Category: Employment
There are three categories of Employment Passes in Singapore: the P1 Employment Pass, P2 Employment Pass and Q1 Employment Pass. Before considering to apply for a particular employment pass, it is important that you possess all the required criteria to be eligible for the employment pass you are applying for.
The basic requirements to be eligible for a Singapore Employment Pass is that the foreigner applicant must have a fixed monthly salary of at least S$2,500 and must possess the recognized qualifications which includes acceptable degrees, professional qualifications or specialist skills. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is the authority that evaluates each EP application and qualification, based on a criteria that includes the following: global and country institution rankings by independent accreditation boards, hiring history by top companies in Singapore, validation by HR consultants in listed countries, employment outcome of the institution’s graduates, and the institution’s enrollment standards.
In addition to the foregoing basic requirements of monthly salary and recognized qualifications for a Singapore EP, each of the three categories of EPs have specific eligibility requirements and this article will discuss each of these categories briefly:
P1 Employment Pass
A P1 Employment Pass can be given to an applicant who performs a Professional, Managerial, Executive or Specialist job and has a fixed monthly salary of at least S$7,000.
P2 Employment Pass
A P2 Employment Pass can be given to an applicant who performs a Professional, Managerial, Executive or Specialist job and has a fixed monthly salary of at least S$3,500 and not more than S$7,000.
Q1 Employment Pass
A Q1 Employment Pass can be given to an applicant who performs a Professional, Managerial, Executive or Specialist job and has a fixed monthly salary of at least S$2,500 and not more than S$3,500. An applicant who does not possess the recognized qualifications as discussed in the first part of this article can still be eligible for a Q1 EP provided he possesses compensatory factors such as skills and years of experience, depending on the discretion of the MOM. A minimum of 5 years of relevant work experience is a plus factor.
A fixed monthly salary, as discussed above, refers to the total regular income of a foreign employee earned from his job, including his basic salary, and this income must be paid to the employee on a fixed monthly basis, regardless of his performance.
A fixed monthly salary and/or basic salary does not include the following: additional payment by way of overtime, bonus or commission; any form of reimbursements or in-kind payments; any sum paid to an employee or contract worker to defray special expenses incurred by him owing to the special, unusual or hazardous nature of the employment; any productivity incentive payments and any allowances which are variable in nature; any contributions paid by the employer or employee to any pension or provident fund; or any gratuity payable on discharge or retirement.
As a graduating college student you already know you’re immediate future could be tense. The odds of getting hired straight out of college aren’t nearly as high as they were ten years ago. The odds of getting a job which pays enough to cover your daily living expenses, as well as your student loans will prove even more difficult. When you’re getting ready to start applying for post-college jobs, you can’t afford to be blas about your employment reference letter. It doesn’t matter if you’re asking someone to write a letter for you, or if you’ve been asked to write a letter of recommendation for someone else, you need to make sure it’s the best letter possible.
When it comes to getting your first professional job after leaving college, you need to take care when selecting just who will be writing the letter. Even though your buddies love you, and will be more than willing to provide you outstanding recommendations, the really aren’t the ones you should be going to. Future employers won’t just be interested in the information contained in the employment reference letter, they will also be very interested in the person who penned the letter. The more respect they have for the employment reference letter’s author, the more weight they will give the reference, and the better your odds of landing the job.
Presumably you’re applying for a job in the same field you have jut finished studying. As long as this is the case, you should talk to some of your professors about providing you with good employment reference letter. Most college professors consider this to be part of their job. You will do best when you pick a professor you’ve not only worked closely with during the time you’ve been in the university, but you should also pick one that has strong connections in the field. The more respected the professor is, the better your chances of getting the job.
You shouldn’t wait until the last possibly second to get the letter. Professors are very busy, the have to carefully manage their time and it may take a few days before they have chance to sit down and write down their thoughts an opinions of you. The even bigger reason to ask the professor for the letter soon as possible will be to ensure they know exactly who they’re recommending for a job. The average college professor sees lots of students throughout the course of a year.
As an employer, you face plenty of red tape that an employment lawyer can help you manage. This legal professional can help you handle your work force, adhere to government rules and regulations, and prepare contracts and documents. Without legal counsel, it’s challenging to make it through what sometimes feels like a maze.
Your Workers
Your workers are the lifeblood of your operation. In order to remain within the letter of the law and keep a happy staff, you need the guidance of an employment lawyer. You may need advice on everything from coping with sexual harassment to immigration issues. Not only can an attorney guide you through these challenges, he or she can hold workshops to educate your staff members regarding these issues. When you provide educational workshops for your employees on issues such as sexual harassment or safety, you can clear up all sorts of misconceptions. Some individuals may not even realize that what they’re doing is inappropriate. Not only can teaching them about appropriate workplace behavior help to lessen problems, it can protect your business, as well.
Government Rules and Regulations
Governmental regulations continually change, and they can be rather confusing. As the owner of your company, you must follow all federal, state, and city ordinances and other rules. You need to stay current with EEO and ADA compliance rules. You also need to know all about OSHA safety practices, minimum wage changes, unemployment benefits, and more. Additionally, you need to keep your physical premises handicap accessible, safe, pay your taxes on time, and respond appropriately to complaints from your workers, as well as your customers. When you operate a company in the United States, compliance is mandatory. An employment lawyer can help you remain compliant in all areas.
Contracts and Documents
The paperwork you use in your company must be exact or you could be held liable for inaccuracies. Contracts are legally binding between your business and your workers, customers, and vendors. Your employee handbooks, sales contracts, lease agreements, and every other document that represents your organization should be reviewed by your law firm’s experts.
Running a company in the United States involves understanding governmental regulations, handling your staff members legally and with finesse, and using carefully written contracts and documents. This is a lot of red tape to wade through without the guidance of an employment lawyer. Not only can this legal professional help you to manage your organization on a day-to-day basis, he or she can also be there when problems arise.
Is employment for senior citizens available for men and women, and are there any age qualifications to meet? Does a senior have to be in top physical condition, or are infirmities allowed?
Are your carefully laid plans for a pleasant tour, although perhaps not royal, through your golden years seem to be stalling? Will employment for senior citizens be the answer to your dilemma?
You are not alone? The same feeling is infecting your senior citizen neighbor next door, your sixtyish friend down at the retirement center, your old buddy in the bowling league and your aging sister in Buffalo.
The truth is, you have options! We all do. Too often, we seniors tend to feel betrayed by our government and left to fend for ourselves at the mercy of an indifferent panicking society. Scrub away those thoughts!
You are no different than the forty old accountant that was cut loose by his business firm, or the thirty five year old new car salesman who is left to his own devices.
You are just older than them, but you have a lot more going for you than they do. Most of their experiences and trained talents and skills are still down the road in front of them. Yours are spread out in a panorama behind you.
Look back at your life. Now is the best of times for you to make the things you have learned over the years put you up in front of the growing crowd of employment seekers.
If you were to write down all you have experienced, dealt with, learned from, overcame, and grown from, it would fill an entire library shelf.
Don’t you think that from all of this knowledge and living you can find some things that would increase the performance and productivity of an employers business.
Don’t you realize that the sum of all your hands on training and acquired talents and skills would be of great value to some employer?
There are wheelbarrow loads of gold nuggets kicking around in your head, my friend. Grab hold of a few of them and transform them into that perfect job you are now dreaming about.
It is not as hard to accomplish this as you may think!
Here is a valuable gem of knowledge and fact that should stir up the juices inside of you.
Most vacant employment positions are not even advertised!
Whoa! What does this tell you?
There is no competition for these jobs outside of word of mouth. Why? There are many reasons why this is so.
Maybe the job has not been defined by the manager yet, he knows that the need exists but what will he call it? You can step in and give him a definition. Do some advance homework.
A harried business owner is overworked and wishing for a fairy godmother to wave her wand and provide the perfect assistant. Check out the company and tell him how much easier you can make his life, and earn him more profit as a byproduct.
You read an item in the newspaper, or saw it on the TV news, about a business making substantial growth spurts. That is your cue!
Call the company and inform them all the things you can do for them, and let them know you will be stopping by tomorrow, would he or she have time to spend a few moments with you.
Where can you look for employment for senior citizens? In your own head! Take advantage of your own experience and skills.
There are jobs out there waiting for you. Be creative and bold. It
will happen!
Employing highly intelligent and highly qualified employees in a range of sophisticated commercial businesses is a risky business for employers.
To acquire competitive business advantage in an increasingly globalized and networked world of pharmaceuticals, genetics, telecommunications, power supply and information technology requires the employment of highly qualified, well educated, experienced and clever employees.
Potential employers and employees are both well advised to seek legal assistance when drafting or accepting terms of employment. Due to the seniority of these employees, their employment contracts are less likely to be workplace agreements but more likely to be private , one-off, contracts of employment.
Often, employees in the pharmaceuticals, genetics, telecommunications, power supply and information technology industries will have access to secret and confidential information which is both price and market-sensitive. This information might be chemical formulae, scientific and technological data, chemical, electrical or manufacturing trade processes, hardware or software engineering designs, or a range of other sophisticated technological and scientific information. The potential employee will need access to this information to perform his or her anticipated role. When the employment relationship ends, however, the employer is faced with a double problem. First, the employee is leaving. Whether the departure is voluntary or involuntary, it will be an inconvenience and a disruption to the employer. Secondly, and more importantly long term, the departing employee will take with him or her, knowledge of the secret and confidential information which may be the very basis of the employer’s competitive advantage in a particular industry or market.
To minimise this long term disruption, employers often include restraint of trade clauses in employment contracts when employing people in these sensitive areas. Commonly, the restraint of trade will prevent the former employee from seeking employment with any competitor of the former employer in the particular market for a period of time.
In current times, where there is a shortage of trained staff, particularly in scientific and technological areas, the reason why an employee departs is generally because he or she has received a better offer from a competitor.
In deciding whether or not to enforce the restraint of trade clause against a departing employee, Victorian courts have to balance a number of competing factors.
First, neither Australian nor Victorian general law will restrain a former employee from seeking employment with a competitor. Any such restraint must be found in an enforceable clause in the contract of employment with the former employer. Employers, therefore, should always ensure that staff are employed pursuant to written contracts of employment which contain enforceable restraints of trade.
Secondly, Victorian courts will not allow employers to prevent former employees from conducting a living by practising the skills which may have taken many years to acquire through university courses or practical experience. However, this is only a general rule or starting point.
Thirdly, Victorian courts will not allow former employees to obtain an unfair springboard into a new career by abusing the trust of the former employer. Examples are where employees spend an entire weekend photocopying price lists, formulae, client contact details and other confidential information and then resign the following Monday morning to set up a competitive business the following Tuesday morning.
Essentially, Victorian courts perform a balancing act between the competing interests of the employee to be able to continue to gain a living on the one hand and the employer’s interests of being able to reasonably prevent the disclosure of confidential and secret trade-sensitive information to competitors when the employment relationship ceases.
The sorts of factors courts have taken into account are as follows. First, Victorian courts will look to see whether the restraint of trade is reasonable or is too restrictive. Any restraint which tries to prevent an employee from working not only in the particular business of the former employer but any other associated or ancillary business is likely to be struck down. Likewise, a restraint which seeks to prevent an employee from working for an excessively lengthy period (generally more than 12 months) is also highly likely to be struck down and declared unenforceable. To overcome these problems, lawyers draft restraint of trade clauses to have a “waterfall” effect. The clause contains a number of alternatives, for example, starting from a very wide restraint and then proceeding to an increasingly narrow restraint in terms of future employment activities or in terms of length of time. Each one of the alternatives is severable from the contract if declared unenforceable by a court. Accordingly, a court might reject a restraint which provided for former employee X not to be employed in any pharmaceutical industry within South East Asia including Australia. The court, on the other hand, may be prepared to enforce a restraint which prevented employee X from being employed in the field of molecular genetic artificial-blood technology in either Melbourne or in Sydney for a period of one year. Such a restraint is far more precise and reasonably protects the former employer’s confidential information whilst allowing the employee to seek employment in the general field of molecular genetics.
A court must also be satisfied that an employer’s fears are genuine. For instance, is the information really secret and confidential? If the information is only knowledge which an employee would obtain through the repetitive working of his or her ordinary job, courts are less likely to regard this as secret or confidential information. Other sorts of information which are publicly available (even such as client contact details and price lists) may also not qualify. If there is no secret or confidential information, then there can be no restraint of trade.
Courts will also look to see whether the employee was specifically compensated for the restraint when first employed. If an employee received a specific additional sum as a hiring incentive for a longer than normal restraint of trade, courts are more likely to be persuaded that the restraint, when ultimately applied, is reasonable. The employee has accepted the restraint when first employed and has received a specific benefit for it.
Another factor which courts will examine is the seniority of the former employee. The more senior, the more likely it may be that the now departed employee may be capable of encouraging other staff to follow him or her and more capable of influencing former clients to switch allegiance. Alternatively, if the former employee was not employed in a managerial position and was only employed at either a junior or specific technical level, courts may be less worried about wholesale client or staff defections which would need to be prevented by the restraint of trade clause.
Until recently, courts seemed reluctant to enforce restraints of trade for more than 3-6 months. However, recent New South Wales Supreme Court authorities seem to be swinging the pendulum back in favour of employers where the balancing exercise outlined above suggests that the restraint of trade does need to be enforced to reasonably protect the former employer’s market and confidential information interests. For instance, Brereton, J., in John Fairfax Publications Pty Ltd v. Bert & Ors [2006] N.S.W.S.C. 995 upheld a restraint of trade for 12 months in relation to a former employee who had been employed at a senior level. The same judge, in Cactus Imaging Pty Ltd v. Peters [2006] N.S.W.S.C. 17 (18 July 2006) also enforced a restraint of trade for 12 months in a situation where the former employee operated in a restrictive market or oligopoly.
This is a complex area of law. Contracts of employment generally and restraints of trade particularly need to be carefully drafted to have their intended legal effect.
Employers and employees need to be carefully advised on the range of tactics available in post employment scenarios.