HRBoss Blog

With the flurry of new employment regulations introduced within a span of barely two years, it is all too easy for employers in Singapore to overlook certain rules and face the risk of running afoul of the law. In this post, we recap the key HR regulations you ought to know and show you how you can safeguard your HR practices to keep compliant to the new rules.

Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) and Jobs Bank

The FCF was implemented by the Singapore Ministry of Manpower (MOM) last year to encourage firms in Singapore to consider Singaporeans fairly for all jobs, and to employ fair practices in hiring that are non-discriminatory and based on merit.

As a supplement to the FCF, a new national Jobs Bank was also launched by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) in August last year to facilitate job matching between employers and local job-seekers - an online portal where all Singapore-registered companies can publish job advertisements for Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents.

The launch of the Jobs Bank meant that employers who wish to submit Employment Pass (EP) applications are now required to:

1. First advertise the job vacancies on the Jobs Bank for a minimum period of 14 days;
2. Submit EP applications no later than 3 months past the closing date of the job advertisements; and
3. Adhere to the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices in drafting job advertisements.

Why do you need to know these?

These new implementations do not serve as mere guidelines that can be ignored - MOM has taken action against at least 100 companies for discriminatory job advertisements, and just last December, curbed the work pass privileges of Prime Gold International Pte Ltd. The construction manufacturing firm was found to have discriminated against its Singaporean employees and breached the FCF by unfairly retrenching 13 local workers and replacing their positions with foreigners.

Don’t be in the limelight for the wrong reasons.

HRBoss recognizes the importance of a comprehensive manual for employers and hiring managers in light of the changing regulations. With the overwhelming positive response to our HR Compliance Guide last year, we have published an updated guide this year which covers:

• What’s new in 2015?
• Details about the Jobs Bank and the FCF
• Fair Recruiting Practices 101
• Recommended recruiting tools & technology
• Compliance checklist 2015
• Additional resources and many more

Now that you’ve read the blog, get the book!

To download your complimentary copy of the revised guide, click here.