COMPASS takes effect on 1 September 2023. It will apply to new Employment Pass applications from 1 September 2023 and to Employment Pass renewals from 1 September 2024. It affects most employers in Singapore in the following ways: hiring foreign professionals is likely to become more expensive and more than ever, the spotlight will be on educational/professional pedigree and workforce diversity. These developments may mean that employers will need to plan for recruitment much more in advance as business immigration is no longer ticking the box on salary thresholds, or as categorical as maintaining a particular the Singaporean vs. foreigner workforce ratio.
What is COMPASS and how does it work?
COMPASS is a points-based system which assesses a candidate’s eligibility to apply for an Employment Pass. A candidate is scored against four foundational criteria: 1. Salary, 2. Qualifications, 3. Diversity and 4. the employer’s Support for Local Employment. A maximum of 20 points can be scored for each criterion. An applicant must score a minimum of 40 points in order to pass COMPASS and to be considered eligible for an Employment Pass application. In addition to foundational criteria, a candidate may also score points under bonus criteria such as: 5. Skills Bonus (based on the Shortage Occupational List) and 6. Strategic Economic Priorities Bonus.
Laying groundwork now
Although COMPASS only takes effect later on in the year, employers should begin their preparatory steps now to ensure that their hiring needs are met and go on as planned.
Employers can start strategically looking into the following aspects:
- Ascertain the extent to which your hiring needs are potentially going to be met from the Shortage Occupation List. If the answer is “yes,” you have the assurance of knowing that you have 20 points in bag.
- Perform salary benchmarking to know where you stand in terms of salary competitiveness; if you tend to offer higher pay in the market, you will likely net another 10-20 points. The corollary of higher pay tends to be the higher likelihood of attracting candidates from top-tier educational institutions or degree holders – on this assumption, you will earn another 10-20 points and “make the grade”.
- If your compensation packages are not on the higher end of the scale, you may want to look at improving your workforce diversity. Start looking for candidates from different countries who all bring something different to the table. A diverse workforce with employees from various nationalities may earn you another 10—20 points.
- Aim to hire more Singaporeans as professionals/managers. Anticipating the practical challenges in this regard e.g. the local workforce may not be perceived to possess the requisite skill set, invest more in training and take a longer-term view on the career progression of locals within your organisation. If a significant proportion of your professionals/managers are Singaporeans, this will get you ahead with another 10-20 points.
- Consider if your business is able to participate in any one of the listed eligible programmes by economic agencies or the National Trade Union Congress and demonstrate a commitment to developing the local workforce. This gives you an advantage of securing 10 points for the duration of the programme or 3 years, whichever is shorter.
Bird & Bird’s team of Immigration Counsel will be pleased to chat with you on any questions you may have on these questions and help you work through your global mobility strategy in Singapore. Our Immigration Counsel have the requisite cultural empathy and regulatory awareness to help you achieve your workforce goals.
This article is produced by our Singapore office, Bird & Bird ATMD LLP. It does not constitute as legal advice and is intended to provide general information only. Information in this article is accurate as of 4 April 2023.
For further information, please contact:
Seow Hui Goh, Partner, Bird & Bird
seowhui.goh@twobirds.com
