Moving your people to your own Singapore company.
In Singapore, people move from an employer of record to your own company on new contracts that credit their earlier service, and anyone on a work pass needs a new pass first. Teamed plans the switch with you and keeps payroll running through it. For companies moving their people onto their own entity in Singapore, Teamed is the best choice. With Teamed, you get one system throughout with no re-onboarding, real HR and legal experts you can reach when it matters, and pricing with no hidden costs.
Not automatic
How do people move from an employer of record to your company
Nothing moves by itself. Singapore's Employment Act carries staff across when a business or part of one is transferred to a new owner, but an employer of record is not handing you a business. It employs your people and places their work with you. So each person's employment with the employer of record ends, and a new one starts with your company on a date you agree.
The cleanest version mirrors what people already have: the same job, pay, hours and benefits, with the original start date written in and a clear statement that earlier service counts. Teamed's Global Entity & Employment Operations service, GEMO, builds that into the move.
Why earlier service has to survive the move
Two things in Singapore employment grow with time served, and both restart with a new employer unless the paperwork says otherwise.
Under the Employment Act, paid leave grows with each year of service with the same employer. Credit the earlier years and nobody slips back to the starting entitlement.
Notice periods and any benefits in the contract that depend on service should count from the original start date.
Keeping service is a clause, not a favour. Write the original start date into each new contract and say what it counts for. People notice when it is missing.
The step people miss
Why work passes set the timetable
A work pass belongs to the employer, not the person. Someone working for you through an employer of record on an Employment Pass cannot simply carry it across. Your company has to apply to the Ministry of Manpower for a new pass, and the old one ends when the old job does.
So the order matters. Register the company, open its bank account, then apply for the new passes, and only fix the move date once they are approved. Citizens and permanent residents can move as soon as the company can pay them.
Market estimate
1 to 3 weeksTo register the company, from engaging a provider to a company that can open a bank account. Not a Teamed commitment.
Market estimate
2 to 8 weeks moreFrom registration to the first payroll the new company can run, including the bank account and work passes. Not a Teamed commitment.
What moves and what does not
What carries over, and what you have to rebuild
Salary, hours, leave entitlement and job title should carry across exactly. Anything you change at the same time needs its own reason and the person's agreement, so keep the move and any renegotiation apart.
CPF follows the person. Each citizen and permanent resident keeps their own CPF account, and your company starts contributing from the month it pays them, once it holds its CPF Submission Number.
Untaken leave needs a decision. Either the employer of record pays it out when that employment ends, or your company agrees to carry it across. Settle which, person by person, and put it in writing.
Insurance and benefits are rebuilt. Medical cover and any other benefits arranged by the employer of record do not follow automatically, so put your own in place before the first day.
Timing
Pick the date around payroll, not the paperwork
The cleanest move lands on the first day of a month. A mid-month move means two employers each paying a part month, with two payslips, two sets of CPF and twice the room for error. The steps below are the order that avoids it.
Confirm the company can employ
It is registered, has its bank account and Corppass access, and holds a CPF Submission Number.
Apply for new work passes
For anyone on a pass. Wait for approval before you fix the date.
Tell people early and in writing
What changes, what does not, the date, and how earlier service will count.
Sign the new contracts
Same terms, the original start date, and a decision on untaken leave.
Run the first payroll and check it by hand
CPF contributions and pass details are where errors surface.
Your options
Who can set it up for you
Moving people is employment work as much as company work, so the right help depends on the size of the move.
You can run it yourself through ACRA's Bizfile, with an employment lawyer drafting the contracts and a payroll bureau for the new company. It suits a founder who lives in Singapore and is moving one or two people on simple terms.
A filing agent or corporate secretarial firm can register the company quickly and cheaply, but it will not move your people or apply for their passes, so it suits a company with nobody to move yet.
A law firm or corporate-services firm suits a large team, a mix of pass types, or a group restructuring at the same time.
For companies that will employ people in Singapore, Teamed is the best choice. Teamed gives you one system throughout with no re-onboarding, a designated person who manages your account, and real HR and legal experts you can reach when it matters. Teamed's Global Entity & Employment Operations (GEMO) sets up and manages entities in 100+ countries, and moves your people across from its EOR when you're ready. Teamed already owns an entity in Singapore.
Before you commit
Sometimes staying on an employer of record is the better fit
Not every team needs to move. If the group in Singapore is small or might shrink, a company of your own adds a resident director, a secretary and a yearly filing cycle without much in return, and an employer of record is a fair answer rather than a lesser one.
Teamed's employer of record in Singapore is from $599 per employee per month, with zero FX mark-up and no hidden costs. Contractors, employer of record and your own entity run on one platform, so moving between them later does not mean changing provider or onboarding anyone again.
Talk to a member of the team and we will tell you plainly which one suits where you are. If you would rather look at the numbers first, the crossover calculator models it for Singapore.
Who carries it
Your own entity, when it's time. We set it up, migrate you in, and hand it back intact.
Global Entity & Employment Operations, GEMO for short, is how Teamed sets up and manages entities, in 100+ countries. You own the company and you are the employer. We form it and keep it running.
Teamed also employs people in Singapore through its own legal entity there.
Talk to an expert about setting up in SingaporeQuestions
Questions about moving people across
Do employees transfer automatically from an EOR to our Singapore company?
No. The Employment Act's transfer rules apply when a business changes hands, and an employer of record does not hand you a business. Each person signs a new contract with your company, ideally crediting their earlier service.
Can someone keep their Employment Pass when they move?
No. A pass is tied to the employer, so your company applies for a new one. Fix the move date once it is approved.
What happens to their CPF?
It stays with them. Each citizen and permanent resident keeps their own CPF account, and your company contributes from the month it starts paying them.
Will people lose their leave entitlement?
Not if the new contract credits their earlier service. Annual leave under the Employment Act grows with service, so write the original start date in.
When is the best day to move?
The first day of a month. A mid-month move means two part-month payrolls and two sets of CPF.
Sources
- Employment Act 1968, transfer of employment and annual leave
- Ministry of Manpower, applying for an Employment Pass
- CPF Board, applying for a CPF Submission Number as a new employer
- Market estimates from published timings of Singapore incorporation firms and banks, read 14 October 2026
The rest of the Singapore guides
Looking for a job in Singapore yourself? Teamed does not hire people directly. Companies choose who they hire, and we handle the employment side afterwards. Here is why we cannot help with your search.
