COUNTRY

Written Agreements

An employment agreement can be in writing, verbal, expressed, or implied. It can also take the form of a letter of appointment/employment or an apprenticeship agreement. However, the Ministry of Manpower recommends that contracts be in writing to minimize disputes on the agreed terms and conditions.

Singapore's Ministry of Manpower requires all employers to issue key employment terms (KETs) in writing to employees with contracts lasting longer than 14 days.

Examples of KETs that must be issued to employees include the following:

• Full name of employer
• Full name of the employee
• Job title, main duties, and responsibilities
• Start date of employment
• Duration of employment (if the employee is on a fixed-term contract)
• Daily working hours

(This is a non-exhaustive list.)

The enforceability of restraint of trade clauses, also known as non-competition clauses, is subject to adjudication by the courts and depends on the facts of the case. Such clauses are enforceable only if there are legitimate business interests to protect and if they are reasonable in terms of scope, geographical area, and duration. Employees who believe they have been subject to unreasonable employment clauses may seek assistance from their unions, the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP), or the Ministry of Manpower.

Oral Agreements

In Singapore, an employment agreement can be in writing, verbal, expressed, or implied. However, the Ministry of Manpower recommends that such contracts be in writing to minimize disputes on the agreed terms and conditions.

Singapore's Ministry of Manpower requires all employers to issue key employment terms (KETs) in writing to employees with contracts lasting longer than 14 days.

Implied Agreements

Singapore's labor law states that employment contracts can be in in writing, verbal, expressed, or implied. Also, they can be express or implied. However, the Employment Act offers no guidance on implied contracts. The Ministry of Manpower recommends concluding employment contracts in writing to minimize disputes on the agreed terms and conditions.

Generally, an employee's service contract shall not require them to work more than 6 consecutive hours without a break, more than 8 hours a day, or more than 44 hours in one week. Some exceptions to this general rule are listed in the paragraphs below.

An employee engaged in work that must be carried on continuously can be required to work for 8 consecutive hours. However, the workday must include a period or periods of not less than 45 minutes in total, during which the employee shall have the opportunity to have a meal.

Also, if there are fewer than 8 hours of work on 1 or more days of the week, the limit of 8 hours in 1 day may be exceeded during the remaining days of the week. Still, no employee shall be required to work more than 9 hours a day or more than 44 hours per week.

New Year’s Day (January 1st); Chinese New Year – first day (Days movable); Chinese New Year – second day (Days movable); Hari Raya Puasa (Days movable); Hari Raya Haji (Days movable); Good Friday (Days movable); Labor Day (May 1st); Vesak Day (Days movable); National Day (August 9th); Deepavali (Days movable); Christmas Day (December 25th)

According to Singapore's Employment Act, employees are entitled to paid annual leave if they have worked for at least 3 months with the employer. The Employment Act does not detail any other procedure for requesting annual leave beyond seeking the employer's approval before taking it.

The length of the annual leave depends on an employee's years of service, starting from the first day of work with the employer. Eligibility for leave is as follows:

• 7 days the 1st year of service
• 8 days the 2nd year of service
• 9 days the 3rd year of service
• 10 days the 4th year of service
• 11 days the 5th year of service
• 12 days the 6th year of service
• 13 days the 7th year of service
• 14 days the 8th year and thereafter

According to Singapore's Employment Act, an employee is entitled to paid sick leave if:

• The employee has worked at least 3 months for the employer
• The employee has informed or tried to notify the employer within 48 hours of their absence
• The sick leave has been certified by the company's doctor, a company-approved doctor, or a government doctor (doctors from approved public medical institutions are included)

The length of sick leave is calculated based on an employee's length of service. An employee whose service is longer than 6 months can take up to 14 days for outpatient non-hospitalization leave and 60 days for hospitalization leave, including the 14 days of outpatient sick leave. Sick leave is prorated for employees with less than 6 months of service.

Under the Employment Act, every female employee is entitled to 16 weeks of paid maternity leave starting 4 weeks before the expected delivery and 12 weeks after delivery. The employer must pay the first 8 weeks at the employee's gross rate of pay while the government will pay the last 8 weeks. Multiple births (twins or triplets) are treated as a single delivery, and therefore, the employee is not entitled to double maternity benefits. To be eligible for these benefits, the following criteria must be met:

• The child is a Singaporean citizen
• The employee is lawfully married to her child's father
• The employee worked for her employer or was self-employed for at least three continuous months before her child's birth

Beginning April 1, 2025, working parents will be entitled to a shared parental paid leave of 10 weeks. Each parent is allocated half of the leave but can reallocate to suit their needs.

An employee can take her maternity leave either at once or spread out over 12 months. Before taking the leave, the employee should reach an agreement with the employer on how her maternity leave is to be split. The employee must take the first 8 weeks in one block and can take the last 8 weeks flexibly. Employees are also eligible for adoption leave if they adopt a child under 12 months of age.

According to the Ministry of Manpower in Singapore, beginning April 1, 2025, parents will be entitled to 30 weeks paid leave in total. Of the 30 weeks, a working father will be entitled to 4 weeks (currently 2 weeks) of paternity leave for all births if he meets the following requirements:

• The child is a Singaporean citizen
• The employee is or had been married to the child's mother between conception and birth. Such conditions are not applicable for adoptive fathers who intend to adopt on or after January 1, 2017
• The employee worked for his employer or was self-employed for at least three continuous months before the child's birth

The government pays the compensation for paternity leave, with wage reimbursement capped at SGD 2,500 (Singapore dollars) per week. The leave can be taken as a continuous block within 16 weeks after the birth of the child or flexibly (by mutual agreement).

Shared parental leave that will be implemented beginning April 1, 2025, grants working parents a paid leave of 10 additional weeks. Each parent is allocated half of the leave but can reallocate to suit their needs.

Minimum Wage

While Singapore's labor law sets minimum wages for workers in Singapore in specific sectors, the Ministry of Manpower states that employers should pay their employees based on their skills, capabilities, and competencies.

Singapore sets forth a progressive wage model for employees who are Singapore citizens or permanent residents in the cleaning, security, landscape, lift and escalator, retail, food services, and waste management job roles. Employers are encouraged to use the same progressive wage principles for foreign employees in those sectors. The LQS is SGD 1,600 (Singaporean dollar) per month, and full-time employees and part-time employees are entitled to at least SGD 800 per month.

Overtime, Holiday & Vacation Pay

In Singapore, overtime work is all work beyond regular working hours. A non-workman earning up to SGD 2,600 (Singapore dollars) and a worker earning up to SGD 4,500 can claim overtime. For overtime work, the employer is required to pay at least 1.5 times the hourly basic rate. Payment must be provided within 14 days after the last day of the salary period. The overtime rate payable for non-workmen is limited to SGD 2,600 per month or an hourly rate of SGD 13.60.

Payment for work completed on a rest day is calculated as follows:

If work is done at the employer's request:

• 1 day's salary for working up to half the employee's normal daily working hours
• 2 days' salary for working for more than half the employee's daily working hours
• 2 days' salary + overtime pay for working beyond the employee's normal daily working hours

If work is done at the employee's request:

• Half day's salary for working up to half the employee's normal daily working hours
• 1 day's salary for working for more than half the employee's daily working hours
• 1 day's salary + overtime pay for working beyond the employee's normal daily working hours

If required to work on a public holiday, an employee should be paid an extra day's salary at the basic pay rate.

• The employee's monthly gross salary already includes payment for the holiday, so the employer only needs to pay the employee an additional day's pay
• If the employee is absent without reason on a working day before or after the holiday, they are not entitled to the holiday pay. The employer can, therefore, deduct 1 day's pay at the gross rate from the monthly gross salary

In Singapore, every election day is considered a public holiday. The date that falls on election day should be treated as any other public holiday, with leave and entitlements for employees.

Employees are paid their regular salary while on annual leave.

Notice Period

Singapore's labor law requires a contracting party to give written notice to the other party to terminate the employment contract. This notice can be in the form of a termination or resignation letter. The length of notice must be the date indicated in the contract, or the length agreed to in the verbal agreement if no written contract exists. All employees, including those on a fixed-term contract, can resign anytime if they serve the required notice stated in their contract or make payment in lieu of notice. If no notice period has been agreed to in the contract, the notice should be based on the employee's length of service as follows:

• Less than 26 weeks: 1 day
• Between 26 weeks and 2 years: 1 week
• Between 2 years and 5 years: 2 weeks
• 5 years and above: 4 weeks

Both parties can also agree to waive the notice period by mutual consent. Such a waiver should be concluded in writing.

Severance Benefits

Singapore’s Employment Act does not require employers to pay severance. However, an employer must give all eligible employees notice or payment in lieu of notice and pay all unused annual leave on the last day of work.

The Ministry of Manpower requires employers to compensate their employees in case of retrenchment. The amount of retrenchment benefit depends on what is provided for in the employment contract or collective agreement (for unionized companies). If there is no provision, it must be negotiated between the employees (or their union) and the employer.

The prevailing norm is to pay a retrenchment benefit of 2 weeks to 1 month of salary per year of service, depending on the company’s financial position and industry.

Pension

In Singapore, the retirement age is 63, and the re-employment age is 68. By 2030, they will be 65 and 70, respectively. Singapore’s Central Provident Fund (CPF) is a mandatory social security savings scheme, with the sources of funds being employers and employees. Employees can meet their retirement, housing, and healthcare needs by contributing to the Central Provident Fund. The funding goes into 3 accounts:

• Ordinary Account (OA) for retirement and housing needs
• Special Account (SA) for retirement needs
• Medisave Account (MA) for healthcare needs

People can withdraw from their CPF savings at the age of 55. At this time, savings from the Special Account and Ordinary Account will be transferred to the Retirement Account to form the retirement sum. After reaching 65, people will receive monthly payouts from their CPF savings. The monthly pension amount depends on the basic retirement sum at the age of 55.

Singapore provides the government-funded Silver Support Scheme to support eligible low-income elderly individuals. People are not required to apply for Silver support; they will be assessed automatically for eligibility. The payout ranges from SGD 430 to SGD 1,080 per quarter.

Dependents/Survivors Benefits

The Central Provident Fund of Singapore offers benefits to the named nominees of a deceased employee. Employee's savings in the Ordinary, Special, MediSave, and Retirement accounts are paid to the nominees as a lump sum.

Under the Work Injury Compensation Act of Singapore, the family or dependents of an employee can claim a lump sum when a work injury causes the employee's death. The amount is calculated based on employee's average monthly earnings and age multiplying factor. The lump-sum varies from SGD 76,000 to SGD 225,000 from January 1, 2020. This benefit is provided by the employer.

Invalidity Benefits

The Central Provident Fund of Singapore offers a severe disability insurance scheme named ElderShield. It provides a monthly cash payout of up to 72 months to people with severe disabilities. No registration or assessment is needed; CPF members with a MediSave Account will automatically enroll in the program when they reach 40 years of age. The monthly cash payout for severe disability is SGD 400 (Singapore dollars) for a maximum of 72 months. Employees can also use MediSave savings to pay for personal or immediate family hospitalization, day surgery, and certain outpatient expenses.

Employees who suffer a temporary or permanent disability due to a work accident or occupational disease are entitled to compensation under the Work Injury Compensation Act. For temporary disability, a daily allowance is paid for up to one year. For permanent disability, lump-sum compensation is paid as an employee's average monthly earnings multiplied by the age factor multiplied by the degree of disability.