No. They may be barred from future employment in Singapore if caught working without a valid work pass.
No, you should repatriate your workers as soon as possible.
If your workers are already holding Special Passes, they must be repatriated before the expiry of their Special Passes. Otherwise, MOM may forfeit your security bond to send the workers back.
If your workers are still holding live work passes, you must get flights for them before you can cancel their work passes. You remain responsible for their levies and salaries until their work passes are cancelled, and are also responsible for their upkeep and maintenance as long as they are in Singapore.
Earlier on this year, as many countries / regions were instituting various measures and these were unsettled and evolving, we had advised employers that they would be responsible for every part of the cost of repatriation.
Since then, procedures and arrangements for entering various countries / regions are clearer. We have also checked and found that many workers do not require employers to arrange for the home country / region public health related costs.
We have therefore reviewed the position, in consultation with industry, and are updating to more closely reflect the current practice.
Employers are responsible to pay for their migrant workers' repatriation costs, such as the flight ticket, pre-departure tests, transport arrangements to the airport and if any, connecting transport costs to the international port of entry in the workers' home country / region nearest to their hometown.
In response to COVID-19, we understand that many countries / regions have introduced different public health protocols, e.g. quarantine and swab tests. There are different practices in different countries / regions, some Governments will bear the costs for their returning citizens, while others require returning citizens to pay for these expenses.
Employers are not required to pay any costs incurred for public health arrangements in the workers' home countries / regions. However, where there are requests from their workers, they should discuss with their workers and come to a mutual agreement on such costs to fulfil their legal obligation in repatriating their workers, and to avoid any delays in workers returning to their home countries / regions. We continue to encourage workers and employers to find ways to discuss and agree on various issues arising from COVID-19.
Due to the current COVID-19 situation in China, it may take about 1 month to get a flight to China. You may discuss with them on the possible arrangements to continue working for you before their flight. This may help you to minimise manpower disruption and for your workers to be gainfully employed.
Refer to the Chinese Embassy website for the latest updates.
It is the employers' responsibility to provide for the workers' upkeep and maintenance, until they leave Singapore or changed employers. This also applies when their Work Permits are cancelled.
You may contact us or visit the MOM Services Centre to provide supporting documents (e.g. doctor's memo, death certificate) for our review.