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How to Hire Employees in Singapore? In Singapore, after you set up your business, you need to get employees to help you operate the business. In addition, the phase of getting workers is a crucial one because it entails detailed decision-making to ensure you are on the right track.  After that, the process has laid out legal rules and regulations which the employer and employees must put into consideration.

Employees in Singapore have excellent knowledge of their rights under the Singapore Employment Act. In other words, the Singapore Employment Act is regulated by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). For instance, they understand what is rightfully theirs and what action they can take in some different instances. For this matter, as the employer, you need to learn about all the legal requirements to keep your business operations safe.

In addition, read and understand the correct procedure to take while hiring employees in Singapore.

Consider the followings:

Now that you have your business ad you are searching for employees think of the following questions first.

  • What are the rules of hiring contractual, full-time, or part-time workers?
  • In other words, what legal matters related to labor do I need to consider for my business and my employees?
  • Does Singapore have any guidelines for the hiring process I should know?
  • In other words, what if I need to hire both foreign and local employees? What formalities should I follow? Do they have some restrictions on foreign employees?
  • The costs of hiring employees. Are there any fund contributions or levies I should pay?
  • In other words, what other standard practices do investors in Singapore follow in case there is no statutory requirement?

If you have no answers to the above questions and have other pressing questions, this guide will give you all the details you need to know about hiring Singapore employees. Above all, you must follow detailed hiring guides and labor legislation when recruiting local and foreign employees in Singapore. In addition, this article is for the newly set-up companies in Singapore that are yet to hire workers for the first time.

Note: Where necessary, seek professional advice from the relevant authorities. In conclusion, this guide gives the general information which companies follow during the recruitment process.

The Employment Act Overview

The employment act document plays a significant role in the hiring process. For instance, it explains all the terms and conditions that both the employer and the employee must adhere to when hiring. In addition, it has all the responsibilities, rights, and duties of employees and employers.

The first step when searching for Singapore workers is to know whether the employment act protects your employee.

After that, when the employee is covered with the employment act, you must consider all the terms and conditions in the document. Setting your terms won’t be of any significance to the employee.

However, when the employee is not covered in the Employment Act, the employer and the employee can negotiate the terms and conditions and agree to an employment contract. Similarly, the contract protects both the employer and the employee.

Employees covered by the Employment Act

There are some employees who the Employment Act doesn’t cover. They include the following.

For instance, the executives and those managerial positions. In addition, a person in such posts can hire, fire, promote, transfer, discipline, and reward employees. They have direct powers and influence from the authorities. They run and manage essential activities related to the business.

The employment act doesn’t cover other top professionals with adequate knowledge and education skills who carry out managerial duties. For instance, such professions include doctors, lawyers, dentists, and accountants.

After that, the other people who don’t use the employment act include some government staff, domestic workers, and seamen.

Note: The Employment Act applies to employees in various categories in terms of their monthly earnings. In other words, the group includes those earning less than SGD 2,000 monthly and those making more than SGD 2,000 monthly.

In the case of workers getting less than SGD 2,000 monthly, they have more protection in terms of

  • Retirement benefits
  • Off days
  • Working hours and overtime
  • Sick Leave
  • Public Holidays
  • Annual Leave
  • Annual wage supplement
  • Retrenchment benefits.

Features of Employment Act

FeaturesExecutives / managers Employees getting over 2,000 monthlyEmployees getting less than 2,000 monthly

Max working hours weekly

According to the contract

 

Normal activities:40 to 50 hours

 In other words, according to the contract

 

Regular activities: 40 to 50 hours

For instance, 44 hours

Max working days weekly

According to the contract

 

Normal activities: 5 days

In other words, according to the contract

 

Normal activities: 5 days

For instance, Six days

Extra working time

According to the contract

 

Usual activities: Not applicable

In other words, according to the contract72 hours max monthly

 

Paid at 1.5 of the basic rate per hour

(CPFC)- central provident fund contribution for citizens from Singapore and PRs

CompulsoryIn other words, near CompulsoryFor instance, Compulsory

Yearly Bonus

According to the contract

 

Regular activities: equivalent to 1-4 months of salary

In other words, according to the contract

 

Expected activities: equivalent to 1-4 months of salary

For instance, as per contract

Annual Leave; paid

According to the contract

 

Typical activities: 15 days

In other words, according to the contract

 

Typical activities: 15 days

For instance, 1styear – 7 days

 

In other words, 2nd year – 8 days

For instance, 3rd year – 9 days

(annual increase up to a max. 14 days)

Sick Leave; paid

According to the contract

 

Expected activities: 14 days per annum

In other words, according to the contract

 

Regular activities: 14 days yearly

In other words, 5-14 outpatient days (depending upon the period of employment served)

 

Hospitalization: 15-60 days (depending upon the period of employment served)

Maternity Leave; paid if entitled

16 weeks

 

1st eight employers payable for first two confinements

In other words, 16 weeks

 

1st eight employers payable for first two confinements

For instance, 16 weeks

 

In other words, 1st eight weeks employer payable for the initial two confinements

Annual Childcare (up to 7 years) Leave; paid if eligible

Six days

 

First 3 days employer payable

In other words, 6 days

 

For instance, first 3 days employer payable

Six days

 

For instance, first 3 days employer payable

Infant care (up to 2 years) Leave; unpaid if eligible

Six daysIn other words, 6 daysSix days

Public Holidays; paid

11 daysIn other words, 11 daysFor instance, 11 days

Probation time

According to the contract

 

Normal activities: 6 months

In other words, according to the contract

 

Normal activities: 6 months

For instance, as per contract

 

Common practice: 3-6 months

Notice for Termination period

According to the contract

 

Normal activities: 1-3 months

In other words, according to contract

 

Common practice: 1-3 months

For instance, as per contract

 

Common practice: 1 month

Retrenchment

In other words, according to the contractFor instance, according to the contractEligible to:

 

– for instance, receive a salary on the last working day

– in other words, receive retrenchments benefits

– for instance, serve the notice period

Insurance for medical

In other words, according to the contractFor instance, according to the contractIn other words, according to the contract

Conclusion

If you have a company set up in Singapore, you need to get familiar with all the requirements. For instance, take note of the above information and stay within the legal requirements for your company’s safety and your employees.

Also read: Identify the warning symptoms your business is in trouble