Singapore: New Licensing Requirements for Employment Agencies Will Promote Fair Hiring

In June, Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower announced that it would be enforcing new rules on licensing conditions for employment agencies to ensure fair hiring practices. Withholding applications based on race, age, nationality, disability, or gender are prohibited. Agencies that fail to comply with the regulation risk having their license revoked. In some cases, they may face prosecution.

The regulations for fair hiring are contained in the Singaporean Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices. Notably, the government added mental-health protections to its guidance on job applications earlier this year, prohibiting companies from asking applicants to declare personal information, such as their mental health condition, unless there is a job-related requirement.

Takeaway: Recent regulations point to an increased attention to fairness in worker engagement. Organizations working within Singapore will need to maintain a contingent workforce supplier network that actively works to remove bias and discrimination from the recruiting and engagement process. AGS has expertise in helping organizations apply inclusion and diversity strategies to reduce bias and improve fairness in their workforce supply chain.

Singapore: New Licensing Requirements for Employment Agencies Will Promote Fair Hiring

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