The Tripartite Alliance For Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) has set out Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices, which applies regardless of whether businesses are hiring locals or foreigners. Of the five principles, the one of relevance to hiring is:
Recruit and select employees on the basis of merit (such as skills, experience or ability to perform the job), and regardless of age, race, gender, religion, marital status and family responsibilities, or disability.
In the case where employers are being flagged for unfair hiring practices, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) can and has taken action by penalising employers for discriminatory hiring practices, by banning them from hiring foreign employees and not being to able to renew work passes of existing employees.
During his National Day Rally 2021, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong went a step further to say that the government “will enshrine the TAFEP guidelines in law”. He elaborated that this move will give TAFEP more teeth and expand the range of actions the government can take. He was quick to note that legal address will be a last resort. Conciliation and mediation will remain as the first choice, and only if it fails will the matter escalate to a Tribunal.
Read Also: National Day Rally 2021: 6 Things That Business Owners Should Know
Job Ads Need To Demonstrate A Fair And Consistent Criteria
In accordance to Tripartite Guidelines, you should use the competencies that the job requires as the criteria. Age, race, gender, religion, marital status and family responsibilities, or disability should not be part of the job ad criteria.
| What You Cannot Put In A Job Ad | What You Can Use Instead |
| Age E.g. “must be below 45 years old”, “young”, “youthful environment”. | Physical requirements of the jobE.g. “must be able to lift and load 15 kg loads”, “must be able to handle heavy equipment” |
| Race/ Ethnicity E.g. “Chinese preferred’’, ‘’Malay preferred’’ or “Chinese / Malay / Tamil speaking environment”. | Language requirements of the jobE.g. “translator for a leading Chinese fashion magazine. Proficiency in Chinese is a must”, “tour guides for Japanese tourist groups. Knowledge of Japanese is essential” |
| Gender E.g. “Male preferred”, “female working environment” | Reason for gender requirementE.g. “Health spa requires female therapists to do personal body massage and spa treatments for its female customers” |
| Religion E.g. “Christians preferred” | Reason for religion requirementE.g “practicing Taoist to perform religious rites” or fulfil religious certification standards as part of the job requirements |
| Marital Status E.g. “Must not be married or have children” | Marital status should not be a requirement for a job as jobs can be performed equally if the candidate has the competency. |
The Interview Process Needs To Demonstrate Fair Selection
Not only does your job ad not be discriminatory, you also need to demonstrate that you have fairly considered all candidates in the interview process.
In the unfortunate case where you are investigated by MOM/ TAFEP for discriminatory practices, you need to produce evidence that you have given all candidates fair consideration. This means keeping a record of who you have interviewed and offered the job to.
It is possible to be flagged for discriminatory practices even if you did not specify age in your job ad, but you only interviewed candidates who are below age 45, even though there are older candidates who have the similar qualifications. Another example is that a job ad for English teacher can be flagged as discriminatory, if only Caucasian candidates are interviewed, even though there are other applicants with English teaching certifications.
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The Job Needs To Be Open To Singaporeans
MOM’s emphasis is to develop a strong Singapore core workforce, and this is reflected in the Tripartite guidelines. Jobs advertised must be open to Singaporeans.
While Work Permits and S Passes are restricted as a proportion of the number of locals hired by a company, Employment Passes do not have this restriction. Instead, the Fair Consideration Framework is put in place to ensure that all candidates, including Singaporeans, are fairly considered for the jobs offered to foreigners.
Fair Consideration Framework (FCF)
Under the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF), employers are required to advertise a job position on MyCareersFuture for 14 calendar days before they can apply for an Employment Pass (EP) for that position. This is ensure that all candidates are fairly considered and jobs are not just arbitrarily reserved for a candidate.
If there are any changes to the job ad pertaining to salary offered, occupation, number of vacancies available or the employing company, the job ad must be extended for another 14 calendar days before the employer can make an EP application.
Read Also: Singapore Employers’ Guide To Work Permits, S Pass and Employment Pass
Employers May Be Flagged For The FCF Watchlist Even If They Compiled With FCF
As an employer, even if you have abided by fair hiring practices, gave fair considerations during the interview process and compiled with the FCF for EP applications, it is possible to be flagged by MOM/ TAFEP and be placed on the FCF Watchlist.
MOM does monitor the overall proportion of foreign EP holders in a company. If the proportion is higher than your industry peers or if there is a high concentration of EP holders from a single nationality, it is possible for the company to be flagged for FCF Watchlist.
TAFEP Guidelines Written Into Law; Penalties For Unfair Hiring
As Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong mentioned in his National Day Rally 2021, TAFEP guidelines will be written into law.
Even with TAFEP guidelines enshrined in law, the preferred outcome will be for businesses and their employees to resolve workplace disputes informally and amicably. Only when this is not possible, the matter will go to a Tribunal to arbitrate and decide the case.
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In addition, companies on the FCF Watchlist are closely scrutinised during their hiring process, especially for positions that they have made EP applications. Companies on the watchlist may face additional intervention by TAFEP and longer EP processing times as their hiring process is scrutinised.
MOM may impose harsher penalties such as banning the company from applying for new work passes (EP, work permits and S passes) as well as debarment from work pass renewals. This can affect the company’s ability to retain their existing foreign staff as the duration for most work passes is 2 to 3 years. If the company is debarred from work pass renewals, it could affect one-third to half of their foreign staff.
Moreover, MOM can prosecute errant employers or key personnel who make false declarations that they have considered all candidates fairly. Employers convicted of false declaration under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act will face imprisonment of up to 2 years, or fine up to $20,000, or both.
Giving All Candidates A Chance Is The Key To Fair Hiring Practices
Hiring is the employer’s decision. The Tripartite Guidelines and Fair Consideration Framework are just government policies to guide employers to hire fairly.
Ultimately, it is up to the employer to give every candidate a fair chance to showcase themselves as a viable candidate and the candidate to prove that they are the right fit for the company. The question for every company is whether you are giving qualified candidates a fair chance.
This article was first published on 13 August 2020 and has been updated with latest information.
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