Why Do You Need to Know About Fair Hiring Practices?

Fair hiring practices are crucial to everyone, whether they’re the employee or the employer. For the former, applicants deserve an equal opportunity to an open job role regardless of their race, gender, religion, disability or other factors that have no relation to the job itself. Meanwhile, employers benefit from fair hiring practices because it helps them create a diverse and inclusive workplace. Moreover, it helps them avoid liability when they comply with government guidelines.

In Singapore, the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) took effect in 2014, but recently the government has made moves towards enshrining the guidelines into law.

Essentially, the FCF is a set of guidelines that help ensure that companies consider Singaporeans for all job openings fairly. Firms should hire based on merit, offering everyone an equal shot at getting hired without fear of being discriminated against.

According to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), all employers in Singapore are expected to adhere to the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices. These are rooted in five basic principles, namely:

• Recruit based on merit – based on skills, experience and ability to perform the job

• Respect employees – treating employees fairly and implementing progressive HR management systems

• Provide fair opportunities – providing opportunities for training and development to help employees achieve their full potential

• Reward fairly – rewarding based on ability, performance, contribution and experience

• Comply with labour laws – abiding by the law and adopting the tripartite guidelines

Failure to comply may incur penalties, such as being prohibited from applying for – or renewing – work passes for their foreign hires. In 2019, for example, a company filed a request for an Employment Pass, declaring that it interviewed two Singaporeans and that citizens were considered for the role fairly. It was later discovered that a non-Singaporean had already been pre-selected and no interviews with locals were conducted – the company was fined SGD 20,000.

• Hiring a foreigner over a Singaporean without considering the merits of the latter

• Assuming a role is unlikely to be filled by a Singaporean

• Job ads that prejudice hiring based on age, race, gender, religion and mental health condition, among others.

Once they identify organisations with discriminatory hiring practices, the MOM places them on the FCF Watchlist for closer scrutiny. Firms on the watchlist include:

• Those with an exceptionally high share of foreign Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs) compared to others in their industry 

• Those with a high concentration of PMETs from a single nationality 

• Those with complaints of discriminatory HR practices 

Organisations on the watchlist will work with the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) to improve their HR practices. They will be removed from the list upon demonstrating a strong commitment to improving their hiring practices.

According to Minister of Manpower Tan See Leng, over 1,700 employers have been placed on the watchlist since 2016.

In January 2020, MOM strengthened the penalties indicated in the FCF to fight workplace discrimination better:

• The minimum period of work pass debarment has increased from six months to 12 months. For more egregious cases, the debarment period can be up to a maximum of 24 months.

• The debarment scope has expanded to include work pass renewals in addition to new work pass applications.

Failure to comply with the TAFEP guidelines can lead to penalties being imposed on the firm, but there have been requests to make the rules stricter. In 2021, representatives in Parliament spoke up about the need for TAFEP’s powers to be expanded through legislation. In 2022, the White Paper on Singapore Women’s Development also proposed that TAFEP guidelines be enshrined in law, suggesting that employers should have a procedure in place to deal with discrimination.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong emphasised that disputes should be resolved amicably through persuasion or mediation. Legislative action should be the last possible option.

For applicants, fair hiring practices ensure that they have the same opportunity as everyone else applying for the role. It can be frustrating to find an opening you’re qualified to apply for, only to be set back by something unrelated to the job, such as your age.

For employees, knowing that their organisation employs fair hiring practices will make them feel more motivated to do their best work. Working for a company with a positive organisational culture that treats everyone equally will inspire their loyalty and make them more engaged with the firm.

For employers, hiring based on merit can widen the pool of candidates they can recruit from, thus increasing their chances of finding the best person suited for the role. They also stand to benefit from a diverse and inclusive organisation; a variety of perspectives can help cultivate creativity and innovation within the company.

Employers should familiarise themselves with the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices. The guidelines outline how to ensure that an organisation’s employment procedures are conducted fairly, including how to write a fair job advertisement and conduct job interviews.

For more information about best practices in hiring and talent management, visit our Employer Insights Page. Then find the best talent using Talent Search.