Employer essentials: levy, rest days & insurance

Before she starts

• First-time employers must complete the Employers’ Orientation Programme (EOP) at least 2 working days before the Work Permit application is submitted. You can attend in a classroom or online.
• A helper who is working in Singapore for the first time must attend the one-day Settling-in Programme (SIP) within 7 days of arrival, not counting Sundays and public holidays. The employer pays the course fee.

The monthly levy

• S$300 a month for your first helper, and S$450 a month for each additional helper.
• S$60 a month (concessionary levy) if your household has an eligible person, such as a Singapore Citizen child under 16, a Singapore Citizen aged 67 or above, or a person with disabilities who needs help with daily activities. Some permanent residents aged 67 or above also qualify. Conditions apply.
• The levy for each month is due on the 17th of the following month, usually by GIRO.
• If the levy is not paid for two months in a row, MOM revokes the Work Permit.

We check whether your household qualifies for the concession and apply for you.

Insurance and security bond

• Medical insurance with an annual claim limit of at least S$60,000 for inpatient care and day surgery.
• Personal accident insurance with a sum assured of at least S$60,000 a year.
• A S$5,000 security bond for each helper (not needed for Malaysian helpers), in the form of a banker’s or insurer’s guarantee.
• You cannot ask your helper to pay for her insurance or the security bond.

The bond can be forfeited if, for example, salary is not paid on time or the helper is not sent home when her Work Permit ends.

Salary

• Pay her every month, no later than 7 days after the end of the salary period, and not less than the salary declared to MOM.
• MOM encourages paying into her own bank account. If she asks to be paid by bank transfer, you must do so.
• If you pay in cash, keep a salary record signed by both of you for every payment.
• Do not keep her salary, her money, her bank book or her bank card, even if she asks you to.

Rest days

• Your helper is entitled to one rest day a week. Agree together on which day it is.
• At least one rest day a month must be taken and cannot be replaced with pay.
• If she agrees to work on another rest day, pay her at least one extra day’s salary for it.
• A rest day can be one full day or two half days.

Food, accommodation and medical care

• Provide three adequate meals a day and respect her dietary needs, including religious restrictions.
• Give her a safe, ventilated place to sleep with at least a mattress, pillow and blanket. She must not share a bedroom with an adult man or a teenage boy.
• Tell her if there are cameras in the home and where they are. Cameras must not be placed where they invade her privacy, such as where she sleeps, changes or bathes.
• You are responsible for all her medical costs, including hospital bills and her medical examinations.

Medical examinations and MOM checks

• Helpers under 50 must have a medical examination every 6 months (6ME). MOM sends a letter with the due date, and the employer pays.
• MOM interviews first-time helpers in person twice in their first year of work.
• MOM may visit randomly selected households to speak with the helper. Taking part is compulsory if you are selected.
• Your employment agency must also check on the placement within the first three months.