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Written Answer by Mr Lim Swee Say, Minister for Manpower, to Parliamentary Question on Employers Who Violate the Employment Act

Employment practices
Notice Paper No. 193 Of 2015 For The Sitting On 13 July 2015 Question No. 273 For Written Answer

MP: Mr Pritam Singh

To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what action does the Ministry take against employers who violate the Employment Act when they do not pay CPF contributions for their part-time, freelance or contract employees; (b) how many complaints of non-payment from such employees has the Ministry received since 2011; (c) to what extent has the 2012 "Work Right" initiative improved the situation of non-payment of CPF to part-time, freelance, contract and other non-permanent employees.


Answer

  1. Employers are required to make CPF contributions for all their local employees (Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents) earning a monthly salary of more than $50, including those on term contract, part-time or casual work arrangement so long as there is an employer-employee relationship.
  2. Employers found to have not complied with their CPF obligations will be required not only to make good the CPF contributions due to their employees, but also be charged a late payment interest of 1.5% a month, and/or imposed with a composition fine. Employers convicted under the CPF Act could face a fine of up to $5,000 per offence and/or jail term of up to 6 months. Repeat offenders could be subject to a fine of up to $10,000 per offence and/or jail term of up to 12 months.
  3. MOM and CPF Board jointly launched the “WorkRight” initiative in 2012 to improve compliance with the Employment Act and the CPF Act through public education and enforcement. Outreach campaigns were conducted to raise awareness among employees of their employment rights and among employers of their statutory obligations to their employees, including their CPF obligations. The number of onsite inspections was also stepped up by more than ten times to more than 5,000 inspections annually. We also receive complaints/enquiries from employees and members of the public. As of 1 April 2015, WorkRight has benefitted more than 42,000 Singaporeans who now enjoy their statutory entitlements such as CPF contributions, timely payment of salary, or payment of overtime allowance.
  4. Between January 2011 and December 2014, CPF Board acted on about 3,400 complaint cases involving non-payment of CPF contributions, and recovered $9.8 million of CPF contributions for more than 5,800 employees. About a quarter of these cases involved staff employed on a part-time, casual or temporary basis.