About 80 HR professionals attended Martin Gabriel’s book launch cum 41^st HR sharing at the AQueen Paya Lebar Hotel. The ambience was beautiful as the event was held on the 12^th floor function room, with a breath taking view as the function hall was sitting on an open space roof-top garden. For Mr Gabriel, It was indeed a ‘feather in his cap’ after writing 3 HR books prior to his latest 2^nd Edition. All of his earlier books had been sold-out. A Guide to The Employment Act & Its Related Legislations (2^nd Edition) started receiving orders even before the books were delivered. As this article is being written, more than 200 copies have already been sold, and it’s been 3 weeks only since the books were delivered. Most HR professionals who attended the book launch cum HR sharing bought additional books for their colleague and friends.

Gerald Giam, the Director and Solutions Architect of Vitis Solutions Pte Ltd was the first speaker to grace the event. Mr Giam spoke about HRIS and the Digital Transformation. Some of the salient features of his talk were about, digital transformation and the fourth industrial revolution. How is digital transformation impacting SMEs? Why HR functions need digital transformation, and with a live demo of the digitalisation of HR. The presentation was current and in line with the Government’s push for embracing technology to improve productivity.

Founder and author, Martin Gabriel took to the stage as the second and final speaker. Martin’s presentation reflected the changing times, and how laws have been amended to widen the scope of protection. PMEs (Professionals, Managers and Executives) are now fully protected by the Employment Act. The basic salary of up to $4,500 cap had been lifted. In the past, only PMEs earning up to a basic of $4,500 or less were protected. This cap had been repealed, effectively allowing all PMEs, regardless of their salaries to be covered within the ambit of the Employment Act. Martin also highlighted about the Employment Claims Tribunal as an additional recourse for dismissal and salary claim disputes. It is expeditious and does not involve any lawyers. Functional from 1^st April 2017, many organisations were still unfamiliar with its process. Martin gave an insightful presentation and what organisations should look-out for, when there are disputes with employees. Two case studies were presented and discussed about, as he opened the discussion to the floor and took questions.

Another issue Martin brought up was MOM’s insistence that employees who visited the A&E (accident and emergency), should be fully reimbursed. According to Martin, the Employment Act does not mention anything about A&E. Therefore he believes that MOM needs to clarify its stand clearly.

The session ended on a high note when participants approached Martin for his personal autograph to be included in their book.