Salary Thresholds for Calculating Foreign National Worker Quota Set to Increase

Effective July 1, 2017, the Ministry of Manpower will implement planned increases in the salary thresholds used to categorize local workers as either full-time or part-time employees for purposes of calculating the available foreign national worker quota for employers sponsoring S Pass and Work Permit applications. A further increase is set to take effect next year on the same date.

Increased Salary Thresholds Expected

For one year, starting from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018, local workers earning at least SGD 1,100 will be counted as full-time employees, while those earning SGD 550 to below SGD 1,100 will be counted as part-time employees.

On July 1, 2018, the threshold will again increase with local workers earning at least SGD 1,200 counted as full-time employees, while those earning SGD 600 to below SGD 1,200 counted as part-time employees.

For purposes of calculating the foreign national worker quota, two part-time local employees are equivalent to one full-time local employee. Employers with more local workers in their workforce are generally granted higher quotas to sponsor foreign national workers. Local employees earning less than the threshold amount will not be counted towards the quota.

The government regularly reviews these figures in order to line up with current income trends. The last review was completed in 2013.

What This Means for Employers

Employers of S Pass or Work Permit holders will be affected by this change. They can consider increasing the salaries of local employees or hiring more local workers in order to offset any loss of allocated quota as a result of the impending change.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].