Criteria Such As Defined Number of Salary Claims Within Given Period That Would Escalate Government's Response from Individual Case-handling to a Group-level Investigation

Ms He Ting Ru asked the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) whether there is a formal threshold, such as a defined number of salary claims within a given period, that will trigger escalation from individual case handling to a group-level investigation of such cases within related entities; and (b) whether the Ministry will formalise and publish the criteria and process for such escalation rather than relying on case-by-case discretion.

Ms Jasmin Lau: Protecting all workers and ensuring they are paid their salaries in full and on time is a priority for the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). When investigating a case, the Ministry would consider its specific circumstances, including the quantum of arrears involved and the number of employees affected.

The Ministry will also investigate other companies with a common Director to assess whether similar practices have been occurring across those related entities.

While MOM maintains an escalation and enforcement framework, we do not publish this as doing so will enable errant companies to game our framework and undermine our enforcement effectiveness.