How to Hire Employees in Singapore: CPF, Work Passes and EOR Options
What a Singapore hire costs when the employee is a citizen or PR paying into CPF, and when they hold an Employment Pass, with the 2026 wage ceiling, the January 2027 pass thresholds, leave, retrenchment norms and four EOR options.
By Two price tags: CPF for locals, pass rules for foreigners
Singapore is one of the fastest places in Asia to employ through an employer of record, because the EOR already holds the CPF account, the SkillsFuture registration and a track record with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). A company still needs a resident director to open its own entity. For a first team of under ten people, an EOR is usually the right route, and it removes the resident-director problem entirely.
Cost depends on who you hire. A citizen, or a PR from the third year of PR status, adds 17% employer CPF on wages up to S$8,000 a month. An Employment Pass holder adds no CPF at all, only the Skills Development Levy, so the same S$7,000 salary costs S$11.25 a month on top instead of S$1,201. The Annual Wage Supplement (AWS), a customary 13th month, is the other line most budgets miss.
Employment terms and working conditions
All six of these rules moved in 2026 or are due to move in 2027, and payroll set-ups copied from a 2024 template get the CPF ceiling and the senior rates wrong.
Cost of employing someone in Singapore
Employer cost holds near 17% up to S$8,000 a month and then falls fast, because CPF stops at the ceiling and the levy stops at S$11.25.
Total S$603.75 a month. At this salary the levy is still a straight 0.25%, which is why the junior percentage sits a fraction above the mid-level one. The pay is about twice the S$1,800 Local Qualifying Salary.
Total S$1,201.25 a month. The levy has hit its S$11.25 cap (reached at S$4,500), and CPF is still on the full salary. A customary one-month AWS would add S$1,190 of CPF once a year, not included here.
Total S$1,371.25 a month. CPF stops at S$8,000, so S$10,000 of this salary carries no employer contribution. Capped ordinary wages of S$96,000 a year leave only S$6,000 of bonus under the S$102,000 annual ceiling.
The cards assume a Singapore citizen, or a PR in the third year of PR status or later, aged 55 or below. CPF employer rate 17% on ordinary wages up to S$8,000 a month from 1 January 2026, with an annual salary ceiling of S$102,000 for ordinary plus additional wages (CPF Act, First Schedule; CPF Board contribution tables, checked October 2026). Employer rates for older staff in 2026: 16% (55 to 60), 12.5% (60 to 65), 9% (65 to 70), 7.5% (above 70). PRs in their first two years pay graduated rates: 4% employer in year 1 and 9% in year 2 on the standard graduated scheme. Skills Development Levy 0.25% of total monthly wages, minimum S$2 and maximum S$11.25 per employee, payable for every employee including pass holders (Skills Development Levy Act). Employment Pass holders: no CPF and no levy beyond SDL, so employer cost on S$7,000 is S$11.25 a month (0.2%). S Pass holders: no CPF, plus the foreign worker levy of S$650 a month since 1 September 2025, so the same S$7,000 costs S$661.25 (9.4%). When we checked MOM’s levy page in October 2026, the flat S$650 S Pass levy set on 1 September 2025 was unchanged and no new rate had been announced. Work injury compensation insurance premiums and the customary AWS are excluded. Run your own figures in the EOR cost calculator or compare countries in the employer cost by country tool.
Price your hire, line by line
Pick a country and a salary. Every statutory contribution, ceiling and accrual is applied separately, so the total is close to what a provider will actually invoice.Compare other countries
Costs most calculators leave out
Private health cover, equipment stipend, meal or transport allowance.
Typically $0 to $2,000 depending on provider and country.
Refundable, but it ties up cash. Most providers hold one to two months.
Example. Change any field to make it yours.
Total employer cost, per employee per month
Monthly breakdown
Upfront and one-time costs
EOR or your own entity
Statutory rates current as of . Exchange rates indicative as of . Contribution ceilings, regional variation, employee age and collective agreements all shift the real figure. Use this to build a budget, then validate against a written quote.
Four ways to hire in Singapore
The route decides who sponsors any work pass, who registers for CPF and who must keep a locally resident director on file.
Misclassification risk. Singapore courts decide employee status on the contract of service versus contract for services test, looking at control, integration and who carries the financial risk, and MOM or TADM can order unpaid leave, overtime and CPF arrears with late-payment interest. A foreign national doing work in Singapore as a contractor without a work pass is an offence under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act for both sides, which is the trap most overseas companies walk into. Read what misclassification costs by country.
Statutory leave and benefits
Statutory annual leave starts at 7 days, the lowest of any major Asian hub, while family leave is long and mostly government-funded when the child is a Singapore citizen. A pass holder’s non-citizen child gets the shorter Employment Act entitlements.
Sources: Employment Act ss.43 (annual leave) and 89 (sick leave) and MOM entitlement pages; MOM public holidays for 2026; Child Development Co-Savings Act and MSF announcement of 10 weeks of Shared Parental Leave from 1 April 2026; MOM paternity and childcare leave pages; National Day Rally 2026 (23 August 2026) for the announced childcare leave increase and full reimbursement of maternity leave, both without a start date; Work Injury Compensation Act 2019. See how AWS compares with other countries in our 13th month pay by country tool.
Termination and offboarding
Either side can end a contract with notice and no stated reason, so the cost turns on whether the exit is a retrenchment, where a severance norm applies after two years of service.
Default notice applies only when the contract is silent (Employment Act s.10), and notice must be the same length for both sides. Pay in lieu of notice is allowed and carries no CPF. Dismissal for misconduct after a due inquiry needs no notice (Employment Act s.14). Retrenchment benefit is not a statutory formula: Employment Act s.45 excludes staff with under 2 years of service, and the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment sets the norm. Employers with 10 or more employees must file a Mandatory Retrenchment Notification with MOM within 5 working days of telling any employee, even for one person. Staff dismissed without just cause can claim wrongful dismissal at TADM within 1 month of the last day, and managers and executives dismissed with notice need 6 months of service to claim. Final salary is due on the last day of work, or within 3 working days of a dismissal or termination if that is not possible (7 days if the employee resigns without serving notice). For a foreign employee, the employer notifies IRAS and holds back money due for up to 30 days for tax clearance. Retirement age is 64 from 1 July 2026, with a duty to offer re-employment to 69.
Work permits and foreign hires
Anyone who is not a citizen or PR needs a work pass tied to a Singapore employer, and an EOR’s Singapore entity can apply as that employer.
From decision to first payroll in 5 weeks
A citizen or PR can be on an EOR’s payroll in about two weeks, and an Employment Pass hire takes about five because of the 14-day advert and MOM review.
Check pass eligibility
Confirm citizenship or PR status. For a foreigner, run MOM’s Self-Assessment Tool against the age-based Employment Pass salary and score COMPASS before you agree a number.
Sign the EOR
Agree the fee, any deposit and who pays pass fees. Decide on AWS, a 13th month, and leave above the 7-day minimum, because candidates compare offers on both.
Advertise and offer
For an Employment Pass, the EOR posts on MyCareersFuture for 14 days and makes no offer until it closes. Local hires get an offer and written key employment terms straight away.
Apply and onboard
The EOR files the Employment Pass online and MOM responds within about 10 business days. Locals are added to CPF and work injury cover, and the employee signs the contract.
Run first payroll
Salary goes out within 7 days of the month end with an itemised payslip. CPF and SDL for the month must be paid by the 14th of the following month, or late-payment interest applies.
Best EOR providers in Singapore
Four providers we have reviewed that employ in Singapore. Full scoring and the ranked list sit on the Singapore EOR page.
Lowest published list price of the four and a Singapore help-centre guide on parental leave pay. Ask whether your hire sits on Pebl’s own Singapore entity.
Lists $599 a month, second highest of the four after Papaya Global, with 130+ EOR countries on one contract. Confirm whether Employment Pass filing and renewals are billed on top of the monthly fee.
Headquartered in Singapore and lists its own Singapore entity. $459 applies on an annual contract and rises to $499 month to month, with add-ons possible.
Payroll-first platform that suits companies already running Singapore payroll elsewhere in Asia. The $650 figure is a starting price and the final fee comes by quote.
Some links are referral links. We may earn a fee if you sign up, at no cost to you. It never changes our rankings.
All guides for hiring in Singapore
Hiring guides for other countries
Compare employer costs, dismissal rules and EOR options in 14 more countries. Each guide is checked against official sources.
FranceHiring guide, 41.5% employer cost
GermanyHiring guide, 22.5% employer cost
NetherlandsHiring guide, 27.4% employer cost
SpainHiring guide, 54.2% employer cost
United KingdomHiring guide, 15.9% employer cost
AustraliaHiring guide, 20.3% employer cost
IndiaHiring guide, 5.7% employer cost
PhilippinesHiring guide, 17.1% employer cost
TaiwanHiring guide, 17.1% employer cost
Questions employers ask about hiring in Singapore
Most outdated Singapore advice still quotes the 2024 CPF ceiling, the old Employment Act salary cap or last year’s pass thresholds, so these answers start there.
Does Singapore have a minimum wage?
No general one. Pay floors come from the Progressive Wage Model, which sets sector and occupation wages for roles such as cleaning, security, landscaping, food services and retail, and these apply to citizens and PRs. Separately, the Local Qualifying Salary of S$1,800 a month (from 1 July 2026) decides whether a local counts towards your foreign worker quota. A professional hire is far above both. Our minimum wage in Singapore guide lists the sector rates.
Do I pay CPF for an Employment Pass holder?
No. CPF applies only to Singapore citizens and PRs, so an Employment Pass or S Pass holder adds no CPF, and the employee gets no CPF deduction either. You still pay the Skills Development Levy, which caps at S$11.25 a month, and an S Pass adds a S$650 monthly levy. If a pass holder becomes a PR, CPF starts the month after PR is granted at graduated rates: 4% employer in year 1 and 9% in year 2, then the full 17%.
What is the CPF salary ceiling in 2026?
S$8,000 a month of ordinary wages, from 1 January 2026. Guides written in 2024 or 2025 still quote S$6,800 or S$7,400. The employer share is 17% for staff aged 55 or below, so the most you pay on monthly salary is S$1,360. Bonuses attract CPF only until CPF-able ordinary wages plus bonuses for the year reach S$102,000. When we checked the CPF Board tables in October 2026, the only change announced for January 2027 was for staff aged 55 to 65, whose employer rates rise 0.5 points.
Does the Employment Act only cover staff earning under S$4,500?
No, that cap was removed in 2019. The Act now covers every employee on a contract of service, including managers and executives, for notice, sick leave, annual leave, public holidays and wrongful dismissal. The S$2,600 and S$4,500 figures now apply only to Part 4: hours, rest days and overtime pay. A software engineer on S$7,000 is covered by the Act but has no statutory right to overtime pay.
Is the Annual Wage Supplement compulsory?
No. The AWS, usually one month’s pay in December, is a market custom with no statutory basis. It becomes binding once your offer letter or contract promises it, and then it is an additional wage that attracts CPF up to the annual ceiling. A candidate on a 13-month package reads a 12-month offer as a pay cut, so decide your answer before the first offer goes out.
Can an EOR sponsor an Employment Pass in Singapore?
Yes. The EOR’s Singapore entity applies as employer, posts the 14-day MyCareersFuture advert where required and holds the pass. Because the pass names the EOR, moving the employee to your own entity later means a fresh application under that entity’s COMPASS score. New applications from 1 January 2027 need at least S$6,000 a month (S$6,600 in financial services), more for older candidates. Read how EOR visa sponsorship works.
Is severance pay required when I let someone go?
Not by statute. Termination with notice needs no severance at all. On a retrenchment, staff with at least 2 years of service expect a benefit, and the tripartite norm is 2 weeks to 1 month’s salary per year of service, often 1 month in unionised firms. With 10 or more employees you must also notify MOM within 5 working days. Write the formula into the contract if you want certainty.
Can I hire someone in Singapore as a contractor instead?
Only a genuine business for genuine project work. If you set hours, supply the tools and the person works only for you, a court will treat the arrangement as a contract of service, and you owe CPF arrears, leave and notice. A foreigner working in Singapore without a pass is an offence for both sides, whatever the contract says. Converting is straightforward through an EOR, as our contractor to employee guide explains.
Ready to hire in Singapore?
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