Work pass holders violating LOA sent home; employers sanctioned

Have you been put on Leave of Absence? Here’s what happened to work pass holders and employers who violate the guidelines set out for mandatory LOA.

According to a report from Channel News Asia, four work pass holders were apprehended for violating the terms imposed in the new guidelines for LOA from February 4 to 8. They were caught during a random inspection. The report did not specify how each was caught, but a combination of video calls, phone calls, and workplace inspections were used to determine if the work pass holders were following the LOA rules.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) conducted the random inspections, and found that the work pass holders were at their place of work from February 4 to 8. The violators were repatriated to their countries (which were not disclosed) within 24 hours from the moment they were caught.

They were also permanently banned from working in Singapore.

According to the same report, the employers who allowed workers back despite the Leave of Absence rules were barred from Work Pass Privileges for two years. This means that they cannot hire foreign workers for two years.

The MOM also found that two permanent residents violated the newest LOA rules.

What happened to the employers?

A press release from the MOM said that they would hold, “responsible for ensuring that those who need to be on LOA stay away from the workplace.”

Aside from suspending their work pass privileges for two years, though, there has been no other reported sanction for employers who allow LOA rule violations.

Who are affected by the LOA rules?

In a previous report by Alvinology, people who have recently traveled to and from China have been banned from entering Singapore. Employers, however, can apply for a case-to-case basis entry for their work pass holders.

Any person who does come from China and is allowed to enter Singapore (usually citizens and permanent residents) has to go through a 14-day Leave of Absence or LOA. This is in accordance to the known symptoms of the dreaded 2019-nCoV acute respiratory syndrome or ARD.

Affected persons can claim up to $100

As long as the employees do not break quarantine orders, employers and self-employed persons who are forced to stay indoors for 14 days are eligibe for compensation through the Quarantine Order Allowance Scheme set up by the MOM.

Depending on the circumstances, you can claim up to $100 per day that you’re forced to stay at home. Self-employed people must present proof that they are employed in their business and that they are a Singaporean Citizen or Permanent Resident.

As for employers who have workers forced to take leaves, they must present proof that they’ve paid their workers for the time spent under leave. They should also show that their workers are in Singapore legally as work pass holders, citizens, or residents.

Symptoms of Wuhan coronavirus are light for one week then can get really bad

While most news coming from Chinese officials state that most people who succumb to the disease tend to be older people, people with pre-existing conditions, and immuno-compromised individuals, Singaporean health authorities have started to formulate their own hypotheses about the disease, thanks to their strict monitoring.

According to this report, nCoV patients usually have a full week to feel the lightest symptoms of the disease before they deteriorate and need serious medical care. This is the main reason that Singaporean health authorities said that anyone who feels symptoms such as cough, sore throat, tiredness, and a slight fever should just stay home.

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