Where to Learn About the Employment Act in Singapore

The Employment Act 1968 has been amended significantly since 2019, and the broader employment framework — the Tripartite Guidelines, the Workplace Fairness Act 2025, the Retirement and Re-employment Act 1993, and the work-pass regime under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act 1990 — continues to evolve. Practitioners and HR professionals working with a stale framework misadvise their organisations.

Continuing education on Singapore employment law serves several purposes:

• Currency — tracking statutory, regulatory, and tripartite updates as they emerge;
• Depth — moving beyond a surface familiarity with the Act to a working understanding of the case law, subsidiary legislation, and MOM and TAFEP guidance;
• Practical application — translating abstract rules into HR policies, employment contracts, and decision-making in real cases;
• CPD — for Singapore-admitted lawyers, accumulating Continuing Professional Development points within the Law Society's framework.

Who needs it

• Singapore-admitted lawyers practising employment law as a primary or secondary specialism;
• In-house counsel with employment law responsibility;
• HR business partners, HR directors, and HR generalists in operational roles;
• Employment agency staff under the Employment Agencies Act 1958 framework;
• Senior managers and business owners with hiring, performance management, and termination authority.

The investment in a half-day or two-day update programme typically pays for itself many times over in avoided exposure on a single performance-management or restructuring decision. The cost of getting an employment matter wrong materially exceeds the cost of training.

The Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) is the statutory body responsible for the development of the legal profession in Singapore. Through SAL's professional development arm, the Academy offers programmes targeted primarily at Singapore-admitted lawyers and in-house counsel.

What SAL typically offers

• Doctrinal update sessions on Employment Act amendments, the Workplace Fairness Act 2025, and the Tripartite Advisory framework;
• Case-law review sessions following significant Court of Appeal and High Court judgments;
• Specialist sessions on restraint-of-trade, executive separation, and cross-border employment issues;
• Roundtable discussions with MOM officials, TAFEP representatives, and union counterparts on policy developments.

Audience and depth

SAL sessions are pitched at practitioners. The discussion typically presumes familiarity with the basic framework and focuses on developments, judicial interpretation, and practical drafting and advisory implications. The depth and presumed knowledge make these sessions less suited to HR professionals without a legal background.

CPD points

SAL programmes attract Continuing Professional Development points under the Law Society's CPD framework. Singapore-admitted lawyers should check the CPD allocation for each session against their annual requirements.

Format

Sessions are offered in person, online, and on-demand through SAL's e-learning platform. The mix of formats supports practitioners with varied availability and learning preferences.

The SMU Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS), part of the Singapore Management University Yong Pung How School of Law, offers continuing legal education with a strong applied orientation. Employment law features regularly in the CALS programme calendar.

What CALS typically offers

• Workshops on specific employment law topics — wrongful dismissal, restraint of trade, workplace harassment investigations;
• Multi-day intensive courses on employment law fundamentals;
• Practitioner-led sessions on drafting employment contracts and handbooks;
• Cross-disciplinary sessions on the interaction between employment law, data protection, and corporate transactions.

Audience and depth

CALS programmes are typically pitched to mid-career practitioners and in-house counsel. They are well suited to HR directors and senior HR business partners with a strong legal interest. The applied orientation — case studies, drafting exercises, role-plays — makes them practical.

Faculty

Sessions are commonly co-delivered by SMU academics and practising employment lawyers. The combined perspective bridges doctrinal and practical considerations.

CPD points

CALS programmes generally attract CPD points for Singapore-admitted lawyers. The allocation depends on the format and duration of the programme.

For HR professionals rather than lawyers, the principal training providers are NTUC LearningHub, the Singapore Human Resources Institute (SHRI), and various private providers accredited by SkillsFuture Singapore. These providers offer Employment Act and employment law programmes pitched at HR practitioners.

NTUC LearningHub

NTUC LearningHub offers a wide range of HR-related programmes, including dedicated modules on the Employment Act 1968, retrenchment management, workplace harassment, and the Workplace Fairness Act 2025. Sessions are commonly run as one-day or two-day programmes with case-study components.

SHRI

SHRI is the principal HR professional body in Singapore and offers a range of certificate and short-course programmes covering employment law fundamentals. SHRI programmes integrate employment law into broader HR competency frameworks.

Private providers

A number of private providers — typically associated with HR consulting practices, law firms, or specialist trainers — offer Employment Act and employment law programmes. Quality varies and prospective participants should check the trainer's background, the currency of materials, and reviews from previous attendees.

SkillsFuture support

Many programmes from accredited providers attract SkillsFuture Credit, which Singapore citizens can apply to subsidise course fees. Mid-career professionals may also access additional SkillsFuture support for upskilling, depending on the programme and the participant's profile.

Course content and depth

HR-oriented programmes typically cover: Employment Act coverage, Part IV thresholds, leave and benefits, termination and notice, retrenchment and the Tripartite Advisory, workplace harassment and the Protection from Harassment Act 2014, and the Workplace Fairness Act 2025. Depth varies materially across providers.

The Ministry of Manpower and the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) publish extensive free resources that complement structured training programmes.

MOM resources

• The MOM website with explanatory pages on Employment Act provisions, work-pass policy, retrenchment notification, and tripartite advisories;
• MOM-issued e-learning modules on specific topics, including itemised payslips, KETs, and the standard contract for FDWs;
• MOM Labour Market Reports — quarterly publications useful for context on retrenchment trends, wage growth, and sectoral developments;
• MOM webinars and roundtables on policy developments, often free to attend.

TAFEP resources

• The Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices and supporting interpretive guidance;
• The Tripartite Advisory on Managing Workplace Harassment (issued 2015, updated 2023);
• The Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment;
• The April 2025 Tripartite Advisory on the Use of Non-Compete Clauses in Employment Contracts;
• Sample policy templates and HR checklists.

Limits of free resources

MOM and TAFEP resources are excellent for orientation and reference but do not replace structured training. The resources are designed to communicate rules to a broad audience; they do not engage in depth with judicial interpretation, drafting nuance, or strategic considerations in advisory work. For practitioners and in-house counsel, free resources are a complement to structured CPD, not a substitute.

The right track depends on the participant's role, prior knowledge, and objectives.

For Singapore-admitted lawyers

SAL is the primary route, supplemented by SMU CALS for applied topics. Update sessions following the WFA 2025, the April 2025 Tripartite Advisory on Non-Compete Clauses, and significant Court of Appeal and High Court judgments are particularly valuable. For practitioners new to employment law as a specialism, a multi-day SMU CALS intensive is a strong foundation.

For in-house counsel

A combination of SAL (for doctrinal updates and CPD) and SMU CALS (for applied and cross-disciplinary topics) is typically the right mix. NTUC LearningHub or SHRI HR programmes can supplement for in-house counsel working closely with HR business partners on operational issues.

For HR directors and senior HR business partners

NTUC LearningHub and SHRI are the primary tracks, supplemented by selected SMU CALS programmes where the participant has a strong legal interest. Annual update sessions on the Employment Act, the WFA 2025, and the retrenchment framework should be part of standard professional development.

For HR generalists and operational managers

NTUC LearningHub one-day update programmes, MOM webinars, and TAFEP-delivered sessions are well suited. The focus should be on operational application — leave administration, contract drafting using templates, performance management, and handling of grievances — rather than doctrinal depth.

For business owners and entrepreneurs

A one-day MOM or NTUC LearningHub overview programme is typically sufficient to flag the principal obligations and the points at which advice should be sought. Beyond that, the most effective use of time is engagement with employment counsel on a defined operational question (such as the first hire, the first retrenchment, or the first restructuring), rather than further generic training.

• Check currency. Confirm that the programme materials reflect the latest amendments to the Employment Act 1968, the Workplace Fairness Act 2025, the April 2025 Tripartite Advisory on Non-Compete Clauses, and recent significant judgments. Stale materials are worse than no materials.
• Check the trainer's background. For lawyer-pitched programmes, the trainer should be a Singapore-admitted lawyer with current employment-law practice. For HR-pitched programmes, the trainer should have substantial HR practice with Singapore-specific experience.
• Engage with case studies. The most valuable programmes work through case studies and require participants to apply the rules. Avoid programmes that are essentially statute-reading sessions.
• Bring your own questions. Programmes that allow participants to surface specific operational questions deliver materially more value than purely structured presentations.
• Use SkillsFuture support where available. Many programmes attract SkillsFuture Credit and additional support for mid-career participants. Check eligibility before registering.
• Capture takeaways. A short post-session note identifying specific policies, contracts, or processes to review — and a defined timeline for the review — turns the programme into operational change.
• Plan a refresh cycle. Singapore employment law is moving fast enough that an annual update is now standard practice for HR teams and in-house counsel.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Always consult a Singapore-qualified lawyer holding a current Practising Certificate before acting. For directory enquiries, see Singapore employment lawyers or visit contact us.