Employment Lawyers in Singapore

The Employment Act 1968 is the principal statute governing the employment relationship in Singapore. It sets out minimum terms of employment — basic provisions on salary payment, working hours and rest days, public holidays, annual leave, sick leave, retrenchment benefits, and termination — and is enforced primarily through the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Employment Claims Tribunals.

Following the major 2019 amendments, the Employment Act now applies to all employees in Singapore (whether local or foreign) under a contract of service, with a small number of carved-out categories: seafarers, domestic workers, statutory board employees, and civil servants. These excluded groups are covered by their own dedicated frameworks.

Within the Act, additional protections under Part IV — covering rest days, hours of work, overtime pay, and shift work — apply only to:

• Workmen earning a monthly basic salary of not more than S$4,500; and
• Non-workmen earning a monthly basic salary of not more than S$2,600 (as at 2026).

These thresholds are reviewed periodically by MOM. Employers should confirm the current thresholds on the MOM website when reviewing salary structures and overtime exposure.

Beyond the Act, the employment relationship is governed by the express terms of the contract of employment and by Singapore common law (the implied terms of trust and confidence, fidelity, and reasonable notice where the contract is silent). The Industrial Relations Act 1960 governs trade unions, collective agreements, and the Industrial Arbitration Court, although the unionised sector in Singapore is comparatively contained.

The 2019 expansion of the Employment Act to all employees was a significant shift. Pre-2019, employees earning above defined thresholds were partly outside the Act and relied principally on their contracts. Today, every employee in Singapore has at least the Act's baseline statutory protections, and the residual category of "executives" carved out of certain provisions is much narrower.

"Wrongful dismissal" in Singapore is a defined concept narrower than the common-law tort or unfair dismissal in some other jurisdictions. The framework was rationalised by the Employment Claims Act 2016 and the Tripartite Guidelines on Wrongful Dismissal first issued in 2019.

Under the Tripartite Guidelines on Wrongful Dismissal (issued by MOM, the National Trades Union Congress and the Singapore National Employers Federation), a dismissal is wrongful where it is made:

• On grounds of discrimination prohibited under the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP) or the Workplace Fairness Act 2025;
• To deprive the employee of statutory benefits or entitlements;
• To punish an employee for exercising an employment right (for example, lodging a complaint with MOM); or
• Without just cause where notice has not been given and the dismissal is summary in nature without a sufficient misconduct finding.

Performance-based dismissals are not, in themselves, wrongful, provided the process is fair and the substantive reasons are documented. Singapore's framework does not impose a general "unfair dismissal" regime in the British sense; the at-will principle subject to contractual notice remains the default.

Employment Claims Tribunals (ECT)

Wrongful dismissal claims and most salary-related disputes are brought before the Employment Claims Tribunals, a specialist tribunal within the State Courts. The ECT has a monetary cap of S$20,000 per claim, which rises to S$30,000 where the matter has gone through mediation at the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM). Claims exceeding the cap must either be reduced in scope or commenced in the State Courts or General Division of the High Court.

The ECT process is intended to be streamlined and accessible. Legal representation is permitted but not required; many parties appear in person. Tribunal hearings are heard before a Tribunal Magistrate. Decisions are binding and enforceable, subject to limited rights of appeal.

Pre-claim mediation at TADM

Before lodging a claim at the ECT, parties must attempt mediation at the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management. TADM mediation is mandatory for salary-related and wrongful-dismissal disputes and is provided at low cost. A substantial proportion of claims are resolved at this stage without proceeding to a tribunal hearing.

Where the dispute involves substantial damages — high-value bonus claims, breach of restraint-of-trade covenants, or executive separation — the State Courts (claims up to S$250,000 from 2024) or the General Division of the High Court are the appropriate venues.

Retrenchment in Singapore is not regulated by a single statute. The framework is a combination of the Employment Act 1968 (retrenchment benefits for eligible employees), the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment (issued by MOM, NTUC and SNEF), and MOM's mandatory retrenchment notification regime.

Notification

Employers retrenching five or more employees within any six-month period must notify MOM via the prescribed online form, within five working days of giving the affected employee notice of retrenchment. The notification supports MOM and the Workforce Singapore agency in connecting affected workers with employment support and training.

Fair selection

The Tripartite Advisory expects employers to select retrenched employees on objective and defensible criteria — typically business need, skills relevance, performance, and length of service. Selecting on grounds prohibited by the TGFEP or the Workplace Fairness Act 2025 (age, nationality, gender, race, religion, language, disability, pregnancy, caregiving responsibilities, mental health condition) exposes the employer to wrongful dismissal claims and, under the Workplace Fairness Act 2025, statutory remedies.

Retrenchment benefits

The Employment Act provides that employees with at least two years' service are entitled to retrenchment benefits. The Act does not prescribe the quantum, which is determined by the employment contract, collective agreement, or industry norm. The Tripartite Advisory norm — between two weeks' and one month's salary per year of service — is widely used as a benchmark, with variations reflecting business performance and seniority.

Notice period and pay in lieu

Retrenchment is a form of termination by the employer and triggers the contractual notice period (or pay in lieu of notice). Where the contract is silent, the Employment Act's default notice periods apply, ranging from one day for employees with less than 26 weeks' service to four weeks for employees with at least five years' service.

Outplacement and re-employment support

The Tripartite Advisory encourages employers to provide outplacement support, longer notice periods where practicable, and referral to Workforce Singapore's career conversion programmes. MOM and TAFEP audit retrenchment exercises after the fact and may follow up with employers whose practices fall short of the Advisory.

Retrenchment exercises are increasingly scrutinised by MOM, particularly where they coincide with the hiring of foreign professionals in similar roles. Employers must be able to demonstrate that the exercise was driven by business need, that selection was objective, and that the Fair Consideration Framework was complied with where applicable.

The Protection from Harassment Act 2014 (POHA) is Singapore's principal statute on harassment, including workplace harassment. It has both a civil limb and a criminal limb.

Criminal offences

POHA creates a range of criminal offences for harassment, alarm, distress, unlawful stalking, fear of violence, and related conduct. These apply equally in the workplace context. Cyberbullying, persistent intrusive communications, and conduct causing alarm or distress are within scope.

Civil remedies

Victims of harassment may apply to the Protection from Harassment Court (a specialist branch of the State Courts) for:

• Protection Orders. Restraining further harassing conduct and, in serious cases, ordering the respondent to attend counselling.
• Expedited Protection Orders. Granted on an urgent basis pending a full hearing.
• Damages. For loss caused by harassment.
• Stop Publication Orders. Requiring removal of false statements.

Employer obligations

The Tripartite Advisory on Managing Workplace Harassment (2015, updated 2023) sets out the expected employer response: a clear workplace harassment policy, an internal reporting mechanism, prompt and impartial investigation of complaints, support for affected employees, and disciplinary action where harassment is substantiated.

Employers who fail to take reasonable steps to prevent or respond to workplace harassment may face civil claims by affected employees on the basis of the implied duty of trust and confidence or, where the conduct amounts to constructive dismissal, wrongful dismissal claims at the ECT or State Courts. From 2025, claims grounded in unlawful discrimination may also be brought under the Workplace Fairness Act 2025.

Procedure

POHA proceedings in the Protection from Harassment Court are designed to be accessible to litigants in person, with simplified pleadings and an emphasis on rapid relief. Many cases proceed without legal representation, although solicitors are commonly engaged where the harassment is sustained, the employer is involved, or where damages are sought.

Employers who treat POHA reports as HR issues to be managed quietly without investigation risk exposure under both POHA and the Tripartite Advisory framework. A documented investigation following the Advisory is the baseline expectation.

Singapore's anti-discrimination framework moved decisively from voluntary guidance to statute with the passage of the Workplace Fairness Act 2025 (WFA 2025), Singapore's first dedicated workplace anti-discrimination legislation.

Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP)

The TGFEP, administered by the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP), have for two decades set the standard for fair employment. They prohibit discrimination on grounds including age, nationality, gender, marital status, family responsibilities, race, religion, language, disability and mental health condition. Although the TGFEP themselves are guidance rather than law, employer breaches have long been actionable through MOM's enforcement levers, including the withdrawal of work pass privileges and reputational sanctions.

Workplace Fairness Act 2025

The WFA 2025, enacted in 2025, transposes the core TGFEP protections into binding law. It covers discrimination across the employment lifecycle: recruitment, terms and conditions, training, promotion, dismissal, and post-employment references.

The Act's protected characteristics include:

• Age
• Nationality
• Sex, marital status, pregnancy status, caregiving responsibilities
• Race, religion, language
• Disability and mental health condition

The Act provides for a tiered enforcement regime, with mediation at TADM as the first step and recourse to the Employment Claims Tribunals or the State Courts where mediation fails. Remedies include compensation, reinstatement orders (in dismissal contexts), and corrective directions.

Specific carve-outs preserve genuine occupational requirements, religious organisations' staffing of religious roles, and small-employer transitional provisions. The Act's interaction with the Employment Act 1968 and the Tripartite Guidelines on Wrongful Dismissal is set out in subsidiary legislation, and MOM and TAFEP publish detailed guidance for employers and employees.

Practical implications

Employers should review recruitment processes, job advertisements, performance management documentation, and termination procedures against the Act's standards. Employees who believe they have been adversely treated on a protected ground should document the events contemporaneously, including dates, statements, and witnesses, before approaching TADM or seeking legal advice.

Foreign employment in Singapore is regulated by the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act 1990 (EFMA), administered by MOM. The Act creates a work-pass regime in three principal tiers and imposes employer obligations on workplace safety, accommodation, and wage payment for pass holders.

The three principal passes

• Employment Pass (EP). For professionals with a qualifying job offer at a monthly fixed salary above the published threshold, with sector- and age-specific complementarity assessment via the COMPASS framework.
• S Pass. For mid-skilled workers in eligible roles meeting the published minimum qualifying salary, with sector-specific quotas and levies.
• Work Permit (WP). For semi-skilled workers in eligible sectors (construction, marine shipyard, process, manufacturing, services), subject to dependency ceilings and levies.

Each pass has its own conditions, quotas, and renewal cycles. The MOM portal publishes current thresholds and policy parameters; employers must verify these at the time of application as they are reviewed regularly.

Fair Consideration Framework (FCF)

The Fair Consideration Framework requires employers, before submitting an EP application for a foreign professional, to advertise the role on the MyCareersFuture portal for at least 14 calendar days and to fairly consider qualifying Singaporean applicants. Sham advertising — placing an advertisement to satisfy the rule without genuinely considering local applicants — is a breach of the FCF and may trigger MOM enforcement, including withdrawal of work pass privileges for the employer.

FCF compliance interacts closely with retrenchment. Where an employer retrenches local employees while continuing to hire or retain foreign professionals in similar roles, MOM and TAFEP will scrutinise the rationale. Employers in this position should be able to demonstrate either that the foreign hires fulfil a materially different role, or that the retrenchment was driven by clear business need with objective selection.

Termination of foreign employees

Termination of a foreign employee carries pass-related consequences. The employer must notify MOM of the cancellation of the pass, return the pass card, and (depending on pass type) arrange repatriation. The employment-law analysis of wrongful dismissal applies equally to foreign employees, who have standing at the ECT and (from 2025) under the Workplace Fairness Act 2025.

Foreign employees should not assume that pass cancellation forecloses their employment claims. Wrongful dismissal claims and unpaid-salary claims may be pursued through TADM and the ECT even after departure from Singapore, although enforcement and witness logistics need to be planned for.

The standard pathway for employment disputes runs through three stages: internal grievance, TADM mediation, and the Employment Claims Tribunals or State Courts.

Internal grievance

Most employment contracts and HR policies provide for an internal grievance mechanism. Engaging this is sensible — it preserves the employer's opportunity to remedy, it documents the dispute, and it is taken into account in any subsequent mediation or tribunal proceedings.

TADM mediation

The Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management offers mandatory mediation for most employment claims, including:

• Salary-related claims (unpaid salary, overtime, retrenchment benefits);
• Wrongful dismissal claims;
• Claims under the Workplace Fairness Act 2025; and
• Other employment claims within the ECT's jurisdiction.

Mediation is conducted by trained TADM officers and is low-cost. A claim referral note is issued where mediation does not resolve the dispute, which then enables the employee or employer to lodge a claim at the ECT.

Employment Claims Tribunals

The ECT, established under the Employment Claims Act 2016, hears claims up to S$20,000 (or S$30,000 after TADM mediation). Procedure is streamlined: a Statement of Claim, response, and case management conference followed by a tribunal hearing. Hearings are typically completed within months rather than years. Tribunal Magistrates issue written orders that are enforceable as judgments of the State Courts.

State Courts and General Division of the High Court

Where the claim exceeds the ECT cap or involves issues beyond the ECT's jurisdiction (for example, complex restraint-of-trade injunctions, breach-of-contract claims against directors, or share-based compensation disputes), the State Courts (up to S$250,000) or the General Division of the High Court are the appropriate venues. These follow the Rules of Court 2021.

Limitation

The Limitation Act 1959 imposes a six-year limitation period for most contractual employment claims from the date the cause of action accrued. Claims at the ECT have shorter procedural windows — typically one year from the cause of action — and prompt action is generally advisable.

Employment matter fees in Singapore vary widely with the complexity, the venue, and the seniority of counsel. There is no official fee scale, and any indication you see online — including on this page — is general guidance only, not a quotation.

TADM and ECT matters

TADM mediation itself is low-cost and many employees attend without legal representation. Where a solicitor is engaged for advice or representation, fixed-fee engagements covering preparation and attendance are common, often in the low- to mid-four-figure SGD range. ECT representation, where used, is similarly amenable to fixed-fee structures.

State Court and High Court matters

Higher-value disputes — bonus claims, executive separation negotiations, restraint-of-trade injunctions, group-wide retrenchment advisory — are typically billed on hourly bases with phased estimates. Engagement letters under PCR 2015 set out the scope and fee basis.

Employer advisory and ongoing retainers

Many employers retain employment counsel on a monthly retainer covering policy reviews, contract templates, ad hoc advice, and incident response. Retainer levels vary with the size of the workforce and the complexity of the operations.

Engagement letter requirement

Under the Legal Profession (Professional Conduct) Rules 2015 (PCR 2015), a solicitor must give the client adequate information about the basis of fees and the manner in which they will be calculated. In practice, this means a written letter of engagement before work commences, covering scope, fee basis, disbursements, and billing intervals.

Conditional Fee Agreements are not available for employment matters in Singapore. The CFA framework introduced in 2022 is limited to arbitration and prescribed Singapore International Commercial Court matters. Employment disputes are billed on conventional fee bases.

Employees with strong wrongful-dismissal or salary claims sometimes hold off from engaging counsel on the assumption that costs will exceed recovery. In practice, fixed-fee TADM and ECT engagements are designed to be proportionate; an early consultation typically clarifies whether the cost-benefit favours formal proceedings.

Employment law has distinct sub-specialisms. The right solicitor depends on whether you are an employee or an employer, on the seniority of the role, and on the venue.

Verify current admission

Every solicitor practising in Singapore must hold a current Practising Certificate. Verification takes minutes via the Law Society of Singapore Member Directory.

Side of the table

Many employment solicitors act primarily for employers; others primarily for employees. Some act on both sides on different matters. Where the matter is sensitive — a senior executive separation or a sector-wide restructuring — alignment of perspective matters and a solicitor whose practice routinely acts for your side is usually preferable.

Familiarity with TADM and ECT

Employees and lower-value disputes are concentrated at TADM and the ECT. A solicitor who routinely appears in these venues will know the registry's expectations, the Tribunal Magistrates' approach, and the practical leverage points in mediation.

Familiarity with the new statutes

The Workplace Fairness Act 2025 is recent. A solicitor whose practice is actively engaged with the new regime — through advisory work on policy implementation, training of HR teams, or early-stage litigation — will be more useful than one whose knowledge is limited to the older TGFEP framework.

Cross-border exposure

Multinational employers and senior executives often have cross-border elements: foreign-domiciled parent companies, equity awards governed by foreign law, restrictive covenants extending beyond Singapore. Solicitors with international employment experience are better placed to coordinate.

Written fee scope

Insist on a written engagement letter setting out scope, fee basis, disbursements, and billing intervals before any work commences. PCR 2015 requires solicitors to provide this.

Disciplinary record

The Law Society publishes information about disciplinary findings. Verify that there are no current public findings against the individual solicitor before engagement.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Always consult a Singapore-qualified lawyer holding a current Practising Certificate before acting. Inclusion of any lawyer in our directory does not constitute an endorsement and reflects a paid listing arrangement; selection criteria are set out separately on this page. For broader civil disputes, see our civil litigation lawyers directory, or browse other practice areas via find a lawyer.