SINGAPORE: Employers will soon be able to transfer domestic helpers to other households more easily with new rules set out by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), amid COVID-19 travel restrictions.
This comes as worldwide travel restrictions have led to limited numbers of foreign domestic workers coming into Singapore.
AdvertisementAdvertisementFrom Wednesday (May 20), employment agencies will be able to help employers cancel a foreign domestic worker’s work permit even if she does not have a new employer.
The agent will then be responsible for providing accommodation, food and medical insurance for the worker.
A 14-day Special Pass will be issued to the worker when her work permit is cancelled. The agency will bear the cost of repatriating the worker if a new employer is not found before the Special Pass expires.
[h=3]READ: COVID-19: Entry approval, stay-home notices for all new, returning foreign domestic workers to Singapore[/h] AdvertisementAdvertisementCurrently, the former employer must pay for the worker’s living costs during the transition period even if she has already returned to the agency, and provide a letter of consent for the new work permit application.
The former employer must also pay for the worker’s trip home if her work permit is cancelled and she is not moving on to a new employer.
Employment agencies that want to take over responsibilities for foreign domestic workers during the 14-day transition period should register their interest with the Manpower Ministry by May 31, and the list of participating agencies will be available online.
In a notice to employment agencies seen by CNA, the Manpower Ministry advised agencies that “are unwilling to take on the responsibilities” for the foreign domestic worker not to cancel the work permit until the agency has found a new employer for her.
“Once the new work permit is issued, the current work permit will be automatically cancelled as per current practice,” said the ministry in an email sent on Friday evening.
Agencies can also advise employers to cancel the work permit themselves and send the worker home, and then help the employer with repatriation and house the worker at their boarding house, it added.
If the employer cancelled the work permit, they remain responsible for the foreign domestic worker, including the cost of her accommodation, food and medical treatment until she leaves Singapore. The employer should also pay for the cost of her flight home.
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