New rules in Singapore to advertise jobs to locals could slow recruitment
24 July 2014
New rules compelling employers in Singapore to advertise all vacancies to Singapore nationals could result in delays in the recruitment process, warns international tax advisory firm Von Essen.
Thu, 24 Jul 2014New rules compelling employers in Singapore to advertise all vacancies to Singapore nationals could result in delays in the recruitment process, warns international tax advisory firm Von Essen.
From 1 August, the new rules will force employers to advertise all jobs open to applications from foreign workers on a Singaporean government job site, the Jobs Bank, for 14 days, which could slow down recruitment for many businesses. If a business uses a recruitment agency, either the business or the agency will have to advertise the role on the Government site.
Introduced by Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower, the new rule requires employers to consider Singaporeans fairly for all job opportunities, as reported in Global Spotlight on Singapore in April's Recruiter magazine.
According to June’s Ministry of Manpower ‘Labour Market Statistical Information’, the Singapore job market currently has 62,500 vacancies, an 11% increase on the previous quarter but job creation appears to be slowing as 28,000 jobs were created in Q1 2014, compared to over 40,000 jobs in the previous quarter.
Lydia Marref, partner at Von Essen, says: “The current high number of vacancies could partly be caused by the incoming rule changes. Employers may be pushing recruitment through as quickly as possible in order to get everything in place ahead of the rule changes.”
The new rules will not affect the recruitment process of roles with monthly salaries in excess of SG$12k (£5.7k), in recognition of the fact that many of these roles are filled by headhunters who are not able to advertise roles.
In addition, employers with fewer than 25 employees are also exempt from the rule changes.
From 1 August, the new rules will force employers to advertise all jobs open to applications from foreign workers on a Singaporean government job site, the Jobs Bank, for 14 days, which could slow down recruitment for many businesses. If a business uses a recruitment agency, either the business or the agency will have to advertise the role on the Government site.
Introduced by Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower, the new rule requires employers to consider Singaporeans fairly for all job opportunities, as reported in Global Spotlight on Singapore in April's Recruiter magazine.
According to June’s Ministry of Manpower ‘Labour Market Statistical Information’, the Singapore job market currently has 62,500 vacancies, an 11% increase on the previous quarter but job creation appears to be slowing as 28,000 jobs were created in Q1 2014, compared to over 40,000 jobs in the previous quarter.
Lydia Marref, partner at Von Essen, says: “The current high number of vacancies could partly be caused by the incoming rule changes. Employers may be pushing recruitment through as quickly as possible in order to get everything in place ahead of the rule changes.”
The new rules will not affect the recruitment process of roles with monthly salaries in excess of SG$12k (£5.7k), in recognition of the fact that many of these roles are filled by headhunters who are not able to advertise roles.
In addition, employers with fewer than 25 employees are also exempt from the rule changes.
