New Employment Agency Regulatory Framework
ii) Certification and registration
1. What is the Certificate of Employment Intermediaries (CEI)?
The CEI aims to equip Employment Agency (EA) personnel with the necessary knowledge of relevant legislation and regulations. This ensures that the EAs understand their obligations under the law and are able to advise their clients on their rights and responsibilities.
EA personnel of Comprehensive Licence EAs need to attain the CEI. They need to attend a course and pass a test. The CEI will replace the current Certificate for Employment Agencies (CEA).
There will be two versions of the CEI:
- “CEI for key appointment holders” which is a 40-hour course that covers Company Law, Contract Law and key employment laws such as the amended Employment Agencies Act, the Employment Act, the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act and the Work Injury Compensation Act
- “CEI for other EA personnel” which is a 32-hour course covering the key employment laws
2. Who would be required to attain the CEI?
The CEI requirements apply to Comprehensive Licence EAs. Key appointment holders are required to attain the “CEI for key appointment holders”, regardless whether they perform EA work or not. Other EA personnel performing EA work as specified in the EA Act are required to attain the “CEI for other EA personnel”.
Existing Certificate for Employment Agencies (CEA) holders and those who had previously been exempted from CEA are required to attend a shorter “bridging” programme, available from 1 May to 15 June 2011. Those who fail to attend the bridging programme by 15 June 2011 will need to attain the CEI.
The CEI requirements do not apply to Select Licence EAs.
3. Given their experience, can existing EA staff or staff who have been in the EA business for a long time be exempted from the requirement to attain the CEI?
EA personnel who already have the Certificate for Employment Agencies (CEA) will not be required to attain the CEI as long as they attend a short bridging programme.
While existing EA staff who do not have CEA might be familiar with the existing regulations, it is necessary for them to attain the CEI to ensure that they are fully equipped with the relevant knowledge under the new EA regulatory framework.
4. Do all staff of an EA need to attain the CEI, even those who do not perform EA work (e.g. performing data entry or clerical work)?
For EA personnel who are not key appointment holders, they will only need to attain the CEI if they perform EA work as specified in the amended EA Act. If they do not perform any EA work, they do not need to be certified.
5. If I am a sleeping partner/investor in an EA but not involved in the management or day-to-day operations of the EA, do I need to be certified and registered? Can I be held liable for an offence committed by another EA personnel?
All key appointment holders of a Comprehensive Licence EA will need to be certified, regardless whether they are involved in management of the EA or whether they perform EA work or not. This is to ensure they are equipped with relevant knowledge that is pertinent to an EA. However, key appointment holders who do not perform EA work will not need to be registered.
Key appointment holders will be held liable for any offence if they are found to be culpable
6. When must EA personnel attain the CEI, if they are required to do so?
Existing EAs - For existing EAs that have a licence before 1 April 2011, key appointment holders who do not need to be registered or who applied for registration between 1 April 2011 – 30 June 2011 are required to attain the CEI by 31 March 2012. If they fail to do so, the licence will be revoked and the key appointment holder will be de-registered. Other EA personnel performing EA work who applied for registration between 1 April 2011 – 30 June 2011 are required to attain the CEI by 31 March 2014. If they fail to do so, they will be de-registered.
EA personnel (key appointment holders and others) will be allowed to operate and register until the respective deadlines to attain the CEI. Those who operate or apply to be registered from 1 July 2011 will need to attain the CEI before they can operate or be registered.
New EAs - For new EAs that are licensed from 1 April 2011, key appointment holders who do not need to be registered or who applied to be registered between 1 April 2011 – 30 June 2011 are required to attain the CEI by 30 September 2011. Other EA personnel performing EA work who apply to be registered between 1 April 2011 – 30 June 2011 are also required to attain the CEI by 30 September 2011, If they fail to do so, they will be de-registered.
EA personnel (key appointment holders and others) will be allowed to operate and register until the respective deadlines to attain the CEI. Those who operate or apply to be registered from 1 July 2011 will need to attain the CEI before they can operate or be registered.
7. Why are existing key appointment holders given only one year to be certified while other existing EA personnel are given three years?
As key appointment holders have general control and management of the administration of EAs, it is critical that they are equipped with information on areas such as general business management and service standards.
Other EA personnel who are not key appointment holders are given three years to be certified so that EAs have sufficient time to plan their manpower allocation and send their staff for certification with minimum disruption to business operations.
8. Where and when would the CEI course be conducted? How much are the course fees?
Details on the CEI course fees, venue and course schedules are currently available on the Certificate of Employment Intermediaries webpage.
9. Who needs to be registered with MOM?
All EA personnel (key appointment holders and others) performing EA work as specified in the amended EA Act need to be registered.
Those who do not perform EA work do not need to be registered. Hence key appointment holders or other EA personnel who do not perform EA work are not required to be registered .
10. How can EAs register their EA personnel?
EAs can apply to register their EA personnel through the Online Business Licensing System (OBLS). A non-refundable fee of $160 per EA personnel is payable for the registration application. This amount can be paid over OBLS via a credit card or an internet banking account.
11. When must EAs register their EA personnel?
All EA personnel must be registered before they are allowed to perform EA work.
Nevertheless, to give EAs sufficient time to register their EA personnel, all EAs were required to apply to register their EA personnel between 1 April 2011 – 30 June 2011. During this period, EA personnel were allowed to perform EA work until they were registered.
From 1 July 2011, EA personnel must be registered before they are allowed to perform EA work.
12. What are the specifications for the EA personnel registration card?
The specifications for the EA staff registration card is currently on the Registration of Employment Agencies Personnel webpage.
13. Would MOM consider exempting my EA personnel from the certification requirement?
EAs who feel they have valid grounds from being exempted from the certification requirement may write in to the Commissioner for Employment Agencies at
mom_fmmd@mom.gov.sg. Appeals will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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