Employment Law
The Employment Act (the 'Act') tells you about your rights and
obligations as an employee.
You are an employee under the Act, unless you are:
a person employed in a managerial or executive position
Managers and executives are employees with executive or supervisory functions. These functions include the authority to influence or make decision on issues such as recruitment, discipline, termination of employment, assessment of performance and reward, or involvement in the formulation of strategies and policies of the enterprise, or the management and running of the business.
They also include professionals with tertiary education and specialised knowledge/skills and whose employment terms are comparable to those of managers and executives. Professionals such as lawyers, accountants, dentists and doctors whose nature and terms of employment are comparable to executives would generally be deemed as such, and hence they would not be covered under the Act.
(However, managers and executives earning $2,500 basic monthly salary and below are covered for the purpose of salary protection. All other provisions do not apply to them);
a seaman;
a domestic worker; or
a person employed by a Statutory Board or the Government.
Part IV of the Act, which provides for rest days, hours of work, holidays, annual leave, payment of retrenchment benefit, priority of retirement benefit, annual wage supplement and other conditions of service, applies only to:
Workmen earning not more than $4,500 basic monthly salaries and
Employees earning not more than $2,000 basic monthly salaries.
In such situations, you must refer to your contract of service. Since the provisions in the Employment Act set the minimum standard, the terms of your contract of service must be at least equal to or more favourable than the provisions in the Act, otherwise the terms that are less favourable will be illegal and invalid.
Your Rights as an Employee
Some of your rights under the Act are issues concerning your 'Salary'
and 'Conditions of Work'.
Salary
Your salary must be paid at least once a month (not necessarily on
the first day of a calendar month) and within the first 7 days of each
salary month. For example, if you are to be paid on the 15th day of each
calendar month, you must be paid no later than the 22nd day of the
month.
You cannot be forced to sign a contract of service. When you have
completed your contract of service, you must be paid all your salary and
your employer must allow you to leave your job.
If your employer ends your contract of service, you should be paid
within 3 days of the end of your employment. If you end your employment,
you should be paid within 7 days of the end of your employment.
Your employer can make deductions from your salary for a number of
reasons, for example:
absence from work without good reason;
repayment of a loan;
income tax;
CPF contributions;
the costs of goods entrusted to you which are lost or
damaged because of your negligence; and
if you agree, for housing accommodation and meals.
There are limits to the deductions which can be made and the total
amount of such deductions cannot be more than half your monthly salary.
In addition to your salary, you may also get extra allowances, for
example, for food or accommodation, but not for alcohol or drugs. If
your employer provides you with housing accommodation, there must be a
proper supply of water, proper sanitary arrangements and first aid
equipment available.
Your employer cannot tell you how you should spend your salary, for
example, if he sets up a canteen at your place of work, he cannot force
you to buy your meals there.
All salary must be paid in legal tender and be paid into your
personal or joint account or by cheque to you.
If your employer does not comply with the above, he is guilty of an
offence and can be fined up to $1,000 or jailed for 6 months.
Conditions of Work
There are seven issues, which will be applicable only to you if your
monthly income is less than $2,000 per month.
1. Working hours
Generally, you are not required to work more than 8 hours a day
(or 44 hours a week). There are, however, exceptions to this general
rule.
You can:
work for 9 hours in one day (but still not exceeding 44 hours a
week), if you agree to work less than 8 hours a day on one or more days,
or work 5 (or less) days a week.
work for 48 hours a week (or 88 hours over 2 weeks), if you agree
to work less than 44 hours every alternative week.
work unlimited hours and on rest days, if there is an accident,
or if the work is essential to the life of the community, defence or
security, or if there is urgent work to be done to machinery or plant or
an interruption of work which it was impossible to foresee.
If you work more than the hours above, you are working overtime.
With the exception of the above, you cannot be compelled to work on a rest day unless your work is required to be carried on continuously by a succession of shifts.
2. Overtime
You cannot do overtime work for more than 72 hours a month. If you
work overtime, you should be paid 1.5 times your 'hourly-rate of pay'.
Payment for overtime work must be made within 14 days after the last day
of the salary period
The formula for calculating overtime of pay is:
Hourly-rate of pay X 1.5 number of overtime hours
The formula for calculating hourly-rate of pay is:
For employees paid monthly: monthly salary X 12
52 X 44 hours
3. Rest time
You are entitled to have at least 1 rest day a week which need not be
a Sunday. You are allowed to have a rest period after working
continuously for 6 hours. However, if the nature of your work is such
that it must be done continuously, then you must have a 45 minutes off
meal break within 8 hours.
4. Working on a rest day: salary entitlement
You cannot be forced to work on a rest day unless the type of work you do is such that it needs to carried on continuously in shifts
|
Hours of Work |
At your Request |
At Your Employer's Request
|
|
½ day or less
|
½ your basic rate of pay for one day's work |
your basic rate of pay for one day's work
|
|
more than ½ day, less than normal daily working hours |
your basic rate of pay for one day's work |
twice your basic rate of pay for one day's work
|
|
more than normal daily working hours |
1.5 times your hourly rate of pay for each hour or part
thereof
(see 'Overtime' for calculation of hourly rate of hourly
rate of pay) |
5. Shift workers
As a shift worker, your hours or work may differ from those of other
workers. Section 38 of the Act sets out the standard working hours for
non-shift workers (discussed in 'Working hours' and 'Overtime'). Section
40 sets out the working hours requirement for shift workers.
Under the section:
you can be required to work more than 6
consecutive hours without a break, or more than 8 hours (but not
more than 12 hours) a day, or more than 44 hours a week (but not
more than an average of 44 hours per week over a period of 3
weeks.
you can claim overtime, if you work more than an average
of 44 hours per week over a period of 3 weeks.
You must consent in writing to working on shift. Section 38 and 40 of
the Act must be explained to you; otherwise, your consent will not be
valid.
6. Annual leave
If you have served an employer for a period of not less than 3
months, you shall be entitled to paid annual leave of 7 days in respect
of the first 12 months of continuous service with the same employer and
an additional one day’s paid annual leave for every subsequent 12 months
of continuous service with the same employer subject to a maximum of 14
days of such leave which shall be in addition to the rest days, holidays
and sick leave to which the employee is entitled under sections 36, 88
and 89 of the Act, respectively.
Your annual leave entitlement therefore depends on how long you have
worked for your employer. You are entitled to 7 days annual leave if you
have worked for 12 continuous months with the same employer. Thereafter,
you will get 1 extra day for every addition year of work up to a maximum
of 14 days.
After working for 3 months, you are entitled to pro-rate your annual
leave. In calculating the pro-rated leave, any fraction which is less
than half a day shall not be counted, and if it is more than half, it
shall be counted as 1 day.
Your employer can forfeit your annual leave if you absent yourself
from work for more than 20% of the number of working days in the month
or year.
7. Retrenchment and retirement benefits
If you have been in continuous service with an employer for less than
3 years you shall not be entitled to any retrenchment benefit on your
dismissal on the ground of redundancy or by reason of any reorganisation
of the employer's profession, business, trade or work.
Your employer can retrench you if you are no longer needed or if
there is a reorganisation of your employer's business. Your employer
need not give any reasons and he cannot be stopped from employing new
workers after a retrenchment exercise.
Retrenchment benefits are therefore payable only if your contract of
service (or a collective agreement if you a union member) says so or if
your employer decides to pay you 'ex-gratia' (gratuitous) retrenchment
benefits.
The Act says that if you have worked for less than 5 years with your
employer, you are not entitled to any retirement benefits. The Act,
however, does not say that if you have worked for at least 5 years with
your employer, you are automatically entitled to retirement benefits.
The amount of retirement benefits is not stated in the Act and must be
negotiated between yourself (or your trade union) and your employer.
Your employer will also have to give you notice of retrenchment.
Affected employees should be informed of the impending retrenchment
before notice of retrenchment is given. The duration of notice will
depend on what is stipulated in the contract of service. If the notice
period is not stipulated, it will be the period as set out under the
section below on 'Termination of Contract of Service'.
CPF Savings are now generally considered to be retirement benefits.
Retrenched employees who need help looking for jobs can visit any of the Distributed CareerLink Centres run by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency ('WDA') and its partners. Please visit the WDA website for more information on the CareerLink Centres.
Retrenchment -- What Are Your Rights?
Termination of Contract of Service
The period of notice for either you or your employer to terminate
your contract of service should be stated in your contract. It should
not be less than the following guidelines in the Act:
|
Period of Employment
|
Period of Notice
|
|
less than 26 weeks |
not less than 1 day
|
|
26 weeks but less than 2 years
|
not less than 1 week
|
|
2 years but less than 5 years
|
not less than 2 weeks |
|
5 years or more
|
not less than 4 weeks |
Notice can be given at any time, but it must be dated and given in
writing.
Either you or your employer can choose to waive your right to notice.
Either party can also choose not to wait for the notice period to
expire. In this case, the party who does not wish to wait for the expiry
of the notice period must pay the other salary in lieu of notice.
Notice of termination need not be given if there has been a breach of
the terms and conditions of the contract of service. For example, if
your employer fails to pay your salary, or if you feel that you have
been asked to do something which will involve danger, violence or
disease which is not stated in the contract of service, you may leave
your employment without giving notice. (It is advisable to seek advice
from your lawyer or the Ministry of Manpower before doing this). On your
part, your employer need not give you notice if you
absent yourself from work for more than 2 days without prior leave or
without reasonable excuse or attempting to inform your employer.
The employer can, instead of dismissing you, do the following:
If you think that your employer has acted wrongfully, you can
complain to the Ministry of Manpower within 1 month of the dismissal.
Maternity Leave
For maternity leave, the Children Development Co-Savings Act is also
relevant.
Female employees are entitled to maternity leave 4 weeks before and
12 weeks after delivery of their child.
Alternatively, you and your employer may agree to a period of a 16
weeks commencing not earlier than 28 days before the day of your
confinement and not later than the day of her confinement.
Alternatively, you and your employer can also agree to a period of 8
weeks commencing not earlier than 28 days immediately preceding the day
of your confinement and not later than the day of your confinement and
one or more further periods, not exceeding 48 days in the aggregate, as
agreed to by you and your employer, which shall be within the period of
12 months commencing on the day of your confinement.
To be entitled to full pay during maternity leave, you must have
worked for at least 180 days before delivery of the child.
You are only entitled to full pay during maternity leave for your
first two children.
You must inform your employer at least 1 week before you commence
your maternity leave and also inform your employer of the date of
delivery of your child as soon as possible. If you do not give the
notice, you will only be entitled to half pay unless you have good
reason for not giving the notice.
Maternity leave is your entitlement and it is illegal for your
employer to ask you to give up your maternity leave.
During maternity leave, you are entitled to be paid your full salary
as usual, but you are not allowed to claim for sick leave. Your employer
is not entitled to terminate your service and neither are you allowed to
give notice of termination using your maternity leave as the notice
period.
However, if you work in another job when you are supposed to be on
maternity leave, you can be dismissed.
Annual Wage Supplement
If your employer has agreed with you, before 28 August 1988, to pay
you an Annual Wage Supplement ('AWS') of more than one month, that AWS
shall continue to be payable until otherwise agreed.
With effect from 26 August 1988, your contract of service cannot
provide for AWS of more than one month in one year.
Depending on your employer's profits, your performance and
contribution, you may get an additional 'variable payment'. This is
usually recommended by the Minister through the National Wage Council or
through negotiations with your employer. Variable payment is not
compulsory unless such payment is provided for in the employment
contract or collective agreement.
Bonus
Bonus is a one-time payment usually paid to employees at the end of the year to reward them for their contributions to the company.
Payment of bonus is not compulsory. However, it is a contractual obligation for the employer to pay bonus if it is provided for in the employment contract or collective agreement.
Making a Complaint
If you have any disagreement with your employer about your salary,
the terms of your contract or your rights under the Act, you can make a
complaint to the Ministry of Manpower.
You may lodge a complaint via Employment Standards Online ('ESOL')
via the MOM website. It is a one-stop portal for organisations and the
general public to transact with the Labour Relations and Workplaces
Division ('LRWD'). ESOL for Individual Users allow employees to report a
breach of the Employment Act.
If you are filing a case on salary matters, you must lodge the case
within 6 months from the date you leave your employment and the case
must be on issues arising not more than one year from the date the claim
is reported; e.g. a claim for public holiday salary on 25 December 2008
must be filed by 24 December 2009.
If you think your employer will leave Singapore to avoid paying your salary, you can apply to the Commissioner to ask that your employer give a guarantee to remain in Singapore until the salary is paid.
The Commissioner will inform the party whom you are complaining
against and summon him and any other interested party to attend an
inquiry into the complaint. The Commissioner may hold a preliminary
inquiry and parties are given a change to settle the matter at the
preliminary inquiry. If a settlement is reached, the Commissioner shall
make an order to record the terms of the settlement and the order shall
be as effective as an order made after an inquiry.
At the inquiry, the Commissioner will hear evidence from all sides to the
dispute and then make the necessary order. The order can be to dismiss the claim
or to order a party to pay a sum of money to satisfy the claim. The Commissioner
can make an order in the absence of one party if that party fails to attend the
inquiry.
Any party not satisfied with the Commissioner's order can appeal to the High Court within 14 days of the decision.
Employment of Children and Young Persons
A child is a person under 15 years of age. A young person is someone
15 years of age or above but under 16 years of age.
Children below 13 are not permitted to work. Children who are 13
years and above can only engage in light work suited to his/her
capacity, and cannot work in any industrial undertaking or vessel unless
such undertaking or vessel is under the personal charge of his/her
parent.
An industrial undertaking includes mines, quarries, factories,
shipyards, businesses and companies carrying out construction work,
transport (including bus, ship, car, lorry) operators.
No young person (i.e. between 14 and 16 years) shall be employed in
any industrial undertaking declared by the Minister to be one which
cannot employ your persons.
Work approved and supervised by the Ministry of Education or the
Institute of Technical Education, Singapore ('ITE') carried on any
technical, vocational or industrial training school or institute and
employment under any apprenticeship programme approved and supervised by
the ITE are not subject to the above provisions.
If children or young persons are employed as workmen, they cannot
work during the night, between 11pm and 6am the next day. In addition,
for a child, their hours of work cannot exceed 3 hours without a break
of 30 minutes or 6 hours in any one day. For a young person, their hours
of work cannot exceed 4 hours without a break of 30 minutes or 7 hours
in any one day (including the period of school attendance (If he/she is
attending school). They are also not permitted to work on their rest
days without the permission of the Commissioner for Labour.
Workmen's Compensation
The Work Injury Compensation Act replaces the Workmen's Compensation
Act from 1 April 2008. The new Act is applicable to accidents that
happened on and after 1 April 2008. For accidents that happened before 1
April 2008, the coverage and benefits under the Workmen's Compensation
Act will continue to apply.
Under the Work Injury Compensation Act, all employees who are engaged under a contract of service or apprenticeship, regardless of their level of earnings are covered.
If you are injured by accident or contract a disease arising out of an in the course of your employment; you may choose to:
submit a claim for workmen’s compensation through the Ministry of Manpower; or
claim damages under common law against your employer for breach of duty or negligence.
You can claim only under one of the above.
Common Law Claim
You must show that your employer has failed to provide a safe
system of work, or breached a duty required by law or that your
employer’s negligence caused the injury. This may involve commencing
legal proceedings, which may take up more time and expenses.
Damages under common law are however usually more than an award
under Workmen’s Compensation. Common law damages include compensation
for pain and suffering, loss of wages, medical expenses and any future
loss of earnings.
If you decide to claim under the Workmen’s Compensation Act, you will usually not be allowed to claim under the common law.
Workmen's Compensation Claim
All you have to show is that the injury arose out of an in the course of employment. No negligence or breach of statutory duty on the part of your employer need be shown. The procedure is relatively simple and cheap.
Awards are however limited. Awards are based on the age of the injury suffered by him/her.
Under the Work Injury Compensation Act, if you, as an employee:
sustain injuries or died in a work-related accident; or
contracted occupational diseases arising out of your work;
may claim work injury compensation.
Unlike the Workmen’s Compensation Act, the new Act covers all
employees engaged under a contract of service or apprenticeship,
regardless of their level of earnings. However, self-employed persons,
independent contractors, domestic workers, members of the Singapore
Armed Forces, officers of the Singapore Police Force, the Singapore
Civil Defence Force, the Central Narcotics Bureau and the Singapore
Prison Service are not covered by the Work Injury Compensation Act.
Similar to the Workmen’s Compensation Act, once you decide to claim
under the Work Injury Act, you may not be able to claim under the common
law.
As long as you have suffered an injury by accident arising out of and
in the course of your employment, you will be able to claim under the
Work Injury Compensation Act. There is a fixed formula in the Act on the
amount of compensation to be awarded, and capped so that the financial
liability on your employer is limited. The no-fault claims and
prescribed amounts of compensation serve to facilitate and expedite
claims under the WICA.
Occupational Disease
There is scheduled list of diseases which if contracted by you, as an
employee, in your occupation will entitle you to claim compensation. The
diseases include deafness, asbestosis and industrial dermatitis.
You should consult the Ministry of Manpower or a lawyer for further
information.
Part-Time Employees
For employees working less than 35 hours a week, they are covered by the Employment of Part-Time Employees Regulations, which provide certain flexibility for both the employers and employees, including the pro-rating of employment benefits, encashment of annual leave and provision of rest day.
