How should Singapore employers coordinate Employment Pass, COMPASS and payroll compliance?
Singapore employers should run EP eligibility, COMPASS and payroll as one coordinated HR-finance compliance process from hiring through renewal and departure. The practical model is one reliable employee record feeding separate legal tests: fair hiring, the Employment Pass qualifying salary, COMPASS, work authorisation, payroll, statutory reporting and tax clearance.
This guide concerns foreign professionals hired on an EP by a Singapore employer. A Personalised Employment Pass is not an employer-sponsored EP, while an S Pass has its own salary, quota and levy framework. Their rules should not be imported into an EP assessment.
Build one controlled record, but keep the tests separate
HR, the hiring manager, the work-pass owner and payroll should use the same approved data for the employing entity, role, occupation, work location, candidate particulars, salary components and intended dates. Record who supplied each item, who approved it and when it changed. This is a practical control inference, not a prescribed statutory format.
This model reduces the risk that the job advertisement describes one position, the EP application declares another salary and payroll implements a third arrangement. The offer, employment contract, MOM application, payroll register, bank payment and tax records should be reconcilable.
Maintain two different salary fields in the file:
- Stage 1 EP qualifying salary: the age- and sector-adjusted eligibility floor.
- COMPASS C1 result: the candidate’s fixed monthly salary measured against age-specific local PMET salary benchmarks in the employer’s sector.
Meeting C1 does not cure failure at Stage 1, and meeting Stage 1 does not necessarily produce C1 points.
EP qualifying salary: rules checked on 3 October 2026
The headline figures below are the lowest figures for candidates aged 23 or below. They are not universal salaries for candidates of every age.
| Application or renewal population | All sectors except financial services | Financial services | Effective treatment |
|---|---|---|---|
| New EP applications before 1 January 2027 | From S$5,600, rising with age to S$10,700 at age 45 or above | From S$6,200, rising with age to S$11,800 at age 45 or above | Current Stage 1 schedule |
| Renewals of passes expiring before 1 January 2028 | Same current age-based schedule | Same current age-based schedule | Current schedule remains relevant to this renewal population |
| New EP applications from 1 January 2027 | From S$6,000, rising with age to S$11,500 at age 45 or above | From S$6,600, rising with age to S$12,700 at age 45 or above | Announced future Stage 1 schedule |
| Renewals of passes expiring from 1 January 2028 | New age-based schedule | New age-based schedule | Future schedule applies by pass-expiry date |
COMPASS C1 follows a different transition calendar. The C1 benchmarks released for 2026 apply to new applications from 1 January to 31 December 2026 and renewals expiring from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. Updated benchmarks apply to new applications from 1 January 2027 and renewals expiring from 1 July 2027. Employers therefore need to check both the relevant Stage 1 schedule and the applicable C1 benchmark rather than applying one renewal date to both.
Step 1: complete fair hiring before the EP filing
Define a genuine role, duties, occupation, employing entity and compensation range before advertising. Unless an exemption applies, the employer must advertise the vacancy on MyCareersFuture for at least 14 consecutive days, consider candidates fairly and avoid making an offer during that mandatory period.
The advertisement must accurately represent the role. The advertising employer and EP applicant must be the same; the occupation must match; and the visible salary range must include the proposed salary and must not have a maximum exceeding twice its minimum. Material changes to the employer, occupation, salary or vacancy count require a new advertisement and a fresh advertising period.
Advertising exemptions include specified cases such as employers with fewer than 10 employees, a vacancy paying at least S$22,500 in fixed monthly salary, a role lasting no more than one month and certain transfers or overseas intra-corporate transferee applications. Exemption from advertising does not remove the obligation to hire fairly.
FCF advertising exemptions must be tested separately from COMPASS exemptions. Similar facts appear in both lists, but they govern different compliance gates.
Step 2: test Stage 1 and COMPASS independently
First, determine the candidate’s age, the employer’s sector and the relevant application or pass-expiry date. Compare the proposed fixed monthly salary with the applicable Stage 1 floor. If the candidate does not meet Stage 1, COMPASS points cannot make the candidate EP-eligible.
Fixed monthly salary means basic monthly salary plus fixed monthly allowances. It excludes variable allowances, overtime, bonuses, commission, annual wage supplements, reimbursements, in-kind payments, stock options, dividends and employer pension or provident-fund contributions. A package can therefore have a high total value but a lower EP fixed monthly salary.
Unless exempt, the application then needs at least 40 COMPASS points:
- C1 Salary: 0 points below the 65th percentile of local PMET salaries for the relevant sector and age, 10 points from the 65th to below the 90th percentile, or 20 points at or above the 90th percentile.
- C2 Qualifications: 0, 10 or 20 points. A degree is not universally mandatory. A candidate with no degree-equivalent qualification may still pass using other criteria.
- C3 Diversity: based on the candidate’s nationality share among the firm’s PMET employees.
- C4 Support for local employment: based on the employer’s local PMET share relative to its sector.
- C5 Skills bonus: available for qualifying Shortage Occupation List roles, subject to the stated duties and additional checks.
- C6 Strategic Economic Priorities bonus: available where the organisation has been awarded the bonus through an eligible programme.
Firms with fewer than 25 PMETs receive 10 default points for C3 and 10 for C4. That is not a COMPASS waiver: the application still needs 40 points unless an exemption applies.
COMPASS exemptions include a fixed monthly salary of at least S$22,500, an overseas intra-corporate transferee application or a role lasting one month or less. An exemption should be documented against its own conditions rather than inferred from an FCF result.
Use MOM’s Self-Assessment Tool and current Workforce Insights data before filing. A SAT result or a 40-point calculation supports readiness assessment but does not guarantee approval.
Step 3: control the application and lawful work start
Obtain the candidate’s written consent, verify the passport details and prepare the employer and role documents. Qualification verification is required where applicable, particularly when C2 points are needed; qualifications already verified may not need repeat verification.
Before submission, reconcile the advertised role and salary, contract, application form, ACRA employer information and supporting documents. MOM may request evidence that the declared salary will be paid.
An in-principle approval is not an issued EP and should not be treated as general authority to start work. After the candidate arrives and any required conditions are met, the employer or appointed employment agent gets the pass issued. The resulting notification letter permits the candidate to start work and travel while awaiting the card, subject to its terms.
| Activity | Hiring manager | HR / work-pass owner | Finance / payroll | Employee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Role and recruitment | Approves genuine duties, seniority and budget | Runs fair-hiring process; controls advertisement and candidate file | Confirms affordability and pay components | Supplies accurate candidate information |
| EP and COMPASS assessment | Confirms business need and role accuracy | Checks Stage 1, C1–C6, exemptions, SAT and documents | Validates fixed salary against payroll design | Provides passport, nationality and qualification evidence |
| Application and onboarding | Confirms no unapproved role changes | Files or coordinates filing; checks issuance and authorised start | Activates payroll only from approved employment data | Completes arrival, medical or registration steps where required |
| Monthly payroll | Approves variable items and changes | Maintains employment and leave records | Calculates pay, SDL and lawful deductions; issues payslip and reconciles payment | Reviews payslip and reports personal-data changes |
| Change, renewal or departure | Approves business decision | Assesses MOM and FCF implications | Updates payroll and tax reporting; assesses IR21 withholding | Supplies notice, address and status information promptly |
Responsibility allocation is a practical governance recommendation supported by the lifecycle requirements; employers may allocate roles differently while retaining clear ownership.
Step 4: configure payroll from the approved EP data
Load basic salary and each fixed allowance as controlled payroll fields. Keep variable bonuses, commissions, reimbursements and benefits separate. The employer should pay the salary declared to MOM; artificial salary inflation, temporary top-ups, virtual payroll or backdated records are not substitutes for genuine eligibility and actual payment.
EP fixed monthly salary is a gross remuneration measure. Lawful deductions and net bank pay are separate questions. A legitimate deduction does not automatically mean the declared gross salary has been reduced, but payroll must document its legal basis. Conversely, describing a salary reduction as a deduction does not avoid MOM’s salary-change rules.
For employees covered by the Employment Act, salary is generally payable at least monthly and within seven days after the salary period. Overtime, where applicable, has separate timing. Managers and executives can receive the Act’s core protections even though Part IV rules on hours and overtime do not cover managers and executives.
Issue an itemised payslip with payment or, if that is not possible, within three working days. Maintain employment and salary records for the required periods. A payslip is only a record of the calculation; it does not by itself prove the employee received payment. Reconcile the payroll register to the bank transaction and general ledger.
For employees covered by the written key-employment-terms requirements, the employer must provide those terms within 14 days after the start of employment. These employment duties remain separate from obtaining the EP.
CPF, SDL and income reporting are different systems
An EP holder who remains a foreigner and is not a Singapore Permanent Resident does not normally receive CPF contributions. If the employee becomes a PR or citizen, payroll must reassess CPF from the relevant status change. CPF data for local employees may also affect employer-side COMPASS workforce criteria, so HR and payroll headcount classifications should agree.
SDL is different. It generally applies to all employees working in Singapore, including foreign employees, at 0.25% of monthly total wages, subject to a minimum of S$2 and maximum of S$11.25 per employee. If the employer hires only foreign employees, SDL is paid directly to the responsible agency as directed by CPF Board guidance. An ordinary EP has no foreign-worker quota or levy, but that does not create an SDL exemption.
Employment-income reporting is another distinct calculation. The EP fixed-salary definition is not the same as taxable remuneration: bonuses, benefits, share-related gains or off-payroll items may require tax analysis and reporting even though they do not support the EP fixed monthly salary. AIS employers must submit employment-income records electronically to IRAS by 1 March. Annual income reporting and tax-clearance withholding are separate duties. Annual reporting does not by itself authorise retaining salary; apply the IRAS tax-clearance rules when triggered.
Step 5: operate change control, renewal and departure triggers
Do not let a manager change salary, duties, occupation, employer, work arrangement or employing entity through payroll alone. Route the proposal through HR, work-pass and finance review first. This is a practical control inference from the separate MOM notification and reassessment procedures.
A proposed EP salary reduction requires advance action with MOM and the holder must remain eligible at the revised salary. MOM allows a request at least one month before the intended reduction. An ordinary salary increase generally need not be reported immediately unless dependant privileges are being sought; it can otherwise be indicated at renewal. Occupation changes, transfers to related companies, entity changes and address or personal-detail updates follow their own procedures and should not be assigned one invented universal deadline.
Start renewal planning before the filing window by checking the latest salary schedule, C1 benchmark, candidate age, sector, actual compensation, qualifications, workforce profile and employer turnover information. An ordinary EP renewal may generally be submitted up to six months before expiry and must be filed before expiry. Renewal is not guaranteed.
For departure, assess tax clearance as soon as the employer learns of the cessation, qualifying overseas posting or departure exceeding three months. If Form IR21 is required, the employer generally files at least one month before the event and withholds all monies due from the date it becomes aware. Express exemptions must be checked first. Follow the resulting IRAS directive before paying tax or releasing the withheld balance; this tax-clearance withholding is different from routine payroll deductions.
Employer readiness checklist
| Control question | Evidence to retain | Ready when… |
|---|---|---|
| Is the role genuine and consistently described? | Approved job description, organisation chart and advertisement | Duties, occupation, entity and seniority align |
| Was fair hiring completed or an exemption documented? | Advertisement dates, applicants reviewed and exemption analysis | The filing gate is evidenced |
| Does the candidate meet Stage 1? | Age, sector, fixed-pay breakdown and applicable dated threshold | The age-based floor is met without relying on variable pay |
| Does COMPASS pass or an exemption apply? | C1–C6 worksheet, Workforce Insights data, SAT result and supporting proof | At least 40 points or a documented exemption applies |
| Is the proposed salary operationally real? | Offer, contract, budget approval and payroll setup | All records use the same approved components |
| Is work authorised to begin? | Issued-pass notification letter and completed conditions | HR has confirmed the lawful start point |
| Is payroll configured correctly? | Pay codes, bank details, SDL treatment and deduction approvals | Gross-to-net calculation and payment can be reconciled |
| Are reporting and records ready? | Payslip, employment record, AIS/IRAS mapping and change log | Owners and deadlines are assigned |
| Is renewal monitored? | Pass expiry, salary/C1 review date and workforce snapshot | Review occurs before filing, not at expiry |
| Is departure controlled? | Notice, last day, IR21 assessment and release directive | Final payment follows employment and tax-clearance rules |
Coordinating the employment lifecycle
Jenga Anderson Global Singapore can act as a single point of coordination and accountability across EP and COMPASS assessment, fair-consideration review, application support, payroll setup, payslips, employee records, CPF/SDL administration, employment-income reporting support and renewal tracking. We coordinate HR, work-pass, accounting and tax workstreams while recognising that MOM and IRAS make their own regulatory decisions and specialist advice may be needed for particular employment or tax questions.
For a readiness review, prepare the role and sector, candidate age, nationality and qualifications, remuneration breakdown, local PMET headcount and nationality profile, intended start or pass-expiry date, advertisement, employment contract and available payroll records. We can use those inputs to identify inconsistencies, map responsibilities and define the required filing and payroll controls; no adviser can guarantee an EP approval or renewal.