SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Kelvin Tan, Benjamin Gaw and Lim Chong Kin, Drew & Napier LLC
Transfer limitation obligation Employers must not transfer employee personal data to a jurisdiction outside Singapore except in accord - ance with the requirements set out in the PDPA and the Personal Data Protection Regulations 2021, to ensure that transferred personal data is accorded a standard of protection comparable to the PDPA. Data breach notification obligation In the event of a data breach involving employee per - sonal data, employers must assess whether a data breach is notifiable and notify the PDPC and/or affect - ed individuals where it is assessed to be notifiable. Accountability obligation Employers must appoint a person responsible for ensuring compliance with the PDPA (typically called a data protection officer). Employers must also imple - ment the policies and practices necessary to meet their PDPA obligations, including a process to receive complaints. In addition, employers must communicate information about such policies and practices to their employees and make such information available upon their request. 4. Foreign Workers 4.1 Limitations on Foreign Workers Foreigners must generally have a valid work pass before they start work in Singapore. Employing a foreigner without a valid work pass is an offence. Where a foreigner without a work pass is found at any premises, the occupier of the premises is presumed to have employed the foreigner, until the contrary is proved. Types of Work Passes There are three main types of work passes. Employment Pass The Employment Pass (EP) is for foreign profes - sionals, managers and executives who earn at least SGD5,600 a month in the non-financial services sec - tors and SGD6,200 a month in the financial services sector and have acceptable qualifications. Older, more experienced candidates will require higher sala -
ries to qualify (the qualifying salaries increase progres - sively with age, up to SGD10,700 for a candidate in their mid-forties in a non-financial sector and up to SGD11,800 for a candidate in the financial services sector). This is the revised minimum qualifying salary for new applications from 1 January 2025 and renew - als of passes expiring from 1 January 2026. For the renewal of passes expiring from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, the minimum qualifying salary is SGD5,000 a month in the non-financial ser - vices sectors and SGD5,500 a month in the financial services sector. Aside from meeting the qualifying salary, candidates will also need to pass a points-based Complementari - ty Assessment Framework (COMPASS). COMPASS is an additional stage in the EP application process; that is, candidates must pass a two-stage eligibility frame - work – stage 1 being the above-mentioned EP qualify - ing salary, and stage 2 being COMPASS. COMPASS evaluates EP applications based on a holistic set of individual and firm-related attributes, and applicants are scored on four foundational criteria (ie, salary, diversity, qualifications and support for local employ - ment). There are also two bonus criteria: a skills bonus (for candidates in jobs where skills shortages exist) and a strategic economic priorities bonus (for partner - ships with the Singapore government on ambitious innovation or internationalisation activities). There are certain exemptions to COMPASS; that is, a candidate will be exempted from COMPASS if they fulfil any of the following conditions: • they earn at least SGD22,500 a month (similar to the prevailing Fair Consideration Framework job advertising exemption); • they apply as an overseas intra-corporate trans - feree under the World Trade Organization’s General Agreement on Trade in Services or an applicable free trade agreement to which Singapore is a party; or • they fill a role on a short-term basis (ie, for one month or less). MOM has released a self-assessment tool for employ - ers to use in order to get an indicative outcome for
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