We heard from you! We know that there are tons of MOM regulations F&B businesses have to abide by, so we created the complete guide of MOM regulations for F&B. In this comprehensive guide, we will touch on employment regulations and what goes into an employment contract.
First things first, let’s lay the foundations of what YOU need to take note when hiring employees for your F&B business. Let’s hop into the key features of the Employment Act.
1. Full-Time Employment
Full-time employment in F&B refers to employees who are service professionals and is required to work no more than 6 days, 44 hours per week. Full-time professions in F&B are titled as General Manager, Executive Chef, Head Chef, Waiter/Waitress position. He/She will be receiving company benefits such as staff meals, discounts, and more.
MOM Age Regulations
As legislated by MOM, the legal age to work in Singapore is 17 years old. However, F&B owners are allowed to hire youths from the age of 13 years old.
Youths between 13 years old to 15 years old are NOT allowed to handle kitchen equipment (eg, Fire stove, Ovens, etc).
2. Employment of Foreign Workers
Foreign Workers Age Regulation
Employers must ensure that foreign workers aged are 18 & above to be eligible to work in Singapore.
Besides that, they can only work up until the age of 60.
Before proceeding with the signing of the contract, Employers have to ensure that:
Workers possess a valid work permit before the commencement of duties
Only work for the employer and the agreed job scope stated in the contract (No moonlighting)
The 3 types of employment pass that are eligible and F&B owners can look out for are:
The validity of all passes last for:
1-2 years (Can be renewed after expiry)
For every S and Work Permit pass workers that you hire, a levy charge will be imposed.
*Disclaimer: The more foreign workers you hire, the higher levy charge you will face
3. Part-Time Employment
Part-timers can supplement your workforce. Jobs commonly performed by part-timers are serving, bar-tending, etc which can help to increase efficiency for an F&B establishment.
Below are a few regulations that F&B employers should take note of:
Part time employees are under the contract employment to work < 35 hours per week.
One way to manage staff’s schedules to ensure their hours are within this scope is to use a HR management system.Part-timers are entitled to overtime pay/ public holidays pay of 1.5 times their normal hourly pay.
For example: Jane earns $8/hr on a normal day, however she worked on Hari Raya Haji, thus her employer must pay her $12/hr for that dayEmployees are to provide part-timers with at least a 1 off day per week
4. Full-Time/Part-Time Contract
Each FT/PT Employee Contract must contain in the following order:
Appointment position
Employers may start with stating the employee position that he/she may be holding.
For example, Jack will perform duties of an head chefWorking schedule
This consists of the number of days and hours the employee is required to work.
For example, Number of working days and hours per week: 6 days, 44 hours per weekProbation clause
Employer may include a probation clause to ensure that the employee is suitable for the role
(Probation can last up to a year)Job responsibilities
Employers must include this so that it will be clear for the employee to perform his/her duties.
For example: Jack will have to construct new menus, assist his staffs in meal preparation, report to management in Jonus KitchenRemuneration package
Under this package, it will include salary, bonus, leave, overtime, public holiday pay etc.
Employers will have to:
5.1. State the salary rate, and the date for the first paycheck
5.2. Include a statement reflecting the need to pay for Central Provident Fund (CPF) as required by the law.Employee benefits
Employee benefits can consist of provision of meals, healthcare, staff discounts etc.Code of conduct
Employers are to clearly state their values, regulations and expectations of how their employees should perform on their job.
Termination
Employers must include the duration of notice that the employee needs to provide in the event of terminating their employment.For example: After 1 month of service, Jack is required to give the 1 month’s notice to terminate his employment.
Click here for the sample of employment contract
Phew, it was a long yet fulfilling guide one isn't it? We have come to the end of our Comprehensive Guide on MOM regulations. Remember to provide your monthly CPF for your employees, follow the rules and regulations to avoid any penalty from the government!
This article is written in collaboration with HRMLabs, a HR system for SMEs, that streamlines attendance-taking, shift-scheduling, leave management and more.
Caroline Yap is the editor and intern at iCHEF Singapore. She manages iCHEF Club, a growing community of F&B owners in Singapore – organising events, an online newsletter and the F&B Entrepreneur Bootcamp, the only regular workshop on opening a new restaurant in the country. In her spare time, she loves drawing, painting and creating new visuals. Her love for Korean food runs deep such that you can spot her at any famous Korean Restaurants in Singapore.
