Ian Lim was quoted in Singapore Business Review by Diana Dominguez. The article covered how Singapore is plugging a loophole that allowed foreign employers to avoid retirement contributions and other taxes with tighter foreign hiring rules.

Ian was quoted saying that under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA), it could be an offence for foreign companies to use job agencies without a local presence. This could lead to fines and, in very serious cases, even jail time for company officers. He pointed out that this would apply to the foreign company. Though such companies might take this less seriously if they’re not based in Singapore, he clarified that a breach of the EFMA has the potential to affect three parties—the foreign company, the employer of record, and the foreign employee in question.

Ian highlighted that the law gives Singaporeans—both Singapore citizens and permanent residents—more job opportunities, since nothing prevents foreign companies from engaging Singaporeans through an employee of record. While he acknowledges that there are some sectors, industries, and positions where local talent might be very limited, he believes that those are very few and so, foreign companies that don’t want to set up shop in Singapore will just have to hire Singaporeans. He added that blue-collar foreign workers are not usually engaged through employer of record arrangements; typically, it’s white-collar workers who are hired this way.