SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Azmul Haque, Ashley Chew, Hu Yutong and Aaron Leong, Collyer Law LLC
Statute The Employment Act 1968 (EA) is the primary employ - ment statute governing most employment relation - ships in Singapore (excluding seafarers, domestic workers, civil servants and statutory board employ - ees). It sets minimum standards on matters such as salary payment, leave, termination, records, key employment terms and, for employees covered by Part 4, working hours, rest days and overtime. Other • the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act 1990; • the Retirement and Re-employment Act 1993; • the Workplace Safety and Health Act 2006; • the Work Injury Compensation Act 2019; • the Child Development Co-Savings Act 2001; • the Platform Workers Act 2024; and • the Workplace Fairness Act 2025. Case Law Common law principles remain relevant to interpret statute and contractual terms. Contract The employment contract is the primary document governing the relationship between the employer and employee, and sets out the mutually agreed terms and conditions between them. The employee handbook or manual supplements the employment contract and sets out workplace procedures and policies. Collective Bargaining Agreements employment-related statutes include: • the Central Provident Fund Act 1953; Collective bargaining is available to recognised trade unions under the Industrial Relations Act 1960. Collec - tive agreements regulating wages and working condi - tions are valid for two to three years, and must be filed with the Industrial Arbitration Court within one week of signing to be enforceable. Recognised trade unions may also provide limited representation to executive employees in relation to dismissal appeals, retrench - ment benefits, breaches of employment contracts, victimisation and re-employment. Guidelines, Advisories and Tripartism A notable feature of Singapore’s system is tripartism: a collaborative model involving the Ministry of Man - power (MOM), the National Trades Union Congress,
Depending on the circumstances, breach of duties may give rise to: • civil liability, including damages, account of profits or equitable remedies; • statutory liability – eg, for failure to disclose inter - ests, maintain proper records or comply with filing requirements; and • criminal liability in specified cases, such as engag - ing in fraudulent trading, making false statements or being involved in certain disclosure breaches. Directors may also be personally liable where they are involved in insolvent or wrongful trading, or where they incur liabilities without a reasonable expectation of the company meeting its obligations. Shareholders A company is ordinarily treated as a separate legal person from its shareholders. Shareholders in a com - pany limited by shares are generally not liable for the company’s debts beyond any unpaid amount on their shares. Singapore law recognises the concept of piercing (or lifting) the corporate veil, but this is applied sparingly and only in limited circumstances. The courts may disregard the separate legal personal - ity of a company where it is used as a sham or façade to conceal wrongdoing, but will generally uphold the principle of separate corporate personality, except in the following exceptional situations: • fraud or improper conduct; • use of the company to evade existing legal obliga - tions; and • situations expressly provided for under statute (eg, a company carrying on business without at least one Singapore resident director for more than six months).
4. Employment Law 4.1 Nature of Applicable Regulations
Employment relationships in Singapore are governed by statute, contract, common law and, where appli - cable, collective agreements.
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