Hi! Good day to everybody! I would like to ask for opinion on a situation that my friend is currently in.
So here is the story. My friend was hired by an employment agency and processed his spass application and after 2weeks++ he got approved by mom and returned to singapore with the ipa provided he entered no problem and informed the agency and employer that he has arrived and took the medical examination. Afyer a couple of days he passed the medical examination and updated the agency and employer. But by the next morning the manager of the said employer informed him that the employer will cancel his spass. After that he informed the agency and inquired about that then the agency claimed that they do nat know of that matter. The next day when he check again on the mom site his spass was cancelled. The employers reason is that one of the local employee passed a resignation and the quota will not be enough. So its understandable. But here comes the problem. The day my friend arrived in singapore he was immediately called to the agenct to pay the fee and he paid it on the next day. Now the agency gave him a refund of 50% of what he paid. I have done a bit of research and it came up that if the employer terminated the pass/contract within 6 months the employee can claim ATLEAST 50% of the fee he or she paid at the agency. But my friend havent even started working is there any action he can take to make? The agency boss promissed to give her the remaining balance of what she paid but the problem is the agency is taking it to long and telling him everytime that soon he can claim it. Is there anything he can do for this to be settled faster.
Thanks in advance and more power to the forum.
Im really sorry if i posted it on the wrong section.because i think this is a formality matter ao i posted it here. Thanks!!
Need opinion on agency refund
Your friend has three topis here:
- His situation regarding the work pass:
The employer is allowed to cancel the pass at any time and MoM will carry that out without asking further questions. There is no way to get a work pass back once it is cancelled.
- His legal situation with the employer:
His employment contract with the company stipulates certain notice periods for termination. Since the employer did not keep those periods, he can claim the salary (and possibly further damages arising from the sudden termination) for the notice period. He should approach a lawyer to pursue this.
- His situation towards the agent:
Employment agents are not legally allowed to charge any fee from the job seeker for work pass application or processing (the employer has to bear all such costs, by law) and there are only limited possibilities for charging a fee for the job placement. However, many agents are less than honest and do charge the job-seeker. So there are gooid chances that the fee your friend paid is illegal and can be claimed back in full. If the agent does not cooperate (which is usual), he should report them to MoM and also engage a lawyer to pursue this.
By the way: The quota issue is not a valid reason, as his space in the quota was already checked and assigned to him before MoM approved the work pass. A work pass, once issued, remains valid until the next renewal (usually after a year), when the quota situation is checked again by MoM.
It is thus clear that they terminated him for other reasons - but if the contract has a probation period (he should check this!) terminations for any reason (or even without reason) are allowed and even afterwards employee rights are weak in Singapore.
Thank ypu for your reply. Another thing i want to add is that the spass was not issued they only cancelled the Alapproved application and not the SPASS itself. So tom. my friend will consult MOM on what steps he can do to make a full refund on her placement fee.
Will update later once my friend updated me on his issue with the agency
If there are other insights that can help this issue pls we accept all opinions
Placement fee? What's that? How do you think MoM will help your friend to get back the money? Your friend should have been careful before paying money to an agent or employer as in this case it looks like it's not a genuine employer. You can file a complaint against the employer at MoM then MoM can take action against the employer including blacklisted or heavy fine. Don't pay any money to the agent or employer. Good luck
Surya is right: MoM will not help in such matters.Your friend could only go to court (and needs to engage a lawyer for that).
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