Manpower Declaration/Submission

1. Is there a guide on how to declare/submit my manpower details?

Yes. The guide for declaration/submission of manpower details can be found here.

2. How do I know if I need to declare/submit my manpower details?

All businesses that are allowed to resume operations, or have received an approval for their General Exemption application, are required to do so.

You can refer to the full list of permitted services allowed to resume operations here.

3. I am unable to declare/submit my manpower details. What should I do?

If the status of your general exemption or business resumption is not reflected as “approved” or “permitted”, you will be unable to declare your manpower details. If you require assistance, please write to MTI at covid_gobusiness@mti.gov.sg

Please also note that there may be conditions imposed on the approval of your general exemption. These conditions will be indicated in your official email notification of approval. Alternatively, you may also login to https://www.gobusiness.gov.sg/exemptions to check your exemption application for any conditions to your approval.

4. How long do I need to keep declaring/submitting my manpower details? Do I need to update this information on a daily basis whenever there are changes to my manpower count?

You will be expected to ensure that your manpower details are updated for the entire duration of the phased resumption of businesses. Any significant changes to the manpower count or manpower details which you had declared/submitted earlier should be updated as soon as possible.

5. I run an Employment Agency. Would it be my responsibility to submit/declare my manpower details or should companies that hire these contract employees be responsible?

Employment agencies should submit/declare the manpower details for all employees under their direct employment, regardless of where they are deployed.

6. What manpower details must companies declare/submit? How do I declare/submit my manpower details?

Companies on the permitted list are not required to submit the NRIC/FIN for their workers. They will only need to declare their manpower numbers (i.e. total number of manpower on-site and the proportion of which work part-time or shifts).

For applicants with a CorpPass account, please login to https://www.gobusiness.gov.sg/exemptions. Thereafter, please click on the button “submit manpower”, which will be made available only for permitted business resumptions/ general exemptions.

Businesses who fail to submit the manpower details within 2 weeks of resuming operations will be in breach of the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act. First-time offenders found operating will face a fine of up to $10,000, imprisonment of up to six months, or both. Subsequent offences may face a fine of up to $20,000, imprisonment of up to twelve months, or both.

Specific manpower declaration requirements for the Marine & Offshore and Process sectors can be found here.

7. My business is on the permitted services list. Why do I still need to declare my manpower details?

The Multi-Ministry TaskForce announced on 19 May 2020 that Circuit Breaker measures will be gradually eased from 2 June 2020, and businesses will be allowed to resume activities in a phased manner.

As more workers go back to work, we need to ensure that businesses resume operations in a safe way. Hence, businesses that are allowed to resume operations are required to declare their manpower details.

Businesses that fail to submit their manpower details within 2 weeks of resuming operations will be in breach of the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act. First-time offenders found operating will face a fine of up to $10,000, imprisonment of up to six months, or both. Subsequent offences may face a fine of up to $20,000, imprisonment of up to twelve months, or both.

8. If my business is on the permitted services list but I choose to resume my business operations at a later date when do I need to submit my manpower declaration?

You should submit your manpower declaration within 2 days of resumption of your business operations.

9. My company is allowed to resume operations but my staff will be continuing to work from home. How should I submit my manpower declaration?

Companies that are allowed to resume operations, even if employees are working from home, must submit their manpower declaration within 2 days of resuming operations.

If your company has not submitted on-site manpower details before and is not operating on-site, please click on the “declare 0 button” to declare “0” manpower working on-site.

If you had already submitted on-site manpower details previously but are now ceasing on-site operations, click on the “reset to 0” button under the field “total number of manpower working on-site” to declare “0” manpower working on-site.

10. Can I proceed to resume operations after declaring/submitting my manpower details? Will I receive any notification of approval?

You will receive an email acknowledgment of your manpower declaration. You can only resume operations from the specified date indicated against your business resumption status, when you login to https://www.gobusiness.gov.sg/exemptions.

There may be conditions imposed on your approved/permitted general exemption/business resumption. These conditions will also be indicated in the email acknowledgement of your manpower declaration. Alternatively, you may login to https://www.gobusiness.gov.sg/exemptions to check your general exemption/business resumption status for any conditions to your approval.

11. What happens if I do not receive an acknowledgement email after I have declared my manpower details?

If you have not received an acknowledgement email, your email address may be inaccurately captured on our system. For applicants with a CorpPass account, kindly login here to verify that your email address is accurately reflected.

You will be able to update your email address if needed. All changes will be reflected immediately. You will also be able to check whether your declaration has been captured. You should resubmit the declaration if it has not been captured.

12. Under what circumstances do I need to update my manpower declaration? Do I need to do so if there is a change in the number of employees/workers working on-site?

Yes, you should update your manpower declaration if there are any changes to (i) the total number of employees/workers working on-site and (ii) the proportion of these employees/workers who are working part-time and shifts.

13. What should I do if I would like to make changes to my manpower declaration?

You can login here and click on your business resumption to resubmit your manpower declaration.

14. Is there a limit to the number of times I can change my manpower declaration details?

You may change and resubmit your manpower declaration up to 5 times a day.

The employment records are accurate as at Feb 2020. We allow for reasonable fluctuations to this number. Therefore, you should continue to declare your manpower details.

However, should the numbers vary substantially, you should submit a copy of your manpower records with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and/or the Central Provident Fund (CPF) to MTI at covid_gobusiness@mti.gov.sg.

16. I need to update the Ministry of Manpower of changes in my foreign workers’ particulars (e.g. residential address) during their employment. Where can I find more information about this?

You can find more information here.

17. I have problems adding in more manpower details to my application. Why is it so?

Depending on the status & conditions tagged to your exemption, each application is allotted a specific manpower quota. You will not be able to add more employees to your application once you have reached the allotted quota. The cap on the number of employees that you are allowed to have on-site is necessary to minimise the movement of workers to and from work. We are aware that this will be disruptive for businesses, but it is also essential in the fight against COVID-19.

18. I need more manpower on site to ensure the continuation of my business activities. What should I do?

The cap on the number of manpower that you are allowed to have on-site is necessary to minimise the movement of employees to and from work. Should you require additional manpower, please submit an application for Additional Manpower here. Do note that the application will be subject to assessment by the respective agencies.