SINGAPORE Trends and Developments Contributed by: Ian Lim, Nicholas Ngo, Angela Chai and Stasia Ong, TSMP Law Corporation
were deliberate in preserving business autonomy and flexibility. Consequently, only direct discrimina - tion is prohibited. The Act does not extend to indirect discrimination (where ostensibly neutral policies may have the practical effect of disadvantaging those with certain protected characteristics). Similarly, the WFA also does not cover sexual orientation or gender iden - tity as protected characteristics for now. These are issues which the Ministry of Manpower Minister has characterised as complex and multi-faceted. The WFA does provide exceptions to the general prohibition against discrimination. Where a protected characteristic constitutes a genuine employment or occupational requirement, employers may lawfully consider it. This exception may also apply where health and safety, privacy, or other legal or regulatory considerations necessitate a particular characteristic for role performance. The potential for this exception to be abused warrants close scrutiny. In a first for Singapore, the WFA will also effectively permit affirmative action measures in respect of three protected characteristics. Employers will be actively encouraged and authorised to give preference to older employees (likely those aged 55 and above), Singa - pore citizens and permanent residents, and persons with disabilities. Enforcement Mechanisms of the WFA The WFA confers expanded powers of investigation and enforcement on the Ministry of Manpower. It also establishes a comprehensive three-tiered penalty structure with escalating consequences based on the severity and systemic nature of violations. Employers who contravene the WFA may face admin - istrative penalties or civil prosecutions. Failure to rem - edy such contraventions may result in additional crim - inal sanctions, including fines and, in egregious cases, even possible imprisonment of company officers. The WFA’s mechanisms also extend beyond punitive measures to include proactive requirements. In this regard, the WFA will require employers to develop and maintain accessible internal grievance handling pro - cedures, representing a further addition to the pres -
ently limited number of compulsory workplace poli - cies under Singapore law. Promoting the Family With Singapore’s birth rate continuing to decline pre - cipitously, the enhancement of parental leave benefits in 2025 comes as little surprise. From 1 April 2025, eligible working fathers with Singa - pore citizen children became entitled to a total of four weeks of government-paid paternity leave, doubling the two weeks previously available. A new shared parental scheme has also been intro - duced, granting eligible parents an additional six weeks of government-paid leave to be shared between them – supplementing the existing maternity and paternity leave schemes. By April 2026, this shared parental leave benefit will increase significantly to ten weeks. Over the past year, organisations across Singapore have also been working on implementing the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests. The Guidelines, which took effect on 1 December 2024, require all employers to establish a process for properly considering and responding to employees’ formal requests for flexible work arrangements. These developments represent a clear shift towards supporting work–life balance and gender equality in caregiving responsibilities. Good Faith and Fair Dealing in Employment In 2022, the High Court Appellate Division’s decision in Dong Wei v Shell Eastern Trading (Pte) Ltd and Another [2022] 1 SLR 1318 cast significant doubt on whether an implied term of mutual trust and confi - dence existed in employment relationships. While the decision reinforced business autonomy, it also deliv - ered a substantial setback to employees questioning whether employers could treat them unfairly. However, just as the notion of an implied term of mutual trust and confidence appeared to have met its demise, recent decisions have demonstrated that employers must still exercise good faith – within reasonable bounds and in specific circumstances. These developments have achieved a delicate bal -
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