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Blogs HR News HRPlus Recruitment

Are You Being Paid Fairly At Work?

You’ve probably been working loyally at this company for a while now. Perhaps, you’ve also been thinking of taking on additional duties too. But, are you all of a sudden wondering if you’re being paid fairly at work? Don’t worry. We’ll be sharing some useful tips that can help you figure out if you’re being compensated rightfully for your time, experience as well as skill set.

No matter how productive and efficient employees can be at work, everyone gets the jitters when it comes to asking for a salary increment. It’s natural. The need to work yourself up to the conversation with your superior can be nerve-wrecking.

And if a bump in salary is not possible, perhaps it’s now time to consider switching to a position that may offer a pay raise. In this article, we’ll be providing you with some useful tips that can help you reach your salary goals sooner than later!

Read on to find out some of the tips we have that can help you figure out what to do if you’re not being paid fairly at work!

A word of caution before we delve into the article: this written piece aims to function as a guide and should not be read as a comprehensive or exhaustive list of advice when it comes to ensuring that you’re being compensated for your work fairly. The best way to find out what may work for your success would be by conducting ample research.

Browsing through this article could function as the first step you take into exploring different ways as to how you can make sure that you are indeed being paid fairly at work.

Without further ado, let’s get right into the article!

What to do if you’re not being paid fairly at work

  1. Highlight a key achievement and ask politely
    So, what can you do if you’re not being paid fairly at work? Is there a good time to ask for a better pay? Will it ever come by? Of course, it will! But when exactly should you initiate this conversation so it works out favourably for you?

    Be sure to ask about being paid fairly right after achieving a key accomplishment that was directed through your efforts and from your own end. Most of the time, individuals who successfully manage to lock in a pay increment asked for one after hitting a successful work accomplishment.

    Do so especially, if you’ve spearheaded any project(s) that have worked out phenomenally. That would be the perfect time to ask!In order to clinch that salary increment though, you’d most likely need to prove that your hard work has been benefiting the organisation. Whether that’s through your ideas to improve the internal departments or whether it’s cheering your clients up, take note of timing!

    Be sure to avoid stressful work periods when asking for money matters too. You don’t want to step on your superior’s toes when they’re busy and focused on a different or complicated project.

    When everyone’s in a cheerier mood and is aware of your contributions to the company, that would make the perfect time for you to put in a request for a pay raise.

    That said, it’s also just as important to voice out your opinion on fair pay. If you’ve been putting in extra hours or going way out of your job scope to deliver projects, it’s definitely time to ask for a pay raise.

  2. Speak in person
    A mistake that many individuals tend to make when asking for fair pay at work: emailing or worse, texting your superiors about it.

    Don’t do that! You’re setting yourself for an easy ‘sorry, no/maybe/later’ response from your employers or hiring managers! Besides, setting the meeting in person will also express how serious you are about the matter at hand.

    Body language is also a key communication factor that you will be able to read and study when broaching the topic. This is a key benefit that can be better achieved if you hold the conversation in-person, rather than when you hold it over a phone call or video conversation.

    It is crucial that your request for a fair pay remains polite and humble. Your conversation should not come across as demanding by nature. That will automatically warrant a rejection of your request. Practice respect! It goes both ways, after all 😉

    Highlight your gratitude in being able to have served the company this far and express your keenness to continue doing so. Being polite and negotiating for a fair pay in person would definitely be the way to go!

  3. Don’t give them a number
    One of the best ways to ensure that you’re being paid fairly at work is by making sure that you don’t cite a figure for your employers or human resource manager to work around.

    Don’t give them a number as that will then set the bar. Instead, let them be the first to share a figure with you instead. If you are put in a position where you are being asked to share an approximate amount, block or bridge the question to a response relating to your responsibilities at the firm.

    Be clear that the amount may vary depending on how much extra responsibilities will be added to your existing workload. Right after mentioning that, be sure to mention how much workload you are also available and ready to take on.

    This will better allow your superiors to get a clearer idea of your expectations without actually having to spell it out for them! 😉


    In conclusion, there are numerous ways that you can tap on to help you chat about being paid fairly at work. If it’s been a while since your last salary increment, highlight the need to match your pay to your current responsibilities.

    Worst case scenario, maybe it’s time for you to bring your talents to another workspace where they’d be more willing to ensure that you’re being paid fairly! It’s entirely up to you.

    After all, each job will have its own perks and benefits to offer! With all that being said, we have to come to the end of this article. We hope this written piece has provided you with some insights as to what are some of the steps you can take to help you get a fair pay at work.

    We hope the above 3 pieces of advice on how to ensure that you’re being compensated fairly at work, is useful to you! And of course, while you’re at it, you can always hop around job sites to check out what positions are open too!

    In the meantime, if you’re on the lookout for fresh grad job opportunities or a side-hustle, visit GrabJobs.


Categories
Contract Staffing HR News

CONTRACT STAFFING : THE FUTURE OF WORK IN SINGAPORE.

contract staff

 

Resident employees working as contract staff, freelancers or term contracts are on the rise. According to data from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), residents working as contract staff increased almost 9 per cent from 2010 to 2015, about 202,400, or 11 per cent of the resident workforce in 2015. In March 2017, Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say noted that there were 200,000 freelancers in Singapore, again reconfirming that they make up about 9 per cent of the workforce. Of these, about 167,000 workers were “primary” freelancers – workers who freelance as their main job. These include insurance agents, private-hire car drivers, hawkers or stallholders, and private tutors. The remainder were “secondary” freelancers, representing about 1.5 per cent of resident employment. These workers freelance part-time alongside other jobs and would include students, housewives or retirees who take on side jobs for additional income.

Freelancing or Contract Staffing has and will increasingly become a trend in the future workplace. Most of the contract staff arrangement are also being done via an outsourced contract staff arrangement with third party contractors or employment agencies. These agencies are also known as professional employer organization (PEO) and the candidates are placed with these agencies as Employer on Record (EOR). Industries such as IT, financial services, engineering, pharmaceuticals, and oil and gas, where businesses are structured heavily around projects, have the greatest propensity to use contract staff. But there is also increasing demand for contractors in blue collar professions as can be seen from the data above.

According to 2014 PwC survey, almost all employers expect that at least a fifth of their workforce will be made up of contractors or temporary workers by 2022. The COVID 19 pandemic in 2020 has accelerated this process further. The work from home experience during the pandemic over the past couple of years have shown that productivity is not necessarily affected when employees work from home. In fact, many employers are considering making work from home a permanent feature of the work arrangements.

While older employees may view working in the office as natural order of things, the younger employees view operating remotely as completely normal since the pandemic hit. For certain industries and job roles such as those in creative development and production, face-to-face collaboration is essential. In other industries such as technology and media, working flexibly and from home may be more acceptable.

As organisations become increasingly aware of the benefits of contracting, and candidates become more open to the concept of professional contract work, initiatives to protect the rights and benefits will become increasingly pertinent.

Generally, employees on term contracts miss out on benefits which permanent staff are entitled to, such as increment, insurance benefits, bonuses and union support. However, many employers do consider contract staff with the same status as their permanent counterparts. Many contract staff enjoy the same employment benefits as their permanent counterparts. Nevertheless, contract staffing arrangements are often seen or perceived as inferior compared to permanent arrangements. Unlike mature contract markets like in Europe or US, the pay for contract staff in Singapore is at most on par with permanent employees, making the employment arrangement a less attractive option.

Beyond material benefits and financial remuneration, contract and transient employees will be increasingly cognisant of professional development opportunities within these roles.

The biggest drawbacks from contracting, due to the shorter nature of the work, revolve around the lack of being able to influence big changes and ideas within the company and its business, something that could impact the strength of the candidate’s resume in the long run.

Supported by the technology and social media as well as the rise of the portfolio career, more and more workers come to realise that they could enjoy more flexibility and varied challenges by working freelance or as a contractor for multiple companies.

 

Category: HR News, Recruitment

Tags: Contract Staff, Contract Staffing, Freelancer, Temporary Staff , Professional Employer Organization (PEO) , Employer on Record(EOR)

 

 

 

Categories
HRPlus Payroll Management Payroll Outsourcing

Why companies should consider outsourcing their monthly payroll process to professional payroll providers in Singapore.

With the advent of technology, companies are increasingly looking at ways particularly payroll outsourcing to leverage and improve their business efficiency and productivity in Singapore. In the context of human resource management practice in Singapore, outsourcing payroll to payroll providers in Singapore is one activity which provides a clear benefit in human resource practices.

Below are several reasons why companies should consider outsourcing their monthly payroll process to professional payroll providers in Singapore.

Increasing complex and constantly changing rules on salary calculations

In Singapore, employment laws relating to calculation of salary payments, payment process and central provident fund contributions for different age groups etc are constantly revised and updated. In addition, there are various types of government-funded claims and reimbursements such as national service claims, child care claims, paternity and maternity claims. The work would involve making the correct online application for reimbursements and refund back for employees who are entitled to these claims.

There are also substantial government funding available for employee training under the various Skills Future programs. However, the employer must make a prior application for approval for eligible employees and make the necessary claims after the employees have successfully completed the training.

Professional payroll providers and outsourcing managers must constantly keep abreast of changes and ensure correct calculation and accurate figures are used for payroll processing each month. You must also be able to answer your employee’s queries about their payroll confidently and clearly.

Independent verification and better reporting requirements

Payroll providers or processing companies provide a wide array of payroll reports for management reporting purposes. Using more advanced payroll software, various levels of reports can be produced depending on clients’ requirements.

Payroll outsourcing companies are able to provide specific & ad-hoc reports for your various accounting or management requirements quite quickly.

Direct access to payroll experts

Payroll processing companies are staffed with specialised and knowledgeable payroll staff who are able to attend to your employee’s queries and can act as a single point of contact for your employees.

Depending on the number of headcounts, payroll outsourcing companies can assign dedicated staff for their clients.

Payroll experts keep themselves abreast with the changes to the CPF rules, taxation and your employee benefit programs. Most payroll providers Singapore conduct in house training or send their staff for external training so that they are well trained and skilled in serving the needs of their clients.

Freeing up management time to focus on core business activities

One of your main reasons for outsourcing to a specialist payroll providers is that it frees up time and resources for key staff to concentrate on strategic human resource management areas such as recruitment, retention and staff performance that have a deeper impact on business performance and profitability.

Cost savings

It is increasingly getting difficult to recruit and retain a full-time in-house employee to manage companies payroll. As payroll is a sensitive matter, each time an employee leaves, a lot of management time is expended in ensuring that there is proper hand over to a new employee.

When payroll processing is outsourced, there is no such issue as the payroll outsourcing companies would have a team of employees to handle the payroll processing. When an employee leaves, there would likely be a seamless transfer of work and responsibilities to another payroll staff.

Unless the employee headcount is more than 50, it is perhaps not economical to hire full-time staff to handle employee payroll. Payroll outsourcing companies probably can offer a much lower cost than in-house staff. For companies with small and few headcounts, it would definitely more cost advantageous to outsource their payroll processing.

Management and general office administrative staff that are often entrusted with payroll processing for small companies can be deployed to take on other responsibilities such as customer service or take on strategic human resource management responsibilities which would have a greater impact on the success of the company.

Internet Cloud Technology Efficient Payroll Process

With better payroll software technology, payroll providers in Singapore and staff outsourcing companies are able to provide an up-to-date, timely, and more efficient service and support to clients. Access to Individual payroll files for each employee and computation all the salary and reimbursements can be done faster and managers and clients can have access to this information almost instantly with internet access. Printed or electronic pay advice via the internet can be generated and delivered to each employee, and annual bonus, increments etc. via email or can be accessed by employee anytime and anywhere on mobile or desktop.

Employees can be provided with individual online access to their payslips and with an e-leave option, they can also make application for leave via online.

Conclusion

Given the advantages mentioned in this article, it is crystal clear that forward-looking companies should adopt Payroll outsourcing option as part of their business strategies to compete in an increasingly competitive and volatile business environment.

Choosing and working with the right payroll service providers business partner or service provider is a critical part of the business outsourcing process.

payroll service providers
Categories
Blogs

What is Professional Employer Organization (PEO) Service?

What is Singapore PEO Professional Employer Organization Service?

A Singapore PEO professional employer organization company is a legally registered company in Singapore or employer in Singapore that enters into a joint employer relationship with another employer/company/client which may not necessarily be based in Singapore. The client of the Singapore PEO service company typically hires the employee and outsource the human resource management functions to the PEO Company including employment engagement contract according to Singapore’s employment practices. The Singapore PEO company shall be responsible in managing the employment engagement in accordance with Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower practices, rules and regulations throughout the duration of the agreed contract period.

What is Employer of Record (EOR)?

As the words suggest, Employer of Record (EOR) refers to the legal employer on the record, in the case of Singapore, a company legally registered in Singapore for the purpose of employment engagement, complying with local employment regulations, contribution to pension funds namely the Singapore’s Central Provident Fund (CPF), insurance policies, benefit management and Singapore work pass and visa matters if the hired employees requires work authorisation.

What is the difference between PEO and EOR?

PEO refers to the services provided by a professional HR services firm for its clients while EOR refers to the actions and scope of work provided which include processing and paying wages, contributions to pension funds (such as Singapore’s Central Provident Fund) , and other statutory and Singapore’s employment law compliances for the jointly hired employee. 

Why engage PEO / EOR Service ?

  1. Quick start to hiring employees in Singapore without the need or hassle of having to set up a company in Singapore.
  2. Short term project work or business exploration work with no plans to continue with business presence once project has ended.
  3. Local companies that have no management mandate to increase headcount despite operational manpower requirements due to sudden increase in work load or projects.
  4. Due to the changing nature of employment relationship, there is an increasing prevalent of employees engaged through employer of record.
Singapore PEO