A Notice of Infringement from the Ministry of Manpower means MOM’s Commissioner for Foreign Manpower believes your company has breached the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA) in a way that is dealt with by a financial penalty rather than a prosecution. Examples are deploying a foreign employee outside the terms of the work pass, breaching a regulatory condition of a work pass, deducting employment costs such as levy from a foreign employee’s salary, and applying for work passes on the strength of CPF contributions to “phantom” workers. The notice gives you an opportunity to respond to the Commissioner’s findings before a final decision is made. Use it. After the decision, you have a short window to ask for a review or to appeal, and the 14-day appeal deadline keeps running while a review is considered.
The response is your chance to be heard before the Commissioner decides. Treat the notice as urgent and handle it properly: check every finding against your records, correct what is wrong, admit what is right, and show what you have already fixed. A late, careless or inaccurate response can cost you the only opportunity to change the outcome before the Determination is issued. No particular result is guaranteed.
Infringement or offence: why the label matters
The EFMA has two enforcement tracks. Offences, such as employing a foreigner without a valid work pass or making a false statement in a work pass application, go to court and can lead to fines and imprisonment. Infringements are decided administratively by the Commissioner for Foreign Manpower and lead to a financial penalty and, sometimes, a Direction to correct the breach. MOM’s EFMA page lists the common infringements and maximum penalties:
| Infringement | Maximum financial penalty |
|---|---|
| Illegally deploying a foreign employee or domestic worker | S$10,000 |
| Contravening any regulatory condition of a work pass | S$10,000 |
| Deducting employment costs (for example levy) from a foreign employee’s salary | S$20,000 |
| Making work pass applications based on CPF contributions to “phantom” workers | S$20,000 |
Two points are easy to miss. First, a Direction to correct the infringement is binding, and MOM states that failing to comply with a Direction is an offence. An infringement can therefore turn into a criminal matter if it is ignored. Second, the same facts can involve both tracks. If MOM’s findings suggest a false declaration or illegal employment, take advice before responding, because what you write may be relevant to a possible offence. Our guide to MOM work pass investigations explains the offences and the wider investigation process.
The sequence after the notice
- Notice of Infringement. MOM sets out its findings and invites your response.
- Your response. You explain, correct and document. This is before any decision.
- Determination or Direction. The Commissioner’s final decision: a financial penalty, an instruction to correct the breach, or both.
- Review application to the Commissioner, if you disagree with the decision.
- Appeal to the Appeal Board, within 14 days after receiving the Determination or Direction.
Writing the response
Read the notice line by line and list each finding separately: which worker, which period, which condition or payment. Then, for each one:
- Check it against primary records: the work pass details, the deployment address and occupation, payroll and bank records, CPF submissions, timesheets and site records.
- Say clearly whether you accept or dispute it. Where the facts are right, accept them. Arguing against documented facts damages credibility on the points you can win.
- Explain the circumstances where they matter: a one-off site move, a payroll error made by a former provider, a misunderstanding of a condition. Explain without excusing.
- Show the correction: worker redeployed to the approved place, levy or other wrongly deducted costs refunded with proof of payment, CPF records corrected, phantom entries reversed, a new internal check introduced.
- Attach the documents, numbered and listed, and keep a full copy of what you send.
Be careful with anything you cannot prove. A response that later turns out to be inaccurate can do far more harm than the original infringement.
If you disagree with the Determination: review
MOM’s FAQ on review applications says:
- You submit a Review Application Form to the Commissioner with details of your objection and supporting documents. There is no fee.
- If the information is complete, MOM may take up to 7 working days to process and assess it.
- The 14-day timeline for filing an appeal continues to run while the review is processed. Do not wait for the review outcome if an appeal may be needed.
- You may be asked to attend an inquiry. Inquiries are held in private and you cannot be represented by a lawyer or a paid agent, so the company’s own officers must be ready to explain the facts.
Appeal to the Appeal Board
According to MOM’s FAQ on filing an appeal and the related FAQs:
- The Notice of Appeal and the S$500 filing fee must both be made within 14 days after receiving the Determination or Direction. The filing fee is non-refundable, and the hardcopy form and supporting documents are mailed to MOM’s Legal Services Division.
- If the appeal goes to a hearing, there is a further S$500 hearing fee, and copies of the record of proceedings cost S$5 per page. The Appeal Board can waive the fees in exceptional cases.
- Each appeal is decided by a panel of the Chairman and at least two other members. The Board may decide on written submissions alone or call a hearing.
- The Board can confirm, vary or reverse the decision, or direct the Commissioner to reconsider it. Its decision is final.
- If the decision is upheld, interest is payable on any unpaid financial penalty from the original payment deadline.
An appeal is worth it where the facts were wrong or the penalty is out of proportion and you have the documents to show it. It is not a way to delay payment.
What the company should do this week
- Diarise the response deadline in the notice, and plan for the 14-day appeal window after any decision.
- Stop the conduct: move the worker back to the approved employer, place or occupation, stop any deduction, and refund what was wrongly deducted.
- Collect the records for each worker and period named.
- Decide who will sign the response and who would attend an inquiry.
- Take legal advice if the facts could also amount to an offence, such as a false declaration.
Example
Example only, not a client case. A renovation company changed payroll providers. The new provider set up a monthly “levy recovery” line on the payslips of the company’s six Work Permit holders, and nobody at the company noticed for five months. A worker complains and MOM issues a Notice of Infringement. The company does not argue the facts. Its response sets out when the deduction started and why, shows that every dollar has been refunded with bank records and corrected payslips, and attaches its new rule that any new payslip deduction for a foreign employee must be approved by a director against MOM’s rules. The response does not guarantee a lower penalty, but it puts the full corrected picture before the Commissioner, which is the point of the opportunity.
Frequently asked questions
Is a financial penalty a criminal conviction?
No. An infringement is an administrative matter decided by the Commissioner, not a court. But failing to comply with a Direction is an offence, and repeated breaches can affect how MOM treats the company’s future work pass applications. See MOM debarment and suspended work pass privileges.
Can we just pay and not respond?
You can choose not to contest, but you lose the chance to correct the facts before the decision. At minimum, check that the findings are accurate and that any Direction has been complied with.
Can our lawyer or corporate secretary attend the inquiry for us?
MOM states that review inquiries are private and that you cannot be represented by a lawyer or paid agent. Advisers can help you prepare, but the company’s own people must attend and explain.
Does the company’s director face anything personally?
It depends on the breach and the director’s role. Where an officer is responsible, personal exposure is possible. Take advice early if a director signed applications or approved the deductions.
More on the work passes and immigration hub.
Received a Notice of Infringement from MOM?
If your company, or you as a director or shareholder, has received a Notice of Infringement, a Determination or a Direction from MOM, contact the Raffles Corporate Services team at [email protected] or on WhatsApp at +65 8501 7133 or +65 9018 0072. We will help you understand the notice and its deadlines, reconcile the work pass, payroll and CPF records behind each finding, and prepare the supporting documents for your response. Where your matter needs a lawyer, for example because it could also involve an offence, we will refer you to a firm on our panel of Singapore law firms that regularly handles employment and work pass matters. Raffles Corporate Services is a corporate services provider, not a law firm, and this article is general information, not legal advice.
The Raffles Corporate Services Editorial Team