SINGAPORE – Employers Required to Post Job Vacancies on Jobs Bank
In order to mitigate concerns that Singaporean employers have utilized potentially discriminatory hiring practices, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has introduced the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF). Beginning August 1st, 2014, all companies with at least 26 employees are required to advertise job vacancies in Singapore’s Workforce Development Agency (WDA) National Jobs Bank before filing any new Employment Pass (EP) applications for foreign workers. Companies with 25 employees or less are exempt from this requirement. In addition, this change affects only those companies who wish to employ foreign nationals for positions with salaries less than $12000 SGD per month. Positions that are filled by intra-company transfers that meet the appropriate criteria are not required to be advertised on the Jobs Bank.
Advertisements must comply with the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices and run for a period of at least 14 calendar days. Additionally, applications for EPs must be made within three months from the advertisement’s closing date. If it has been longer than three months since the advertisement’s closing date, a new advertisement must be posted before any EP applications may be filed.
Although employers are not required to post the position’s salary range in the Jobs Bank if they have no intention of hiring a foreign worker for the position, it is strongly advised that employers state the salary range if there is a possibility of hiring a foreign worker. An EP application will not be approved if the salary range is not stated in the Jobs Bank, and thus, the advertisement will have to be posted again for another 14 days.
This change will not be fully implemented until August. However, the MOM is encouraging employers to begin posting job vacancies now. Employers may register and use the Jobs Bank here. It should be noted that employers must register with the Jobs Bank before its full implementation on August 1st. Employers are also required to register with the Singapore WDA through the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore’s e-Services Authorisation System (EASY).
This change will not be fully implemented until August. However, the MOM is encouraging employers to begin posting job vacancies now. Employers may register and use the Jobs Bank here. It should be noted that employers must register with the Jobs Bank before its full implementation on August 1st. Employers are also required to register with the Singapore WDA through the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore’s e-Services Authorisation System (EASY).