On Oct. 7, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) announced that employers will no longer be allowed to keep their foreign domestic workers' (FDW) salaries, or any other monies belonging to their FDW.
Taking effect on Jan. 1, 2019, the new Work Permit condition is intended to prevent financial disputes, even if FDWs want their employers to hang on to their money.
Reduces risk to both parties
MOM gave a few reasons for the change, citing inconvenience and risk to both parties:
- Foreign domestic workers with no direct access to their money will have to approach their employers whenever they need it.
- Employers will have to keep track of the correct amount of money to be returned.
- Employers might not have proper documentation to record the money they hold.
- Foreign domestic workers might not be comfortable to ask for their money back and even lodge claims.
MOM also encouraged employers to pay their foreign domestic workers electronically, for ease of transaction and maintenance of proper records.
Employers can help them to apply for a bank account, like the POSB Payroll Account, during the process of issuing a Work Permit.
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Reactions
Seems like a simple, common sense rule.
But as ever, the online space immediately rushed to a comparison between employers holding on to their FDW's money and CPF.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Top image adapted from MoM's Facebook page.
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