Legal News & Analysis – Asia Pacific – Singapore – Labour & Employment

Recruitment Requirements

 
From 1st August 2014, employers recruiting employees who require an Employment Pass will have to ensure that they have complied with the Fair Consideration Framework.

 
Intended to make hiring locals a more attractive proposition, employers are required to ensure that all Singaporeans are considered fairly: all roles must be open to Singaporeans and, prior to making an application for an Employment Pass the relevant role must have been advertised on the Workforce Development Agency’s jobs bank for at least 14 days.

 
This change comes hand in glove with the change in the Employment Pass thresholds: from 1st January 2014, to qualify for an Employment Pass, employees must earn at least SGD 3300/month (an increase from SGD 3000/month previously).

 
Subject To Scrutiny

 
Employers who comply with the recruitment requirements may still find themselves subject to unwanted attention from the Ministry of Manpower and other government agencies if the number of Singaporean employees remains below their industry average or if they are the subject of repeated allegations of discrimination.

 
Employers should ensure that recruitment processes are transparent and well documented, and that there are mechanisms in place to properly deal with discrimination grievances. If investigated, employers may also be asked to provide details as to how (Singaporean) employees are able to progress within the company and what plans are in place to help develop Singaporean employees to make them more suitable for higher level roles.

 
Exceptions To The Rule

 
As always, there are exceptions to the FCF. Employers with less than 25 employees will be exempt from the recruitment requirements, and nor will the rules apply to roles with a salary of more than SGD 12000/month. There has recently been an announcement that intra and inter company transfers will also be exempt; the transferring employee will need to be a manager/executive/specialist and have been employed by the affiliated company for at least 12 months.

For further information, please contact:

Fatim Jumabhoy, Herbert Smith Freehills

[email protected]

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