Most small business owners hire fairly. The problem is proving it weeks later, when a candidate asks why they didn't get the job or MOM asks how you chose. Here's what the rules say, what happens when things go wrong, and why a note made at the time matters.
These apply now, before the Workplace Fairness Act starts.
Every employer, whatever its size, is expected to hire on merit: the skills and experience the job needs, not age, race, gender, religion, marital status or family responsibilities.
Hiring someone who needs an Employment Pass or S Pass? Unless you're exempt, the job must be on MyCareersFuture for at least 14 days in a row first, with no offer made during that time, a salary range where the top is no more than twice the bottom, and an ad that describes the job accurately.
These come from MOM's own pages. Most employers never get near them, but they're the reason fair hiring isn't optional.
Employers found to have hired unfairly can be barred from work passes for at least 12 months, and up to 24 in serious cases. That includes renewals. With a 12-month ban, a third to half of your existing passes can't be renewed. With 24 months, possibly none of them, and no new foreign hires at all.
When you apply for a pass, you declare that you considered all candidates fairly. MOM says it will prosecute employers who declare this falsely, under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.
MOM rejects Employment Pass applications linked to job ads that are discriminatory or don't describe the job accurately. You start again with a new ad, and another 14 days.
Parliament passed it in January 2025, and it's expected to start by the end of 2027. It turns the guidelines into law for employers with 25 or more staff. Smaller firms are exempt for now, but that exemption is due for review within 5 years.
The government says it will take an education-first approach. Details may change before the Act starts; we'll update this page when they do.
For a small business, the real cost is rarely the fine. It's a week lost answering questions, a work pass you were counting on, or your name passed around a small industry.
If you wrote down what the job needed before the CVs came in, and a reason for each person on the day, you can answer "why wasn't I picked?" in an afternoon. That's what the Fair Hiring File is for.
A record doesn't make you compliant on its own. It shows what you actually did, which is what MOM, TAFEP or a tribunal will ask about.