Singapore employment newsletter - November 2015

Employment Singapore 1 | Employment Newsletter Newsletter November 2015 In This Issue: Former Director Charged with Falsely Declaring Salaries in Employment Pass Applications Employer Prosecuted for Failing to Compensate Non-Manual Employee for Injury Food Regulation in Myanmar Former Director Charged with Falsely Declaring Salaries in Employment Pass Applications Overview On 12 November 2015, the Ministry of Manpower ("MOM") charged a former director and officer-in-charge of human resources for the offence under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (Cap. 91A) ("EFMA") of making false declarations of salaries in 20 Employment Pass applications for foreign employees. The accused had instructed her staff to declare the fixed monthly salaries for the foreign employees as SGD 3,100 to meet the minimum requirement of SGD 3,000 in order to obtain Employment Passes at that time. She allegedly knew that the foreign employees would be paid less than what was declared in the Employment Pass applications. Conclusion The MOM has stepped up on enforcement efforts against false work pass applications. In April 2014, the MOM charged 8 employers who were franchisees of convenience store 7-Eleven for making false declarations and fined them between SGD 8,000 and SGD 56,000. A total of 95 other employers are currently being investigated by the MOM for making false declarations in the work pass applications involving 241 foreigners. Offenders could face a fine not exceeding SGD 20,000 and/or up to 2 years' jail term. Employers may also be barred permanently from hiring foreign manpower. In summary, employers must make accurate and truthful declarations to the MOM for work pass applications and must not deliberately circumvent the work pass eligibility criteria. The MOM takes a very serious view on false salary declarations and will charge employers accordingly under the EFMA. Employer Prosecuted for Failing to Compensate Non-Manual Employee for Injury Overview For the first time, an employer was fined SGD 8,000 for failing to pay work injury compensation to an employee who does not carry out manual labour. The employee, who was a senior art director, fell down a flight of stairs and dislocated his right shoulder. Despite being given ample opportunity to pay the compensation it was required to provide, the employer failed to do so and was subsequently prosecuted under the Work Injury Compensation Act (Cap. 354) ("WICA"). Conclusion The MOM will not hesitate to take action against employers who do not fulfil their responsibilities towards injured employees. Under WICA, it is not mandatory for employers to purchase insurance to cover their liability for nonmanual workers earning more than SGD 1,600 a month. Nonetheless, 2 | Employment Newsletter employers must be aware that they remain liable under the WICA to pay compensation if there is a valid claim filed by employees who are injured during the course of their work. For further information please contact Kelvin Poa +65 6434 2524 Kelvin.poa@bakermckenzie.com Celeste Ang +65 6434 2753 Celeste.ang@bakermckenzie.com Ng Zhao Yang +65 6434 2701 Zhao.yang.ng@bakermckenzie.com Clarence Ding +65 6434 2662 Clarence.ding@bakermckenzie.com Baker & McKenzie.Wong & Leow 8 Marina Boulevard #05-01 Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 1 Singapore 018981 www.bakermckenzie.com ©2015. All rights reserved. Baker & McKenzie.Wong & Leow is a member of Baker & McKenzie International, a Swiss Verein with member law firms around the world. In accordance with the common terminology used in professional service organizations, reference to a “partner” means a person who is a partner, or equivalent, in such a law firm. Similarly, reference to an “office” means an office of any such law firm. This may qualify as “Attorney Advertising” requiring notice in some jurisdictions. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.