporeans were not hired for those jobs.
What does the change mean? Employment Pass (EP) applications will inquire whether the employer made efforts to interview Singaporeans and, if so, to indicate the reasons why Singaporeans were not hired.
Background: The Fair Consideration Framework that takes effect Aug. 1 is intended to strengthen the Singaporean workforce by requiring employers to take steps to ensure that they are fairly considering Singaporeans for job vacancies.
Until now, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has said only that employers had to advertise job positions for 14 days and did not have to justify their decision to hire a foreigner. However, the new Employment Pass application asks employers to check “yes” or “no” as to whether they have made efforts to interview Singaporeans for the position. In addition, the application asks the sponsoring employer to check up to three reasons why a Singaporean was not hired. The examples of reasons included on the list are:
The application says that the questions are intended to help MOM identify skills gaps and assess the profile of the local workforce.
BAL Analysis: These additional questions indicate MOM will begin looking more closely at employers’ job interviewing and selection processes.
What is the change? In anticipation of the new Fair Consideration Framework, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is reminding employers to register for a Jobs Bank account.
What does the change mean? Starting Aug. 1, companies will not be able to apply for Employment Passes until they have registered an account and advertised the position on the Jobs Bank.
Background: MOM is advising companies to register immediately on the government’s Jobs Bank so that they may be eligible to apply for Employment Passes under the Fair Considerations Framework that starts Aug. 1. The Framework requires that employers post vacancies on the Jobs Bank for at least 14 days before they may apply for Employment Passes. Companies with 25 or fewer employees, however, are exempt from the Framework.
BAL Analysis: Employers should allow four weeks to set up an account and advertise a job on the Jobs Bank.
What is the change? The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has charged the director of a computer company with falsely stating salary information on the Employment Pass applications and renewals for 20 foreign workers.
What does the change mean? The action is part of an ongoing crackdown by MOM on misrepresentations by companies applying for work permits.
Background: MOM has been actively pursuing prosecutions of employers and foreign employees who give false statements on work pass applications. In February, we reported several convictions of foreign employees who inflated their salaries or presented fraudulent academic records to obtain Employment Passes. At that time, the government indicated that it would also prosecute employers who are aware of false declarations.
Employers must meet minimum monthly salaries for Employment Passes and will be charged if they provide false salary information to MOM. In the most recent case, MOM charged a 44-year-old director of MN Computer Systems, Singaravelu Murugan, with submitting false salary information for 20 software engineers. The passes were approved, but the workers were paid less than the amounts stated on the applications and Murugan was charged with 20 counts under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act. The employees were not aware of the higher salary declarations and were not charged.
BAL Analysis: Employers are on notice that MOM is taking these cases seriously and prosecuting them in court.
What is the change? A new rule setting a minimum monthly salary of SGD 12,000.00 (about USD 9,600) or an annual fixed salary of SGD 144,000.00 (about USD 115,000) for Personal Employment Passes (PEPs) will be going into effect.
What does the change mean? PEP holders who fall short of the minimum must find alternatives for remaining in Singapore to work.
Background: The PEP is a non-renewable three-year work authorization that provides qualified foreign nationals an opportunity to work in Singapore without a sponsoring company. When their three-year PEP expires, they may stay in Singapore for six months to pursue new employment opportunities.
The government significantly revamped its PEP rules effective Dec. 1, 2012 in an effort to establish the PEP as a source of top-tier international talent. Along with the higher required minimum salary, applicants for PEPs had to have higher educational levels. Existing PEP holders with minimum annual salaries under SGD 144,000 on Dec. 1, 2012, were allowed to keep their PEPs at the lower income level until Dec. 31, 2014. Workers whose PEPs are scheduled to expire between Jan. 1, 2015 and June 30, 2015 can remain until the expiration date.
Dependent family members of existing PEP holders may remain if they were in Singapore by Dec. 1, 2012 and the principal has a valid PEP.
BAL Analysis: Companies and PEP holders should begin planning now to meet the Dec. 31 deadline. Those who do not meet the new salary minimums may pursue alternatives, such as converting to Employment Passes (EP) or S Passes. Those employers and workers are strongly advised to start the process as soon as possible to ensure that they obtain legal status by the Dec. 31 deadline. Applications for new EPs submitted after Aug. 1 must meet the new advertising requirement on the National Jobs Board as determined by the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) guidelines .
What is the change? The U.S. Embassy in Singapore will host a one-day event to collect signatures of U.S. citizens who wish to apply for Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Travel Cards.
What does the change mean? U.S. citizens in Singapore who are eligible to apply for the cards may provide their required electronic signature Friday, June 20 at the American Chamber of Commerce office.
Background: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently issued rules establishing the framework for U.S. citizens to obtain APEC Business Travel Cards.
The cards are available to U.S. citizens who are members of a CBP Trusted Travel program and are bona fide business travelers. The cards will give holders access to fast-track immigration lanes at participating airports. DHS has cautioned, however, that U.S. cardholders may still be required to obtain visas (where applicable) to visit foreign APEC member states.
For U.S. citizens in Singapore, the U.S. Embassy has agreed to host a one-day signature collection event Friday, June 20 at the American Chamber of Commerce office, #23-03 Shaw Centre.
BAL Analysis: Normal enrollment centers collecting mandatory signatures for APEC Business Travel Cards are located in the U.S. The signature collection day is a good opportunity for eligible U.S. business travelers to enroll.
This alert has been provided by BAL Singapore. For additional information, please contact singapore@bal.com.
IMPACT – HIGH
What is the change? The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has launched the new National Job Board portal.
What does the change mean? Any company seeking to employ a foreign worker who requires an Employment Pass must advertise the position on the National Job Board (NJB) for a minimum of 14 days.
There is also a requirement to register with the Singapore Workforce Development Agency through the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore’s e-Services Authorisation System (EASY).
Background: In response to growing concerns regarding potentially discriminatory hiring practices in Singapore, MOM introduced the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF). The goals of the FCF are to:
The National Job Bank (NJB), administered by the Workforce Development Agency (WDA), is being introduced to facilitate the goals of the FCF:
The FCF and the NJB will officially be introduced Aug. 1, although employers are encouraged to start using the NJB now.
BAL Analysis: Companies should act now to ensure they are registered and familiar with the NJB and its requirements.
What is the change? The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will extend several improved registration services to Employment Pass, or EP, holders and their family members.
What does the change mean? The new services will make it easier for foreign employees to register biometric data in one appointment, submit documents online, and have their passes delivered to them.
Background: Several new services were successfully rolled out to Work Permit/S Pass holders and some EP holders. On April 15, MOM announced it will extend the following services to all EP holders and their dependents:
In addition, MOM announced the following changes:
BAL Analysis: The new services will improve the registration process for Employment Pass holders and their family members.
What is the change? The Singapore Ministry of Manpower has prosecuted dozens of foreign employees for submitting false academic records and making false salary declarations to obtain work passes.
What does the change mean? The criminal prosecutions signal that the government is cracking down on any type of fraud in Employment Pass applications.
Background: On Feb. 18, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) charged 22 foreign employees with stating inflated wages on their work pass applications. Foreign workers must meet minimum salary requirements to obtain work passes. Ten employees pled guilty and are serving prison sentences in lieu of paying thousands of dollars in fines; 11 employees sought adjournment and one employee is scheduled for trial. MOM said it will separately prosecute the employers – franchisees of the Singapore branch office of international convenience store chain 7-Eleven and their employment agents.
Two days later, MOM charged 25 foreign employees with submitting forged academic certificates from their home countries to obtain 20 S Passes and five Employment Passes to work in Singapore. They pled guilty to violating the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act and were sentenced to prison terms ranging from one week to 10 weeks. In those cases, no action was taken against the employers because the investigation revealed that they were not complicit in their employees’ submission of forged documents.
BAL Analysis: The recent convictions indicate that MOM is on track for increased prosecutions this year. MOM successfully prosecuted 78 foreign employees in 2013 and 43 foreign employees in 2012. The Employment of Foreign Manpower Act empowers the government to impose fines and imprisonment for false information used to obtain work passes. The government has indicated that it will also prosecute employers who are aware of such false information.