# Working notes on keeping people operations running

URL: https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights
Title: Insights on Hiring, HR & Payroll in Singapore | Skillsforce
Description: Practical writing for Singapore employers on hiring, HR operations, payroll and CPF. Primary sources cited and dated on every article.

Written for the people who actually run hiring, HR and payroll in a lean Singapore team. Every figure traces to a primary source and carries a date, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.

## Pages in this section

- [AIS enrolment](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/auto-inclusion-scheme-ais-singapore-employers): Five employees is the number that makes AIS compulsory. Here is how registration actually works, the annual cycle, and what IRAS does if you miss it.
- [Annual leave and public holidays](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/annual-leave-public-holidays-singapore-employers): Annual leave and paid public holidays cover every Employment Act employee, not only Part IV staff. The entitlement scale, pro-ration, forfeiture, and the gazetted 2027 dates.
- [Banking and finance hiring](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/banking-finance-recruitment-hr-singapore): Why banking and finance hiring in Singapore runs on a higher Employment Pass floor, MAS fit and proper checks under the Representative Notification Framework, and where the quota rules actually bite.
- [Career Conversion Programmes](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/career-conversion-programmes-mid-career-hiring-singapore): What Career Conversion Programmes pay an employer, what the three modes commit you to, and why the Mid-Career Pathways Programme is an attachment, not a hire.
- [Checking an agency's EA licence](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/how-to-check-recruitment-agency-ea-licence-singapore): How to verify a Singapore recruitment agency is MOM licensed: searching the EA Directory, reading a licence number, and your own exposure if you skip it.
- [Contract hires without headcount](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/contract-hires-without-headcount-manpower-outsourcing-singapore): A Singapore entity that cannot add headcount can still staff a role through Manpower Outsourcing. Here is what changes, what does not, and the limits.
- [Contract vs temporary vs permanent](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/contract-temporary-permanent-staffing-singapore): What the Employment Act, CPF rules and MOM's contract-of-service test actually change between permanent, fixed-term and temporary staff in Singapore.
- [CPF late payment penalty](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/cpf-late-payment-penalty-singapore): CPF late payment is not one penalty. It is a ladder: interest, then composition, then court, with directors named personally along the way.
- [CPF rates for new PRs](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/cpf-graduated-rates-new-singapore-prs): What CPF costs in a new PR's first two years: 9% in year one, 24% in year two, full rates from year three, when the clock starts, and where the rollover goes wrong.
- [CPF rates for senior employees](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/cpf-rates-senior-employees-singapore): CPF is going up for staff above 55 in 2027, but only two bands move. Here is exactly who, by how much, and what softens the cost.
- [Does payroll software file CPF?](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/does-hr-payroll-software-file-cpf-ir8a-singapore): Whether HR and payroll software files with CPF Board and IRAS, or just calculates: what One-Stop Payroll covers, and the questions to ask a vendor first.
- [Employing without a local entity](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/employ-staff-singapore-without-local-entity): MOM's own FAQ says no, an Employer of Record cannot sponsor a work pass for staff of an overseas company. Here are the two routes that are actually lawful.
- [EOR vs Manpower Outsourcing vs own entity](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/eor-vs-manpower-outsourcing-vs-own-entity-singapore): An Employer of Record, Manpower Outsourcing and your own entity are not interchangeable. Here is who is legally the employer under each, and what follows.
- [Executive search vs recruitment](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/executive-search-vs-recruitment-singapore): How executive search differs from ordinary recruitment in Singapore, and which roles actually need one.
- [Fair Consideration Framework](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/fair-consideration-framework-mycareersfuture-advertising): The 14-day MyCareersFuture advertising duty applies before a work pass application, not to every hire. The exact trigger, the five exemptions and the penalties.
- [First employee checklist](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/first-employee-singapore-hr-policies-checklist): Everything that becomes true the moment a Singapore employer has one employee: Key Employment Terms, payslips, CPF, Work Injury Compensation insurance, leave entitlements, and the corrected four-week paternity leave figure.
- [First week priorities](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/hr-person-resigned-first-week-priorities): What Singapore employers must secure in the first week after a sole HR or payroll person resigns: five deadlines, the regulator and the cost of missing each.
- [Flexible work requests](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/flexible-work-arrangement-requests-singapore-employers): A Singapore employer has two months to give a written decision on a formal flexible work arrangement request. What the Tripartite Guidelines require, what a valid rejection needs, and where the obligation stops.
- [FMCG seasonal hiring](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/fmcg-seasonal-hiring-payroll-singapore): Singapore has no FMCG-specific hiring law. What actually governs a seasonal peak: Employment Act thresholds, overtime, rest days, and part-time pro-ration.
- [Foreign company's first 90 days](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/foreign-company-first-90-days-singapore-hr-payroll): What a foreign company needs before it can legally pay its first Singapore employee: entity choice, registration order, work passes and day-one HR obligations.
- [Fractional and interim HR](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/fractional-interim-hr-engagement-structure-singapore): How fractional and interim HR engagements are scoped, staffed and closed out in Singapore: what is covered, the cadence, and how a handover works.
- [Fractional vs interim vs outsourced HR](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/fractional-vs-interim-vs-outsourced-hr-singapore): Fractional HR, interim cover and HR outsourcing compared: what each one is, which situation fits, and why many employers start with interim cover.
- [Government-Paid Leave claims](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/government-paid-leave-claims-singapore-employers): Singapore employers fund parental and childcare leave first, then claim the government-funded portion back. The splits, the caps and the three-month deadline.
- [Hiring before incorporation](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/hire-staff-before-incorporation-singapore): The honest two-part answer for a foreign company that wants to start hiring before its Singapore entity exists: what the recruitment process allows, and where employment itself has to wait.
- [Hiring Singaporeans and PRs](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/hiring-singaporeans-and-prs-employer-guide): Merit-based selection under TAFEP's guidelines, where the Fair Consideration Framework actually applies, the local pay floors, and what a job advertisement must not say.
- [Hiring spikes and HR](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/sudden-hiring-spike-singapore-hr): A hiring spike does not pause KETs, payslip and CPF deadlines or work-pass timelines. What breaks in Singapore HR and payroll, and how to hold the line.
- [How long hiring actually takes](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/recruitment-shortlist-timeline-singapore): The regulated parts of a Singapore hire (advertising, work-pass processing, notice) versus the parts that vary, and which ones an employer actually controls.
- [HR with no Singapore presence](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/hr-for-foreign-company-no-singapore-presence): What a foreign company with no Singapore entity can and cannot do about HR here, per MOM's own work-pass rule, and what is genuinely available now.
- [In-house hire or outsourced HR](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/outsourced-hr-vs-in-house-hire-singapore): The honest comparison: outsourced HR versus an in-house hire in Singapore, on coverage, breadth, knowledge risk and control, not on price.
- [In-house, software or outsourced](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/payroll-in-house-software-or-outsourced-singapore): Spreadsheet, software, bureau or outsourced payroll in Singapore: the honest four-way comparison, and where CPF and IRAS liability actually sits.
- [IR21 resignation timeline](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/ir21-foreign-employee-resignation-timeline): The IR21 deadline lands closer than most employers expect once a foreign employee resigns. Here is the exact timeline, from notice to Clearance Directive.
- [Local Qualifying Salary](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/local-qualifying-salary-local-workforce-count): S$1,800 gross a month, S$10.50 gross an hour, and a tiered count that decides how much each local employee is worth on the headcount MOM measures.
- [Logistics hiring rules](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/logistics-hiring-shift-overtime-work-permit-singapore): Employment Act Part IV thresholds, overtime and rest-day rules for logistics hiring in Singapore, and where the Services sector's work permit quota bites.
- [Manufacturing workforce compliance](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/manufacturing-workforce-compliance-singapore): Quota tiers, the levy structure and Employment Act hours a Singapore manufacturer must get right, plus the 2025 S Pass levy change and the 2028 tier merger.
- [Maternity and medical leave cover](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/hr-cover-maternity-medical-leave-singapore): Maternity, paternity and medical leave entitlements in Singapore, and how to keep payroll and HR running while the person who runs them is away.
- [Oil, gas and marine hiring](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/oil-gas-marine-hiring-compliance-singapore): Why hiring into oil, gas and marine work in Singapore runs on Process and Marine Shipyard rules: DRCs, safety courses and the WSH duty employers carry.
- [Payroll bureau vs software](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/managed-payroll-bureau-vs-software-singapore): Payroll software you operate versus a bureau that operates it for you: what transfers at handover, what breaks in each, and how to choose.
- [Payroll compliance calendar](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/singapore-employer-payroll-compliance-calendar): Every Singapore payroll deadline in one place: CPF, SDL, payslips, KETs, AIS and IR21, what triggers each, and the two facts most guides get wrong.
- [Payroll spreadsheet risk](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/payroll-spreadsheet-risk-cpf-ir8a-singapore): The exact mechanics of a payroll spreadsheet failure in Singapore: the CPF ceiling trap, the age-band error, and which Income Tax Act penalty actually applies.
- [Payslips & KETs](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/itemised-payslips-kets-singapore-employers): What a Singapore payslip and Key Employment Terms letter must legally contain, and the real MOM penalty, which is not the S$1,000 figure most sites quote.
- [Pharma and healthcare hiring](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/pharma-healthcare-hiring-singapore): Why pharmaceutical and healthcare hiring in Singapore runs on HSA licensing and MOH professional registration, and what an employer must verify first.
- [Probation and confirmation](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/probation-and-confirmation-singapore-employers): Probation is not in the Employment Act at all. What that means for notice periods, leave, extension, confirmation letters and dismissal during probation.
- [Progressive Wage Model](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/progressive-wage-model-singapore-employers): Seven sectors, two occupations, and two very different enforcement levers. What the Progressive Wage Model is, who it actually binds, and how the PW Mark fits.
- [Re-employment age](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/re-employment-age-singapore-employers): The minimum retirement age is 64 and the re-employment age 69 from 1 July 2026. Who the duty covers, when the offer is due, and what the Employment Assistance Payment costs.
- [Recruitment, HR and payroll by sector](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/recruitment-hr-payroll-by-sector-singapore): What genuinely changes by sector when you hire, run HR and run payroll in Singapore, and what does not. The statutory floors, the safety and licensing gates, and the method.
- [Registration vs HR readiness](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/company-registration-vs-hr-readiness-singapore): What ACRA registration actually gives a new Singapore company, what it leaves entirely undone, and the order Corppass, a CPF Submission Number and other registrations have to run in before you can legally pay anyone.
- [Rep office vs entity vs Manpower Outsourcing](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/representative-office-vs-entity-vs-manpower-outsourcing-singapore): A representative office, an entity and Manpower Outsourcing are not interchangeable. Here is what each actually lets a foreign company do in Singapore.
- [Self-help group contributions](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/self-help-group-contributions-cdac-sinda-mbmf-ecf): The four self-help group funds are an employee deduction, not an employer cost, and they carry their own statutory deadline. Who contributes to which, and what non-payment means.
- [Setting up payroll](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/setting-up-payroll-first-employee-singapore): Standing up Singapore payroll from nothing: the registrations in order, the real lead times on a CPF Submission Number, Corppass access and Direct Debit, and where set-up ends and the monthly cycle takes over.
- [Sick and hospitalisation leave](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/sick-and-hospitalisation-leave-singapore-employers): The 60 days of paid hospitalisation leave include the 14 outpatient days, they do not add to them. The service scale, the two certification tests, and the payment duty.
- [Skills Development Levy (SDL)](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/skills-development-levy-sdl-singapore-employers): Most employers think SDL is a smaller CPF. It is not: it covers foreign staff CPF never touches, and the agency behind it just changed.
- [Strategic Recruitment Service, explained](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/strategic-recruitment-service-singapore-explained): What Skillsforce's Strategic Recruitment Service and Resume Management Service actually are, and when handing over a hiring push beats running it in-house.
- [Submitting CPF](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/how-to-submit-cpf-contributions-singapore): How Singapore employers submit CPF contributions through CPF EZPay: the prerequisites, the monthly steps, the real due date, and what paying late costs.
- [Support for senior employment](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/senior-employment-credit-and-re-employment-support): The Senior Employment Credit, CPF Transition Offset, Part-time Re-employment Grant and Enabling Employment Credit: what each pays an employer, what it takes to qualify, and when each one stops.
- [Tech start-up first hires](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/tech-startup-first-hires-singapore): What applies to a tech start-up's first Singapore hires: Employment Pass, CPF, Key Employment Terms and leave, and the pathways that do not.
- [What is backup HR](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/what-is-backup-hr-singapore): What a genuine backup HR arrangement includes, and why a one-person HR function is a continuity risk when CPF and IRAS deadlines do not pause for an absence.
- [When you need HR](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/when-does-a-singapore-sme-need-hr): The statutory obligations start at employee one. Here are the operational triggers that show a growing Singapore employer needs a proper HR function.
- [Workplace Fairness Act](https://skillsforce.com.sg/insights/workplace-fairness-act-singapore-employers): Both Workplace Fairness Acts are passed but uncommenced, with MOM targeting end-2027. The protected characteristics, the coverage threshold, the duties and the penalty tiers.