In a booming local labor market, Singaporean companies have taken the side of adjusting wages and benefits, often very substantially, reports the American channel. CNBC.
In a normal year, lawyers at major local firms can expect to see a raise of between 10% and 15%. This year, one of these firms announced to its employees that the bonus would be higher – up to +40%, according to a testimony collected by CNBC. An increase that is not linked to a promotion, specifies the person concerned.
It must be said that last year a total of 538 lawyers resigned, an increase of 30% compared to 2020, according to the president of the Law Society of Singapore, Adrian Tan. It is the fear of “great resignation” – a global scourge – which has prompted 60% of companies to increase the benefits granted to their employees, against 10 to 15% in previous years, according to a survey by Mercer.
A bonus for sponsoring new recruits
Last October, Prudential Singapore distributed $1,000 worth of shares to its employees. The company has also given some of the credits to use to rent coworking spaces as part of a hybrid working initiative. Randstad allowed employees to work remotely from anywhere in the world for up to four weeks per year. At Finn Partners, those who successfully sponsor a candidate for employment are now rewarded with a bonus of 5,000 Singapore dollars (3,400 euros) if the new recruit remains with the company for at least a year. Wage increases were on the agenda at DBS Bank “so that we, its employees, are not among the losers in the current talent war in Singapore”. Same scenario – and same justification – at SPH Media while other companies give their employees extra days off…
Salary revisions and new benefits are granted by Singaporean companies as the local labor market has become very competitive. “We are in an extraordinarily tight market”confirms Lewis Garrad, at Mercer.
The city-state is traditionally very dependent on foreign talent, explains the commercial director in Singapore of the consulting firm specializing in human resources. However, the health crisis has greatly reduced their presence. In 2021, the number of vacancies in 2021 was at its highest level in at least a decade. And many of those positions (35%, according to the Department of Labor) have remained vacant for at least six months.