Before you pay
An employer's agency service fee, a fee charged to a worker and an amount described as a placement loan are different items. A quotation's label alone cannot establish who owes the money or whether recovery is permitted. Separate the items, check the supporting documents and confirm the rules for the helper's nationality before agreeing to a payment or deduction.
Ask Apex to clarify the items and written terms in its quotation for your hiring arrangement.
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By APEX Maids Agency Pte. Ltd. · MOM EA Licence 25C3180 · UEN 202547196H. Based in Jurong West and serving households across Singapore. Our website is apexmaids.sg and our phone is 8405 6661.
A useful comparison starts with three questions: who must pay, who receives the money, and what does the payment buy? A headline such as “placement fee included” answers none of them. It could obscure a service charge, a third-party payment or an amount someone expects to recover later. Ask for separate lines before comparing totals.
The employer's service fee pays for the agency's agreed services. A charge to the worker has a different payer. A proposed loan or advance raises a further question: what money was advanced, to whom, and on what lawful basis would repayment occur? Do not treat those categories as interchangeable merely because one invoice groups them together.
The MWO Singapore guidance prohibits placement fees charged to Filipino domestic workers and wage deductions to recover recruitment or deployment costs. Describing a prohibited charge as a loan or advance does not make it acceptable. Other nationalities also need their applicable requirements checked.
MOM's October 2021 salary newsletter describes recording any placement-loan recovery amount, duration and method in a contract. That dated guidance is not blanket permission for deductions. A signed repayment clause cannot resolve a conflict with applicable rules. Use the Filipino route guide for the separate verification question.
If an agency cannot explain the legal basis and supporting records, leave that item unresolved rather than adding it to a salary deduction schedule. The Indonesian and Filipino hiring pages help you identify the route to discuss.
Copy the headings into your own notes. The prompts below are questions, not a fee schedule or an instruction to pay. Leave unanswered cells blank and ask for an explanation. Keep the completed record private; this page does not collect it.
| Item to identify | Payer | Recipient | Purpose | Written evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employer service fee | Who is invoiced? | Which agency entity? | Which services are included? | Quote and service-agreement clause? |
| Official or third-party cost | Who bears this item? | Which authority or provider? | Which application or service? | Receipt or provider document? |
| Proposed advance or loan | Who advances and who would repay? | Who actually receives the advance? | What underlying cost; is recovery permitted? | Original record, applicable rules and written terms? |
| Travel or transport | Who is responsible? | Which provider? | Which journey is covered? | Ticket, invoice or inclusion list? |
| Any worker-paid fee | Is the worker being charged? | Which entity charges it? | Is this charge permitted for her nationality? | Applicable rule and fee record? |
Swipe sideways on a phone, or focus the table and use the arrow keys.
Check that a cost has not appeared in two rows under different names. Also distinguish a payment due now from a recurring payment or a refundable amount. An empty cell is a question to resolve, not evidence that the cost is zero.
This example uses invented labels only. It contains no prices, real agency quotation or client experience. Quote A separates the employer service fee, official costs and an unexplained advance. Quote B puts everything under “placement package”. Neither is ready for comparison: A still needs the advance explained, while B needs its components separated.
Give both agencies the same questions. What work does the service charge cover? Are third-party costs included or estimated? Does the advance imply repayment by the helper, and is that permitted? Which document identifies the recipient? After the replies, compare the same categories. More lines on an invoice do not automatically mean better terms, just as a single package line does not prove a lower total.
MOM's employer service-fee refund policy requires at least a 50% refund when employment ends within six months and the eligibility conditions are met. It applies to agency contracts from 1 June 2022. Its service-fee definition excludes placement loans and specified other costs.
That exclusion does not decide whether a separate advance is recoverable. Ask for the service-fee refund calculation and the treatment of any proposed loan separately, using the actual agreement and applicable rules. Do not replace that check with either “all refundable” or “nothing refundable”. The budget planner helps compare your own figures without publishing an Apex fee.
MOM's Singapore agency-fee cap for workers is one month's fixed salary per service year, up to two months. It is not a cap on employer service fees and does not authorise a charge prohibited by source-country rules.
For salary records after hiring, use the payment-records guide. For the documents that hold the different promises, use the agreement checklist. Bring your unresolved line items to the agency before agreeing to payment.
Compare the payer, recipient and written purpose of each charge. A label is not permission to deduct money from a helper.
Questions
The employer service fee pays for agency services. A proposed loan is a separate advance whose payer, recipient, purpose and lawful recovery terms need checking. A label on a quotation does not establish those facts.
MOM excludes placement loans from its service-fee refund definition. That does not decide the treatment of a separate advance; check the actual written terms and applicable rules rather than assuming all or none is recoverable.
No. A change of label does not override a prohibition. Check the nationality-specific rule before agreeing to any worker payment or deduction.
Ask both agencies to identify the payer, recipient, purpose and supporting record for each component. Compare equivalent categories and resolve unexplained advances before comparing the total.
No. Mark it unresolved, ask for the amount and payment terms, and distinguish an estimate from a confirmed inclusion. A blank line is not a promise that there is no charge.
No. The worksheet contains questions, not an Apex price or repayment offer. Ask Apex for the itemised quotation and agreement for your actual hiring arrangement.
Talk to us
Tell Apex which line of its quotation you need clarified. Ask for the charge, recipient and relevant written terms together.
