Progressive Wage Model For Food Services

What is Progressive Wage Model?

The Progressive Wage Model (PWM) helps to increase the wages of workers by upgrading skills and improving productivity. It is implemented via government levers in the cleaning, security, and landscape sectors.

The Progressive Wage Model (PWM) for food services workers was developed by the Tripartite Cluster for Food Services Industry (TCF).

From 1 March 2023, employers must meet the PWM requirements of attaining at least 2 Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) Statement of Attainment, out of the list of approved WSQ training modules in order to renew existing work passes or apply for new work passes. in order to renew existing work passes or apply for new work passes.

Who it covers

The PWM requirements cover Singapore citizens and permanent residents who are:

  • Full-time or part-time food services employees on a contract of service, working in a premise that has a Singapore Food Agency (SFA) Food Retail or Food Processing (Central Kitchen) licence, and
  • Employed by firms that hire foreign workers on mainstream work passes (i.e. Work Permit, S Pass, Employment Pass), regardless of whether the firm is classified under the Food and Beverage Service Activities Singapore Standard Industrial Classification (SSIC) or another SSIC.

Find out more on the coverage of food services job roles and the description of duties and responsibilities.

The Food Services PWM has 2 sectors: Category A and Category B

Coursemology provides a comprehensive suite of modules that helps companies meet the mandatory training requirements.

Category A
Quick-Service (QS) food establishments, including fast-food outlets, food courts, food kiosks, and eating houses where customers self-collect food or drink orders from food service counters
Supermarkets with ready-to-eat food station.
Recommended Modules
Food/Drink Stall Assistant
Responsibilities:
-Prepare or serve simple food/drink items from counters or steam tables in food stalls
-Take customer orders and communicate orders to the kitchen
-Collect payment from customers and perform cashiering duties
Examples of jobs covered:
  -Food court stall assistant
-Coffeeshop stall assistant
 
-WSQ Food Safety and Hygiene Level 1
-WSQ Workplace Safety and Health for
Food and Beverage Operations Level 2

-Prepare for Service
Food Service Counter Assistant
Responsibilities:
-Prepare or serve simple food/drink items from counters or steam tables in food shops
-Take customer orders and communicate orders to the kitchen
-Collect payment from customers and perform cashiering duties
-Handle commercial or industrial-grade equipment, e.g. coffee machines, deep fryers, griddles
-Manage online orders, e.g. via digital platforms
Examples of jobs covered:
  -Fast-food service crew
-Bubble tea shop service crew
-Salad counter server
-Roast grill counter attendant
-WSQ Food Safety and Hygiene Level 1
-WSQ Workplace Safety and Health for Food and Beverage Operations Level 2
-Prepare for Service
Kitchen Assistant (QS)
Responsibilities:
  -Handle basic food preparation
-Prepare ingredients for cooking according to the establishment’s standard recipes and operating procedures
-Portion, assemble, or package menu dishes and other food items
-Process new inventory items and inventory checking
-Clean food preparation areas, kitchen stations, equipment, tables, cutlery, and crockery
-Prepare food items for ready consumption
-Provide counter service, where needed
-Collect payment from customers and perform other cashiering duties
-Package food/drinks for takeaways
Examples of jobs covered:
  -Kitchen Assistant
-Kitchen Crew
-Bakery Assistant
-WSQ Food Safety and Hygiene Level 1
-WSQ Workplace Safety and Health for
Food and Beverage Operations Level 2
Cook (QS)
Responsibilities:
-Supports the preparation of menu dishes
-Assemble ingredients or kitchen equipment prior to preparation of menu dishes, according to the establishment or senior cook’s requirements
-Apply culinary techniques to prepare food according to the establishment’s standard recipes and operating procedures
-Supervise kitchen assistants
-Maintain cleanliness of kitchen stations and upkeep of cooking equipment
-Prepare batches of food that are cooked to order, or kept warm until ordered and sold
Examples of jobs covered:
  -Commis chef
-Line cook
-Pastry chef
-Baker
-WSQ Food Safety and Hygiene Level 1
-WSQ Workplace Safety and Health for
Food and Beverage Operations Level 2
Senior Cook (QS)
Responsibilities:
-Direct and manage the preparation of menu dishes at one or more kitchen stations
-Apply culinary techniques to prepare food according to the establishment’s standard recipes and operating procedures
-Support the sous chef and head chef in the development of new menu dishes
-May oversee one or more kitchen assistants, cooks or other kitchen staff
Examples of jobs covered:
  -Chef de Partie
-Station chef
-WSQ Food Safety and Hygiene Level 1
-WSQ Workplace Safety and Health for
Food and Beverage Operations Level 2
Category B
-Full-Service (FS) food establishments, which are establishments that have wait staff such as waiters or banquet servers and are not under Category A
-Caterers
-Central kitchens
Recommended Modules
Kitchen Assistant (FS)
Responsibilities:
-Handle basic food preparation
-Prepare ingredients for cooking according to the establishment’s standard recipes and operating procedures
-Portion, assemble, or package menu dishes and other food items
-Process new inventory items and inventory checking
-Clean food preparation areas, kitchen stations, equipment, tables, cutlery, and crockery
-Assist in cooking and plating menu dishes according to the kitchen manual, where applicable
Examples of jobs covered:
  -Kitchen Assistant
-Kitchen Crew
-Bakery Assistant
-WSQ Food Safety and Hygiene Level 1
-WSQ Workplace Safety and Health for
Food and Beverage Operations Level 2
Cook (FS)
Responsibilities:
  -Supports the preparation of menu dishes
-Assemble ingredients or kitchen equipment prior to preparation of menu dishes, according to the establishment or senior cook’s requirements
-Apply culinary techniques to prepare food according to the establishment’s standard recipes and operating procedures
-Supervise kitchen assistants
-Maintain cleanliness of kitchen stations and upkeep of cooking equipment
-Follow the senior cook’s instructions for the preparation of menu items and meeting of other operational needs
-Support compliance with food safety and sanitation requirements, in areas such as product rotation, temperature maintenance, storage procedures, and food handling techniques
Examples of jobs covered:

-Commis chef
-Line cook
-Pastry chef
-Baker
-WSQ Food Safety and Hygiene Level 1
-WSQ Workplace Safety and Health for
Food and Beverage Operations Level 2
Senior Cook
Responsibilities:
-Direct and manage the preparation of menu dishes at one or more kitchen stations
-Apply culinary techniques to prepare food according to the establishment’s standard recipes and operating procedures, where applicable
-Support the sous chef and head chef in the development of new menu dishes
-May oversee one or more kitchen assistants, cooks, or other kitchen staff
Examples of jobs covered:
-Chef de Partie
-Station chef
-WSQ Food Safety and Hygiene Level 1
-WSQ Workplace Safety and Health for
Food and Beverage Operations Level 2
Waiter
Responsibilities:
-Attend directly to customers’ needs and supports customer-facing operations
-Prepare tables for service, greet walk-in customers, and escort them to their tables
-Respond to customer inquiries and take reservations over the telephone
-Take customer orders and communicate orders to the kitchen – may be done manually
-Serve food/drinks from the kitchen to customers
-Collect payment from customers and perform other cashiering duties
Examples of jobs covered:
-Waiter
-Banquet server
-WSQ Food Safety and Hygiene Level 1
-WSQ Workplace Safety and Health for Food and Beverage Operations Level 2
-Prepare for Service
Waiter Supervisor
Responsibilities:
-Support the manager by overseeing customer-facing operations
-Coordinate, manage, or train waiters and other customer-facing employees
-Supervise customer interactions and intervene where necessary
-Ensure compliance with regulations, as well as the establishment’s own service protocols and standards
-Scheduled working shifts of waiters and other customer-facing employees based on operational needs
-Manage payroll and manpower budget for waiters and other customer-facing employees
Examples of jobs covered:
-Waiter supervisor
-WSQ Food Safety and Hygiene Level 1
-WSQ Workplace Safety and Health for
Food and Beverage Operations Level 2

-Prepare for Service
Manager
Responsibilities:
-Bear overall responsibility for the profitability of the establishment
-Oversee all of the establishment’s operations, i.e. both customer-facing and back-of-house activities, e.g. kitchen, inventory management
Examples of jobs covered:
-Restaurant manager
-Outlet manager

-WSQ Food Safety and Hygiene Level 3
-People Development for Retails Sector.

Wage requirements for progressive wage model for food services

The food services PWM is a three to four-level career progression model, depending on a career track. It features:

-Specific training requirements that tap on the Skills Framework for Food Services. This ensures that food service workers are equipped with the skills needed to carry out their job functions.
-Progressive wages are set at each level to ensure that food services workers are paid wages that are commensurate with their skills and productivity.

The wage requirements recommended in the TCF’s report will take effect from 1 March 2023.

Wage requirements for part-time workers are pro-rated on a 44-hours basis.

The TCF will undertake a review of the wage schedule in 2025.

Category A

Full-time food service workers
Part-time food service workers

Category B

Kitchen Assistant/Cook/Senior Cook

Full-time food service workers
Part-time food service workers

Waiter

Full-time food service workers
Part-time food service workers

Please note:

Total monthly gross wage (for full-time work of 35-44 hours per week) refers to the sum of:

  • Basic wage
  • Allowances, e.g. travel, food, and housing
  • Productivity incentive payments

It excludes:

  • Bonuses, e.g. Annual Wage Supplement
  • Stock options
  • Reimbursement of special expenses incurred in the course of employment
  • Payments-in-kind
  • Employer CPF contributions

Additional PWM gross wage requirements for overtime

For full-time workers who work more than 44 hours a week and are covered by the Employment Act’s Part 4, employers would need to adhere to additional PWM gross wage requirements for overtime.

In addition to meeting the PWM requirements for overtime, employers would need to adhere to the Employment Act’s Part 4 requirements for overtime, where the overtime rate of pay must be at least 1.5 times of the basic rate of pay.

Training requirements

Employers must ensure that their Singapore citizen and PR food services workers meet the food services PWM training requirements of attaining at least 2 Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) Statement of Attainment, out of the list of approved WSQ training modules.

Alternatively, if employers have in-house WSQ training modules that have the prefix “FSS” in the accompanying Technical Skills & Competencies (TSC) code, these training modules can be used to meet the training requirements as well.

For the job roles of senior cook and manager, training as per the list of approved WSQ training modules is encouraged but not mandatory. Employers have the flexibility to train employees in senior positions according to their own business needs.

Employers will be given a grace period to comply with the food services PWM training requirements:

  • For new hires: six months from the new hire’s date of employment
  • For existing employees: up till 29 February 2024 (one year from the food services PWM implementation on 1 March 2023)

Through proper training, food services workers will be able to increase their productivity, skillsets, and offer good food service experiences to customers.

Phased implementation of food services PWM

From the first six months from March 2023 to August 2023, MOM will give employers time to adjust and comply with the food services wage requirements.

Instead of enforcement, MOM will focus on educating employers on the food services PWM wage requirements. Those who do not comply with the requirements during this transitional period will not have their work pass privileges suspended.

Find out more at TCF’s report and recommendations on PWM for food services sector

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Tee AhwenwenTee Ahwenwen
08:50 26 Feb 23
Ms Ashley Shirley wong is a nice and cheerful teacher thanks for today 26feb23 thank you I am wenyi is teachable teacher and i understand everything and enjoying your lesson so much 😊 really appreciate that.
Ben HanBen Han
18:30 03 Jan 23
Coursemology provides a wide range of massage courses with flexible training schedules..Sales manager , Rachel Lip, assisted me quickly and positively with both my course enquiries as well as the registration of my chosen massage course in a fuss free manner..So for my friends out there...If you are looking to enrol for serious massage courses..Coursemology is your recommended choice...RegardsBen Han
Devaghi ATDevaghi AT
00:35 15 Aug 22
The trainers were very Knowledgeable n conducted the session to participants understanding. Friendly n approachable. Motivational approach during practicals. I benefited from Course. Tq, trainers.
Mohd IqbalMohd Iqbal
09:58 24 May 22
My Food and Hygiene course here was superb! Instructor is very helpful to ensure you understand the importance of Cleanliness and Safety in the kitchen. I highly recommend Coursemology.
MattMatt
02:58 12 May 22
Attended the Food Hygiene course at vision exchange. The course sign up and payment process was fast and simple. The instructor was fun and engaging and helpful. Highly recommend this place if you want to get your food hygiene cert.
Joey GanJoey Gan
09:29 24 Apr 22
My sister and I had many questions about the different courses. The staff present including the boss Mr Wee were very patient and friendly to help us. The centre at Toa Payoh was also easy to get to and centre facilities were kept clean and tidy. We have a very good experience.
ting siongting siong
06:05 19 Apr 22
The trainer is patient and able to explain food hygiene and safety concept clearly. She demonstrated the hand cleaning techniques, share industry practices and safety standards with participants.A good training indeed.
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Coursemology is an online course directory, listing short courses in Singapore to provide information on WSQ courses and SkillsFuture Subsidy to corporates and individuals. We do course listing for training providers in Singapore to improve your employability via skills upgrading and job skills upskilling through skills development courses.

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Singapore 310190

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