Quick Answer
Hiring in Singapore means advertising the role fairly (and on MyCareersFuture for at least 14 days if you may sponsor an Employment Pass), registering as an employer with the CPF Board, arranging Work Injury Compensation Insurance where required, and issuing written Key Employment Terms within 14 days of the employee’s start date. Foreign candidates need an approved work pass before they can start work — never before.
Step 1: The Fair Consideration Framework
Before you advertise a role, decide whether the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) applies to you. If there’s any chance you’ll sponsor an Employment Pass for the person you hire, MOM requires most employers to advertise the job on MyCareersFuture.gov.sg for at least 14 consecutive days, giving Singaporean candidates a genuine opportunity to apply, before you can submit that Employment Pass application.
⚖️ MOM Requirement
Job ads for FCF-covered roles must run on MyCareersFuture.gov.sg for a minimum of 14 consecutive days before you apply for the candidate’s Employment Pass. Two categories are exempt from the advertising duty: companies with fewer than 10 employees, and roles with a fixed monthly salary of $22,500 or more.
⚠️ Penalty Risk
Non-compliant employers are debarred from applying for or renewing any work pass for a minimum of 12 months, and up to 24 months for more serious breaches. A false declaration about fair consideration is a criminal offence — up to 2 years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to $20,000, or both.
🏛️ Source: Ministry of Manpower — Fair Consideration Framework, and MOM’s FAQ pages on the under-10-employee exemption and $22,500 salary exemption.
Step 2: Advertise and Select Fairly
Whether or not the Fair Consideration Framework applies to your role, TAFEP’s fair hiring guidelines apply to every job ad and every hiring decision in Singapore. The core principle is simple: recruit and select on merit — skills, experience, and ability to do the job — regardless of age, race, gender, religion, marital status, or family responsibilities. A job ad that specifies a preferred age range, race, or marital status, without a genuine occupational reason, breaches this standard.
💡 Employer Tip
Write job requirements around the actual competencies the role needs, not proxies for age or background (e.g. “digital native” or “recent graduate” can both read as age discrimination). If you’re ever unsure whether a job ad crosses the line, TAFEP’s Tripartite Standards give a concrete benchmark to check against before you publish.
🏛️ Source: TAFEP — Fair Employment Practices and Tripartite Standards.
Step 3: Local Hire or Foreign Hire?
Once you’ve selected a candidate, the process forks depending on their residency status. For a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident, you move straight to registration and contract paperwork. For a foreign candidate, you must apply for and receive approval of the correct work pass — Employment Pass, S Pass, or Work Permit, depending on the role and salary — before the person starts work. An In-Principle Approval letter lets the candidate enter Singapore, but the pass itself must be issued before their first day; a candidate cannot start work on the strength of an in-principle approval alone.
🔍 Classification Note
Employment Pass applications for Singapore-registered companies are typically processed within 10 business days; overseas companies without local registration can take up to 6 weeks. Build that lead time into your hiring plan for any foreign candidate — don’t set a start date before the pass is actually in hand.
🏛️ Source: Ministry of Manpower — Applying for an Employment Pass. For the full breakdown of pass types, see our Work Pass Guide.
Local Hire vs Foreign Hire: What’s Different
| Local Hire (Citizen/PR) | Foreign Hire |
|---|---|
| Can start work as soon as KETs and contract are ready | Cannot start until the work pass is issued, not just in-principle approved |
| CPF contributions apply from the first month, once basic pay exceeds $50 | No CPF — Skills Development Levy still applies, and a levy/quota may apply for Work Permit and S Pass holders |
| No work pass application or renewal cycle to manage | Pass must be renewed before expiry, and FCF advertising may be required before an EP application |
Step 4: Register as an Employer
Before your first payroll run, you need three things in place: a CPF Submission Number, Work Injury Compensation Insurance where it applies, and clarity on the Skills Development Levy. None of these are optional add-ons — they’re triggered automatically the moment you have an employee on payroll.
CPF registration and contributions. Register for a CPF Submission Number (CSN) via Singpass to transact with the CPF Board. You must pay CPF contributions for every employee who is a Singapore Citizen or PR earning more than $50 a month in basic salary. Contributions are due by the last day of the calendar month the wages relate to, and enforcement action follows if payment isn’t made by the 14th of the following month. You can recover the employee’s share of the contribution when you pay their wages.
Skills Development Levy (SDL). Unlike CPF, SDL applies to every employee working in Singapore — local or foreign. The rate is 0.25% of monthly total wages, with a minimum of $2 a month and a maximum of $11.25 a month per employee. It’s usually paid together with CPF contributions; if you only employ foreign staff with no CPF-payable local employees, you pay SDL separately. Late payment attracts a 10% per annum penalty.
Work Injury Compensation Insurance. You’re required to insure all employees doing manual work, regardless of how much they earn, plus non-manual employees earning $2,600 or less a month in basic salary. This applies to local and foreign employees alike. Since 1 January 2021, the policy must be bought from a MOM-designated insurer and meet MOM’s compulsory policy terms. If an employee outside these categories still has a valid claim and you didn’t insure them, you remain personally liable to pay the compensation.
⚠️ Penalty Risk
Failing to insure an employee who’s legally required to be covered under the Work Injury Compensation Act carries a fine of up to $10,000, up to 12 months’ imprisonment, or both.
🏛️ Source: CPF Board — Employer Obligations, CPF Board — Skills Development Levy, and MOM — Work Injury Compensation Insurance. For contribution rates and deadlines in full, see our Pay & CPF guide.
Step 5: Issue Written Key Employment Terms
Every employee covered by the Employment Act must receive written Key Employment Terms (KETs) within 14 days of their first day of work — a written contract, letter of appointment, staff handbook, or even a company website or circular can satisfy this, as long as it covers the required items. MOM’s checklist runs to 18 items where applicable, including job title and duties, start date, working hours, salary and allowances, overtime terms, leave entitlements, medical benefits, probation, and notice period.
⚖️ MOM Requirement
KETs must be issued in writing — soft copy or hard copy both count — within 14 days of the employee’s first day of work. A verbal agreement, however clear, doesn’t satisfy this requirement.
🏛️ Source: Ministry of Manpower — Key Employment Terms. Our Employment Act guide covers who’s entitled to KETs and what “workman” and “non-workman” mean for coverage.
Step 6: Set Up Payslips and Year-End Tax Reporting
From the first pay run, every employee covered by the Employment Act must receive an itemised payslip — soft copy, hard copy, or even handwritten is acceptable, as long as the required items are there. It must be given together with payment of salary, or within 3 working days if that’s not possible; on termination, it must accompany the final salary payment. Required items include both employer and employee names, the payment date, basic salary with the rate and hours or days worked, the salary period, any allowances, bonuses or other additional payments, deductions, and — where applicable — overtime hours, pay, and period.
Separately, once you meet IRAS’s participation criteria for the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS), you’ll need to submit your employees’ employment income information to IRAS electronically each year, typically between 1 February and 1 March, instead of issuing paper IR8A forms — IRAS pre-fills the figures directly into each employee’s tax return. IRAS actively enforces this: employers who submit late or not at all have faced prosecution, with penalties running into the hundreds of thousands of dollars across cases in recent years.
Non-Compliance Penalties
Getting the hiring process wrong carries real cost: FCF breaches mean 12–24 months debarred from work pass applications, with false declarations risking up to 2 years’ jail; uninsured work injury claims can mean a fine of up to $10,000 and up to 12 months’ imprisonment, plus personal liability for the compensation itself; and late AIS submissions have led IRAS to prosecute hundreds of employers a year, with total penalties in the millions.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the first step to hiring an employee in Singapore?
Decide whether the Fair Consideration Framework applies — if you might sponsor an Employment Pass for the role, you generally need to advertise it on MyCareersFuture.gov.sg for at least 14 days before applying for the pass, unless your company has fewer than 10 employees or the role pays $22,500 or more a month.
Do I need to advertise every job on MyCareersFuture?
No — only if you might hire a foreign candidate on an Employment Pass for the role and neither exemption applies. If you’re only ever hiring Singapore Citizens or PRs for the role, the Fair Consideration Framework’s advertising duty doesn’t apply.
When must I issue an employment contract in Singapore?
Written Key Employment Terms must reach the employee within 14 days of their first day of work. This can be a formal contract, a letter of appointment, or even a staff handbook or website that covers the required terms — a verbal agreement isn’t enough.
Do I need to pay CPF for a new employee immediately?
Yes, from their first month of employment, if they’re a Singapore Citizen or PR earning more than $50 a month in basic salary. Contributions are due by the last day of the calendar month the wages relate to.
Is Work Injury Compensation Insurance compulsory?
Yes, for all employees doing manual work regardless of salary, and for non-manual employees earning $2,600 or less a month. It applies to local and foreign employees alike, and the policy must come from a MOM-designated insurer.
Can a foreign employee start work while their Employment Pass is still being processed?
No. An In-Principle Approval letter only allows the candidate to enter Singapore — they can only start work once the pass itself has actually been issued.
What’s the Skills Development Levy and do I have to pay it?
SDL is a mandatory monthly levy of 0.25% of total wages (minimum $2, maximum $11.25 per employee), payable for every employee working in Singapore, local or foreign. It’s typically collected together with CPF contributions.
Last verified: 10 September 2026
WorkRightSG provides general information only. Nothing on this site constitutes legal advice. For advice specific to your situation, consult a qualified employment lawyer or contact the Ministry of Manpower directly.