Written Answer by Minister for Manpower, Dr Tan See Leng, to PQ on Employers Not Providing Properly Itemised Payslips
NOTICE PAPER NO. 805 OF 2021 FOR THE SITTING ON 2 NOVEMBER 2021
QUESTION NO. 1315 FOR WRITTEN ANSWER
MP: Mr Leon Perera
To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) for each year from 2018 to 2020, how many work pass holders reported their employers for not providing properly itemised payslips; (b) how many employers were found liable, with the percentage breakdown; (c) how many employers were repeat offenders; (d) whether, and if so, what harsher penalties were imposed on these repeat offenders; and (e) whether the Ministry actively monitors employers’ compliance with the itemised payslip requirement and, if so, by what means.
Answer
Between 2018 and 2020, MOM looked into an average of 100 complaints per year from Work Pass Holders on the non-issuance of itemised payslips. Some complaints were lodged directly with MOM while others arose from salary disputes between employer and employee. A further 280 cases involving both foreign and local employees were detected from proactive inspections under the Workright initiative each year. In about 80% of the cases (including complaints), employers were formally notified to make the necessary rectifications. For the others, inquiries revealed that itemised payslips were available digitally, or were issued late due to a lapse. No further action was taken for these cases. There were no repeat offenders.