QuestionsQuestions (POEA MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 33-A)
It amends the POEA-approved standard employment contract and agency undertaking for Filipino household workers in Singapore, to update specific contract terms (e.g., performance bond for employers, rest periods wording, renewal terms, termination language, and additional signatories) and to require joint and several liability of the agency and employer for claims arising from employer-employee relations.
The contract is valid for two (2) years, effective on the day after the household worker’s arrival in Singapore.
The employer bears the cost of transportation from the worker’s place of origin in the Philippines to Singapore, and upon completion of employment, the employer also bears the cost of return transportation to the worker’s place of origin.
Accredited agencies must require prospective employers to post a performance bond of S$2,000 with P.O.L.O. Singapore as security for compliance with the employment contract terms.
The household worker must receive a basic and minimum salary of S$300 per month, with receipt acknowledged in writing by the household worker. No deductions are allowed except those permitted under RA 8042 (Migrants Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995) and related rules.
The agency must not impose any renewal, transfer, processing, or other fees on the household worker for its own account or for the employer’s account in connection with transfer or renewal. No side contracts are allowed other than the POEA-prescribed contract.
The worker shall render service not exceeding 16 hours a day, and the employer must provide an eight-hour rest and reasonable rest periods during working hours. (The 33-A amendment deletes the word “continuous” before “eight hours rest,” clarifying rest period wording.)
The worker is entitled to a day off on Sundays without salary deduction. If required or agreed to work on Sunday off, the worker must be paid an additional S$10.
Included are laundry, cooking, child/baby care, general cleaning and housekeeping. Excluded are car washing and body massage.
Renewal/extension requires mutual consent and must be under terms not inferior to the contract’s existing terms, and the household worker’s salary must increase by not less than 10% of the rate provided herein regardless of the duration of the extended/renewed contract.
The employer must allow paid leave of at least fifteen (15) days and provide a round-trip airticket plus incidental travel expenses to the worker’s place of origin in the Philippines. If the worker foregoes home leave, the worker receives the value of home leave not taken plus S$750.
The employer bears the cost of repatriation. If the worker dies in Singapore or during employment, the employer must be responsible for repatriation of the remains and personal effects to the worker’s place of origin.
The worker may terminate if subjected to degrading treatment; if the employer violates contract terms; or if the employer commits: non-payment of salary within seven (7) days from due date except for justifiable reason; sexual molestation; or use of any form of violence on the worker.
The employer may terminate if the household worker violates the Immigration Act of Singapore.
The Singapore Employment Agency must intervene first in disputes (except criminal nature). If unresolved, the matter is referred to the Consulate General of the Philippines in Singapore; if still unresolved, to appropriate government agencies of Singapore.
The Singapore Employment Agency is responsible for administrative processing of necessary documents such as medical certifications, insurance policy, work permit, levies, and bonds required by the Singapore government for the worker to acquire legitimate working status.
The agency must post a banker's guarantee of S$5,000 with P.O.L.O. Singapore as security for the agency’s compliance with rules and guidelines relating to deployment and welfare.
It requires that, in accordance with Section 10 of RA 8042, the accredited employment agency is jointly and severally liable with the employer for claims of the household worker arising from employer-employee relations.
The amendment requires the Singaporean agent/official to be an additional signatory, strengthening accountability and clarifying who is bound to monitor and act in relation to the worker’s employment status and welfare under the contract and agency undertaking, thereby improving enforceability of contractual duties in administrative and disputes.