When is an Employer required to put up a $5,000 cash deposit?

Before a work permit is issued to an FDW her employer is required to execute a Security Bond which specifies

1. the duties of the employer, e.g.:
   • to maintain the FDW
   • to cancel her work permit and repatriate her if her services are terminated and she has not found another employer
   and
2. the contraints on the FDW, e.g.:
   • she may work only in her employer's residence
   • she may not perform non-domestic duties, etc., whether paid or not.

The Security Bond may be accompanied by a cash deposit of five thousand dollars ($5000.00) but is usually replaced by an insurance company's guarantee instead.

If the FDW is found to be working in her employer's business establishment, for example, both the employer and the domestic are in breach of the terms under which the work permit is issued. The employer risks being fined (and Singapore is a fine city) and the FDW risks having her work permit cancelled and she being sent home. However, if the maid can convince MOM officers that she had no say in the matter and only complied to avoid being sent home, she will be given another chance to continue working - for another family.

If the Central Provident Fund Board is unsuccessful on more than one occasion in collecting the monthly Foreign Workers Levy, the Work Permit Department will cancel the Work Permit and direct the employer to repatriate the FDW.

Failure to comply will put the five thousand-dollar deposit at risk. See text of security bond