There was a heavy downpour on 6th of August, however more than 30 HR Professionals and business personnel turned up for the 38th HR Sharing held at 2 Bukit Merah Central.
First to take to the stage was Kevin Lee, a financial expert and associate trainer of HRmatters21. As we approached the end of 2015, numerous businesses needed assurance and knowledge application with respect to filing their taxations. One of the most confusing aspects of taxation pertains to benefits. Are benefits taxable? Kevin was there on hand to answer all questions. An area of concerned was outbound employment. Are employees deployed overseas with additional benefits liable for taxation in Singapore? As Kevin regularly conduct workshops pertaining to Benefits-In-Kind, he had no problems tacking every question, as most of the questions were of the same nature. Kevin was also generous enough to touch on tax equalization although it wasn’t a scheduled topic to be discussed. He just couldn’t say no to the participants.
Andy Sng from Payroll2U was our next speaker. Andy spoke about how fast technology has been changing and that payroll employees are finding it extremely difficult to keep up with new technological challenges, especially companies with numerous branches across the Asia pacific. Organisations that have various branches across Asia have had to grapple with multiple employment laws in order to process their payroll. Most companies prefer to decentralize their payroll administration or outsource it to a competent vendor. That’s where Payroll2U comes in. They are able to handle payroll for multiple different countries, and this increases productivity as it frees up time for HR personnel to engage in more strategic planning rather than being bogged down with chores. There is no need to speak to various HR representatives from different countries, all you need to do is to speak to just one vendor, and that is Payroll2U, and they will get the job done for you.
In between breaks, Martin Gabriel, Senior HR Consultant for HRmatters21 opened the discussion to the floor, allowing participants to bring up whatever issues they were concerned with. Some of the issues that were touched on included the higher compensation for workplace injuries and the Ministry of Manpower’s decision to increase the salaries of employment pass holders when applying for dependent pass.
As usual, we had our network session over coffee with light snacks. This is the time where HR professionals mingle with each other to share information and offer tips of best HR practices. Charles Wong wrapped up the session by sharing tips pertaining to compensation and rewards. When do we reward employees and what system could HR professionals consider implementing that would accurately measure an improvement in employees’ performance? How do we quantify it in a fair manner and how do we link it with the performance appraisal? Another wonderful and fruitful session had come to an end, as we look forward to the 39th HR Sharing.
By Michelle Yeo
