Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has announced a new salary structure for its foreign worker policy, which applies to all work permit applications. These changes aim to improve the quality of foreign talent in the country while ensuring that local workers are not disadvantaged.
The new salary reference table released in August 2024 for Employment Pass applications is derived from the MOM’s Manpower Research and Statistics Department (MRSD) Annual Comprehensive Labour Force Survey.
New salary requirements for employment pass holders
The salary requirements for Employment Pass qualification, for both new applications and renewals, are as follows:
For all sectors except financial services, a minimum wage of S$5,000 is required, with the amount increasing progressively according to age, starting at age 23 and going up to S$10,500 for those aged 45 and above.
For the financial services sector, a minimum salary of S$5,500 is required, with the amount increasing progressively according to age, starting from age 23 and going up to S$11,500 for those aged 45 years or older.
When will the new salary benchmarking be applied?
The recently published salary benchmarking table will apply to initial Employment Pass applications from 1 January 2025 and to Employment Pass renewal applications expiring from 1 July 2025.
The current salary reference table (published in May 2023) applies to initial Employment Pass applications submitted by 31 December 2024 and to Employment Pass renewal applications expiring between 1 September 2024 and 30 June 2025.
To obtain points under the salary criterion (category C1) of the Complementarity Assessment Framework (COMPASS), employers must ensure that their foreign employees meet the minimum salary requirements outlined in the COMPASS reference table. If the applicant’s salary does not meet these requirements, no points will be awarded under the COMPASS category C1, meaning that the applicant will have to obtain points through other COMPASS criteria to qualify for a PE or its renewal.
Analysts suggest that in order to obtain points under the C1 salary criterion, employers must ensure that their foreign nationals meet the minimum salary requirements outlined in the COMPASS reference table. If these salary thresholds are not met, the foreign national will not qualify for points under the C1 category. This could hinder their ability to contribute towards the 40 points required to obtain or renew an Employment Pass.
First published: August 19, 2024 | 18:25 IS
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