Employees who lose positions in S'pore are considered retrenched, even if asked to reapply for other roles: MOM, NTUC

Employees who lose their job positions in Singapore are considered to have been retrenched, even if they have been asked to reapply for roles overseas in the same organisation.

This is according to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC).

NTUC also said it was concerned about practices where employers present reapplications as "new opportunities".

This comes after apparel retailer H&M announced in May that it would move its regional headquarters from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

It asked its East Asia staff, including those in Singapore, to reapply for roles as part of a restructuring exercise.

NTUC expresses concerns about such practices

Responding to Mothership's queries, NTUC said it was concerned about practices where workers are asked to reapply for roles locally or for roles that have moved overseas, with these being presented as new opportunities.

NTUC also said that if these practices result in a worker's role in Singapore becoming redundant, such arrangements are recognised and treated as retrenchment.

"When a worker's employment is with a local company, and if that position or employment is lost due to redundancy, the worker's relationship with the local entity ends," NTUC elaborated.

In response to Mothership's queries, MOM said, "Should an employee lose his job as the role has been made redundant in Singapore — for example, where the role no longer exists or has been shifted overseas — this would constitute a retrenchment."

MOM also said that this applies regardless of whether the employee has applied for an overseas role and the outcome of the application.

H&M says it is "committed" to supporting affected colleagues

When asked by CNA for its response to NTUC's expression of concern, an H&M representative reiterated that the company is "fully committed to supporting all of our colleagues in any organisational changes and will continue to fulfil [its] obligations according to local labour law requirements".

It was previously reported by CNA that H&M employees who unsuccessfully reapply for the new roles will face "mutual separation" in accordance with local labour laws.

Employees across the affected region, including Singapore, may reapply for 178 roles.

Four of these roles appear to be based in Singapore and serve legal functions.

MOM shared that H&M had submitted a mandatory retrenchment notification within the required timeline.

When a retrenchment occurs, employers with at least 10 employees are required to submit a mandatory retrenchment notification to MOM within five working days after notifying affected employees of their retrenchment.