Progressive Wage Model wage-tier check
Food services in Singapore has mandatory minimum wage tiers by role — the Progressive Wage Model — covering roles like cooks, kitchen assistants and waiters.
Food services in Singapore has mandatory minimum wage tiers by role — the Progressive Wage Model — covering roles like cooks, kitchen assistants and waiters. Rates rise on a published schedule, most recently to the 1 March 2025–30 June 2026 tiers, with a further step planned from 1 July 2026.
MOM enforces PWM compliance through work pass renewals — if your local staff are not paid the applicable tier, or have not completed required training, MOM can refuse to renew your Work Permit or S Pass holders’ passes. This is not tied to your SFA food licence renewal — a common assumption worth actively correcting, since the two are easy to conflate.
Who this is for
Any F&B employer with staff in roles covered by the Food Services PWM (cooks, kitchen assistants, counter/waiter roles).
What you’ll hold
- A record of each covered role’s current wage against the published tier
Watch out for
- Assuming PWM compliance is checked at SFA food-licence renewal — it isn’t. The enforcement point is work pass renewal for your foreign staff, not your food licence.
- Classifying by job title instead of actual duties — MOM assesses PWM coverage by what the role actually does, not what it’s called.
- Missing the scheduled tier increases — the July 2026 step (to $2,220/month for entry-level roles) should be checked directly against MOM’s current page before you rely on last year’s figure.
Sources
- MOM — Progressive Wage Model, Food Services Sector checked 2026-09-08
See also
This is item 24 of 32 in the free Singapore Compliance Calendar. See the whole list →