With their closest office to Singapore being located in Taiwan, the client sought a local expert to mobilise their staff and crew, in addition to recruiting further local expertise to complete the crane upgrade. The scope of work took place during a time when the ramifications of COVID-19 had restricted entry into Singapore, making it accessible only to very limited individuals.
Our Solution
The client required a local partner who could navigate the complex legislation involved and provide exceptional candidate care for their employees, as well as practical support in relation to accommodation, rental cars, work permits, visas and reporting income tax in Singapore.
We worked closely with the client to comprehensively ascertain their culture, business objectives, systems and processes to set the foundations of a successful partnership.
To ensure a compliant workforce in Singapore, our local experts provided the client with:
- Advice for the best approach to conduct the project in Singapore; we assisted with the client’s and fabrication yard’s joint application to seek approval from the Economic Development Board for their staff and crew to work in Singapore on an employment pass / short term visit pass.
- Shadow payrolling setup in Singapore to report incomes, fringe benefits and to pay tax compliantly; the actual payroll was orchestrated abroad due to social security contribution requirements.
- Practical contractor support in the form of accommodation and car rental assistance, COVID-19 ART/PCR testing and communicating updates on the latest COVID-19 protocols and guidelines for their entire staff and crew.
In addition to this, we placed four local contractors to support the project, which included a Project Administrator and Third Engineers.
The results of our support
We successfully established an ongoing partnership with a new international client and will continue to provide additional services throughout the various phases of their project’s lifecycle.
Through the efficiency of our solution the client’s project remained on schedule, and to date they have received:
- 100% tax compliance in Singapore
- A turnaround time of less than 1 week to source staff, arrange interviews and place local hires on site
- 24/7 support provided to all contractors as they operate and maintain the vessel’s engine - this was especially appreciated during times when COVID-19 positive cases surfaced within the team