Singapore — A hiring advertisement posted online by an Indian company drew flak from netizens for having a number of issues.
The company which posted the listing, one Maclareen Consulting, advertised a 2-year Employment Pass (E-Pass) and a confirmed job with accommodation
According to the job listing, the salary offered was S$2500 to S$3200. Positions offered were store keeper, system administrator, warehouse keeper, computer operator, front office executive, accountant and office supervisor and assistant.
The listing also said that quarantine charges were borne by the employer.
The salary offered by the company was misleading, as according to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) website, Employment Pass holders need to be given a fixed monthly salary of at least $4,500 (more experienced candidates need higher salaries). This amount is the minimum salary.
On Facebook, the job listing was posted by one Nithya on Tuesday (Jul 20), who wrote: “We’re hiring for Singapore. Indian candidates can apply”.
According to cnplaw.com, “In order to obtain work passes for their foreign employees, many of the convicted employers have attempted to circumvent the minimum salary requirement to obtain EPs. Such attempts usually involve compelling the foreign employees to return monthly amounts to the employer as reimbursement for the provision of food, accommodation or transport, after paying them the declared salaries. Such repayments are usually paid in cash in order to avoid detection”.
cnplaw.com wrote that one Harry’s International Pte Ltd was guilty of this practice, where the former President and Chief Operating Officer of HIPL instructed her subordinates to declare the monthly salaries of 20 foreign employees as $3,100 to meet the minimum salary requirement needed to obtain EPs (as it was then).
“These employees were paid a monthly salary of $3,100 but were compelled to return cash amounts of $1,600 to “reimburse” the company for the costs of meals and transportation the day after receiving their salaries. Investigations subsequently revealed that not all foreign employees enjoyed such employee benefits and where provided, the actual cost was less than $1,600. The convicted director was fined $40,000”, they added.
While it is unclear if this is a practice by Maclareen Consulting, TISG has reached out to the company and to the MOM for comment and clarification.
Netizens who commented on the job listing were also unhappy that the job was only open to Indians, and not to locals.
/TISG