Debated in Parliament on 8 Apr 2026.
Dr Hamid Razak asked the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider reviewing the current process for employers and employment agencies to provide reference on their ex-work pass holders so that migrant workers can specify which employer to provide a reference for them and have transparency of the feedback to reduce the risk of being disadvantaged in their employment application.
Ms Eileen Chong Pei Shan asked the Minister for Manpower regarding the Ministry's employer feedback system for migrant domestic workers (MDWs) (a) whether MDWs are notified when employer feedback is submitted about them or when such feedback is attached to their employment record; (b) whether MDWs have an independent right to contest such feedback; and (c) whether MDWs can access and view feedback attached to their own employment record.
Ms Eileen Chong Pei Shan asked the Minister for Manpower regarding the Ministry's employer feedback system for migrant domestic workers (MDWs) (a) whether and how the Ministry verifies employer feedback submissions before attaching them to an MDW's employment record; (b) how many such submissions were received in each of the past five years; and (c) of these, how many were attached to an MDW's record.
Prospective employers of migrant workers (MWs) and migrant domestic workers (MDWs) may have different concerns and priorities when seeking feedback on a worker's past performance. As such, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) does not require employers to submit feedback on their workers directly to MOM. Instead, to support more informed hiring decisions, MOM allows past employers to be a referee for their ex-worker, by providing their contact details for prospective employers to reach out to them. Any feedback that past employers wish to provide is shared between the employers directly.
From 2021 to 2025, the number of instances in which past employers of MDWs offered to act as referees for their ex-workers is as shown in the table. The figures account for less than 2% of MDWs whose work permits expire or are cancelled each year.
MWs and MDWs are not notified when their past employer offers to be a referee. This confidentiality allows for employers to share candid feedback, without becoming the subject of speculation as to whether they had shared any negative feedback.
MOM has no plans to change the existing referee process.
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