PAPER A

Labour policies and legislation

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* 1. Mr. Tan signed a contract of service (“employment contract”) with Abco Company as a marketing assistant for the period from 1 Jan 2014 to 31 Dec 2015 to work on a marketing project. He was paid $3,300 a month. There was a delay and the estimated project completion date was extended to 5 March 2016. Abco Company then requested Mr Tan to stay on his role to ensure that the project was properly completed before leaving the company. However, Abco Company did not renew or extend his contract after 31 Dec 2015.

**Was the Company correct in how it managed Mr Tan’s contract under the Employment Act?**
Link: https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/EmA1968

Yes, Mr Tan had to complete the project as part of his responsibility, even though his contract had expired.

Yes, as long as Mr Tan received payment for the period he worked beyond the contract end date, there was no need for any formal extension of the contract.

No, the contract of service terminated on the contract end date and there would be no obligation for Mr Tan to continue without a formal extension of the contract.

No, Mr Tan was acting on the instructions of his employer.

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* 2. You have just received an In-Principle Approval from the Ministry of Manpower for the Employment Pass application relating to the foreign employee whom the company has recently hired.

When can the foreign employee commence work in Singapore?
Link: https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/EFMA1990

Immediately upon receiving the In-Principle Approval.

Following the issuance of the Employment Pass and the receipt of the notification letter.

Before the issuance of Employment Pass as long as the employee signs the declaration form.

Only upon receiving the Employment Pass card.

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* 3. Your company conducted its annual performance review and found that Natasha’s performance is not up to expectations. Natasha holds an Employment Pass sponsored by the company. Following the poor review, the company wants to reduce her monthly housing allowance that is paid to her directly.

**Can the company do so without violating the Employment of Foreign Manpower (Work Passes) Regulations 2012?**
Link: https://sso.agc.gov.sg/SL/EFMA1990-S569-2012?DocDate=20170928

Yes. The Company must first seek approval from the Controller of Work Passes as the pass holder may no longer qualify for an Employment Pass at the lower salary.

No, employer can only reduce discretionary awards and not regular allowance as it would otherwise affect the employment pass salary criteria.

Yes, housing allowance does not affect the employment pass salary criteria.

No, employer cannot reduce any payments to an employment pass holder once the pass is issued until the pass comes up for renewal.

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* 4. Your company is in need of an assistant Account Manager urgently. This person will be covering the Japanese desk which would require him/her to manage their Japanese clients and will also liaise with their headquarters in Japan. The company wishes to reach out to both foreigners and locals to find the best fit for the job. The following advertisement was drafted by the HR executive.

Assistant Account Manager
Kiko Bank - (16910KB)

Job Description
Responsibilities:
- Support the Account Manager to maintain good engagement with existing key clients.
- Prepare business proposals for new business opportunities
- Establish sales strategies to expand business clientele
- Liaise with sales support
- Other ad-hoc duties are assigned

Requirements:
- Minimum 2 years of B2B/corporate sales experience
- Bachelor's Degree
- Possess good communication, interpersonal and presentation skills
- Willing to travel for business trips (occasionally)
- English and Japanese speaking
- Singaporeans and Japanese welcome to apply

Company Overview
Kiko is a leading financial services group in Asia, with over 180 branches across 20 markets. Headquartered and listed in Japan, Kiko Bank has a growing presence in the three presence in the three key Asian axes of growth: Greater China, Southeast Asia and East Asia.
Company Snapshot
Average processing time: 5 Days
Registration No.: 100063E
Industry: Banking/Financial Services
Company Size: More than 1000 employees

Please comment if the draft is in line with the advertising requirements outlined under the Fair Consideration Framework.
Link: https://www.tafep.sg/

No change required since the advertisement is not discriminatory.

Need to amend the advertisement, as it is discriminatory to ask for a minimum of 2 years relevant experience.

Need to amend the advertisement to specify why Japanese are preferred.

Need to revise the advertisement, as it is discriminatory to indicate a preference for Japanese or any particular language proficiency without explaining the need.

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* 5. Townbeauty Pte Ltd was recently notified by the CPF Board that a complaint had been filed by Mei, a former employee who left the company in 2015. She alleged that the company had underpaid her CPF contributions. The company tasked the HR manager to conduct an internal review on Mei’s past wage records. The review results, illustrated in table 1 below, show the payments made to Mei. The company made CPF contributions on her basic salary and regular sales commission.

Table 1

Payments to Mei

Basic Salary

20% regular sales Commission

One-off commission

Reimbursement for travel costs incurred on official duty (office to client location)

Which of the following statements is correct?
Link: https://www.cpf.gov.sg/employers

CPF contributions are payable on the salary, all commissions and reimbursement for travel costs incurred for official duty.

CPF contributions are payable on the salary and all commissions.

The arrangement to pay once-off commission and transport expenses can be informal and the respective CPF contributions are subject to negotiations.

There is no issue at all and the company did not underpay Mei’s CPF contribution.

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* 2. You have just received an In-Principle Approval from the Ministry of Manpower for the Employment Pass application relating to the foreign employee whom the company has recently hired. When can the foreign employee commence work in Singapore?Link: https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/EFMA1990

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* 2. You have just received an In-Principle Approval from the Ministry of Manpower for the Employment Pass application relating to the foreign employee whom the company has recently hired.

When can the foreign employee commence work in Singapore?
Link: https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/EFMA1990