WTS Energy provides Employer of Record (EOR) services in Singapore, helping companies employ workers without first establishing a local entity. We manage employment contracts, payroll, CPF contributions where applicable, leave administration, work pass compliance and HR support, while clients retain day-to-day management of their employees.

Singapore is a major business and logistics hub in Asia, attracting investment across energy, infrastructure, technology and industrial sectors. Through its Asia and Middle East network, WTS Energy supports companies with payroll, immigration and workforce mobility requirements for cross-border operations.

As a licensed Employment Agency in Singapore, WTS Energy provides compliant workforce solutions aligned with Ministry of Manpower (MOM) requirements. Our EOR solution enables companies to employ talent in Singapore while avoiding the time and cost of immediate entity setup.

A practical route into Singapore

Singapore is a regional control hub where hiring plans need to align employment terms, CPF where applicable, and work pass eligibility for foreign professionals.

For WTS Energy, EOR discussions in Singapore start with the operating reality. We review the role and where the employee will work. We assess whether immigration support is required. WTS Energy also identifies payroll and benefit obligations before mobilization. That makes the page more than a generic employer-of-record explanation.

Key planning themes for Singapore:

• Risk containment.

• Work permit timing.

• Site-based employment.

• Offboarding discipline.

Country-specific risk map

Singapore EOR compliance should be designed around the actual work performed, not only the payroll location. Common risks include:

• Permanent establishment risk can arise when a Singapore-based employee negotiates contracts. It can also arise when the employee regularly exercises authority or performs core revenue-generating functions for a foreign company.

• Worker misclassification where a contractor works under employee-like control, fixed hours, company tools and long-term exclusivity.

• Payroll risk where CPF eligibility, allowances, overtime or leave are handled incorrectly.

• Immigration risk where an employee starts work before approval, works outside the pass conditions, changes role without review or fails to meet salary requirements.

• Foreign workforce quota risk where S Pass or Work Permit planning depends on LQS, PWM and local workforce calculations.

• Regional mobility risk where Singapore-based employees travel into other countries without checking work authorization, tax presence or client site rules.

EOR reduces employment administration risk. However, companies should still review corporate tax, regulated activity and permanent establishment exposure. This is particularly important when Singapore-based employees represent the foreign company commercially.

Employment and mobility essentials for 2026

Singapore employment is governed mainly by the Employment Act, administered by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). CPF obligations are administered by the Central Provident Fund Board (CPFB), while personal tax is administered by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS). Foreign employees require valid work authorization before starting work.

Employment contracts and key employment terms

Employers should issue written key employment terms to employees covered by the Employment Act who are employed for 14 days or more. Contract documentation should cover job title, work location, working hours, salary, allowances, leave, medical benefits, notice, probation, confidentiality, intellectual property and any mobility requirements.

For EOR employment, WTS Energy aligns the employment contract with the actual operating model: Singapore-based work, regional travel, client site access, remote work, offshore or marine exposure, and any work pass conditions that limit where and for whom the employee may work.

Working hours, rest and overtime

Part 4 of the Employment Act regulates rest days, hours of work and overtime for covered employees. It generally applies to workmen earning a monthly basic salary of SGD 4,500 or less and non-workmen earning a monthly basic salary of SGD 2,600 or less; it does not cover managers and executives.

For covered employees, common contractual working hours are capped at 44 hours a week. Employees working five days or less can generally work up to nine hours a day, while employees working more than five days can generally work up to eight hours a day. Overtime is generally payable at at least 1.5 times the hourly basic rate, and covered employees are limited to 72 overtime hours per month unless an exemption applies.

Minimum wage and lower-wage requirements

Singapore does not operate one universal national minimum wage for all private-sector employees. Employers must instead observe the relevant Progressive Wage Model (PWM) rules for covered local workers and the Local Qualifying Salary (LQS) rules where they hire foreign workers.

The LQS is SGD 1,600 for full-time local employees in 2026 and will increase to SGD 1,800 from 1 July 2026. Firms hiring foreign workers must pay PWM wages to local employees covered by sectoral or occupational PWMs and at least the LQS to local employees not covered by PWMs.

Leave and public holidays

Employees covered by the Employment Act who have worked for at least three months are entitled to paid annual leave. The statutory annual leave entitlement starts at seven days in the first year of service and increases by one day per year of service up to 14 days from the eighth year onward.

Paid sick leave is also service-based. After six months of service, an eligible employee is entitled to up to 14 days of paid outpatient sick leave and up to 60 days of paid hospitalization leave, with the 60 days inclusive of the outpatient entitlement. Employers must also account for Singapore’s 11 gazetted public holidays, as well as childcare leave, maternity leave, paternity leave and other statutory leave entitlements where eligibility conditions are met.

Notice periods and fixed-term contracts

If the employment contract specifies a notice period, the notice period should be the same for employer and employee. Where the contract is silent, MOM’s statutory notice scale ranges from one day for less than 26 weeks of service to four weeks for five years or more of service.

Term contracts should be planned carefully. MOM’s tripartite guidance encourages employers to treat contracts of 14 days or more as continuous service where they are renewed within one month of the previous contract, with statutory leave and notice considered against cumulative service.

CPF, payroll tax and employee tax

CPF contributions are generally required for Singapore citizen and Singapore permanent resident employees earning more than SGD 50 per month. From 1 January 2026, the standard CPF contribution rate for Singapore citizens and third-year-and-onward permanent residents aged 55 and below remains 37% of wages, made up of 17% employer and 20% employee contributions, subject to CPF wage ceilings and detailed age bands.

Foreign employees on Employment Pass, S Pass or Work Permit are generally not CPF-contributing employees. Employers should still operate payroll accurately, maintain payroll records and support annual employee tax reporting. Singapore resident individual income tax is progressive; non-resident employment income is subject to separate IRAS rules.

Immigration and work authorization

Foreign nationals must hold the correct work pass before working in Singapore. The Employment Pass is the main route for foreign professionals, managers, executives and specialists. In 2026, EP candidates generally need to earn at least SGD 5,600 per month, with higher age-related benchmarks and a higher financial services threshold. Unless exempt, EP candidates must also pass the points-based COMPASS framework.

The S Pass is used for mid-skilled foreign employees and is subject to qualifying salary, quota and levy rules. Work Permit routes may apply to specific lower-skilled or sector-based roles, but these are usually less relevant for professional energy and engineering hires. Each work pass route must match the role, occupation, salary, employer sponsor, work location and employee profile.

Project scenarios that suit EOR

An Employer of Record in Singapore is useful when a company needs speed, compliance and local employment administration without immediately setting up a Singapore company.

• Hiring a Singapore-based regional project manager, commercial lead or technical specialist before entity setup is complete.

• Mobilizing engineers, inspection personnel or commissioning support for an offshore, marine, LNG or power project.

• Employing a foreign professional who requires a compliant work pass sponsor and documented employment structure.

• Running a small Singapore hub while the parent company tests demand in Southeast Asia.

• Hosting employees during a merger, acquisition, entity transfer or local registration process.

• Managing CPF, leave, payroll records and statutory employment documentation without building an internal Singapore HR function.

• Supporting multi-country energy teams that use Singapore as a regional coordination base.

Local support beyond software-only EOR

WTS Energy’s Singapore EOR service is built for companies that need local execution, regional mobility support and energy-sector workforce knowledge.

• Entity-free hiring for engineers, project managers, commercial specialists, HSE professionals, commissioning teams and regional support roles.

• Energy-sector experience across offshore, marine, LNG, power, renewables, infrastructure and industrial services.

• Payroll administration in Singapore dollars, including statutory CPF handling for eligible Singapore citizens and permanent residents.

• Immigration coordination for Employment Pass, S Pass or other work authorization routes where the role and candidate profile qualify.

• HR support for employment contracts, key employment terms, leave tracking, notice, offboarding and employee documentation.

• Regional workforce mobility support for Singapore-based roles connected to Malaysia, Indonesia, the Gulf, India, Australia and wider Asia-Pacific projects.

• Compliance monitoring for MOM changes, CPF rate updates, foreign workforce quota rules and employment law developments.

From offer letter to compliant offboarding

Contract and onboarding design

WTS Energy reviews the role, work location, project structure, nationality, salary, expected travel, work pass route and compliance risks. We prepare compliant employment documentation, confirm payroll setup, assess CPF treatment and coordinate the immigration pathway where the worker is not a Singapore citizen or permanent resident.

For energy-sector assignments, we also review site access needs, offshore or marine exposure, client safety requirements, allowances, rotation patterns and any cross-border mobility expectations before onboarding.

Payroll, leave and employee support

WTS Energy runs payroll in Singapore dollars, processes salary and allowances, tracks statutory leave, maintains employment records and manages CPF contributions where they apply. We coordinate work pass renewals, salary changes, HR documentation and employee support while your managers supervise the employee’s day-to-day work.

We help keep Singapore employment aligned with project reality: regional travel, remote work, client site visits, rostered work, safety requirements and any restrictions attached to the employee’s pass.

Termination and final payroll

At offboarding, WTS Energy manages notice, final salary, accrued leave, CPF closure where applicable, work pass cancellation steps, employee records and handover documentation. We also support conversion to your own Singapore entity, transfer to another country, or extension into a new project phase.

What employers should track next

Singapore employers should monitor the following during 2026:

• Local Qualifying Salary increase. The LQS for full-time local employees increases from SGD 1,600 to SGD 1,800 from 1 July 2026.

• Retirement and re-employment ages. The statutory retirement age will rise to 64 from 1 July 2026, and the re-employment age will rise to 69 for eligible employees.

• Employment Pass salary increases. From 1 January 2027, the EP minimum qualifying salary will increase from SGD 5,600 to SGD 6,000, or from SGD 6,200 to SGD 6,600 for financial services roles. The new salary requirements will apply to renewals from 1 January 2028.CPF rates. CPF contribution rates from 1 January 2026 include increases for older employee age bands, so payroll setup should be reviewed by age, citizenship and permanent resident status.

• Progressive Wage Model updates. PWM rates and sector coverage continue to evolve; employers with foreign workers should check local-worker wage compliance before submitting or renewing passes.

WTS Energy monitors these changes and adjusts onboarding, payroll and immigration planning so Singapore hires remain compliant throughout the assignment.

EOR answers for HR, legal and project teams