Japan Foods Holding announced on Oct 4 that the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is investigating a subsidiary of the group, Japan Foods Enterprises (JFE) under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act 1990 of Singapore. The company says the investigation relates to certain past hiring and payroll practices in JFE which has since been ceased.
As the Investigation is still ongoing, until further notice from the MOM, JFE has been suspended from applying for new work passes and renewing existing work passes. The Group is taking active steps to mitigate the impact of the suspension, such as the streamlining of operational work-flow at its outlets and the employment of more part-timers and contract staff.
"JFE is also in the process of right-balancing its talent pool. With these measures, management does not currently foresee that any of the Group’s existing operating outlets will be impacted by closure in the short term. The Group is committed to cooperating fully with MOM in the Investigation. The Board will monitor the progress of the Investigations and will update shareholders as and when there is any material developments," the statement says.
Japan Foods is listed on Catalist and operates a chain of more than 50 restaurants under various franchise as well as self-developed brands. The Group’s franchise restaurant brands include “Ajisen Ramen”, “Kazokutei”, “Menya Musashi” and “Osaka Ohsho” brands.
