Employment Lawyers in Singapore
Dismissal and wrongful dismissal claims, unpaid salary, non-compete clauses, discrimination and harassment, contracts and retrenchment. We act for employers and for employees, and the deadlines here are shorter than most people expect.
Employment disputes are unusual in that the clock starts the moment they begin, and the people caught in them are rarely in a state to notice. Someone dismissed on a Friday has weeks, not months, to take a first step.
We act on both sides: for employers on contracts, policies, terminations and defending claims, and for employees on dismissal, unpaid salary and the restrictions in their contracts.
If you have just been dismissed
Deal with this part first, because it is time-limited.
A claim for wrongful dismissal must be lodged with the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management within one month of your last day of employment. That is the deadline that catches people, because the first month after losing a job is spent doing almost anything except paperwork.
Salary claims run on a different clock: while still employed, within a year of the payment falling due; after employment ends, within six months of the last day.
Both routes start with mediation at TADM. Where mediation does not resolve matters, the claim proceeds to the Employment Claims Tribunals, which can hear claims up to S$20,000, or up to S$30,000 where the case has come through TADM mediation.
If you are anywhere near either deadline, that is the call to make today. Everything else on this page can wait.
For employees
Dismissal and wrongful dismissal. Being dismissed with proper notice is generally lawful, and being dismissed without a reason is not automatically wrongful. What makes a dismissal wrongful is narrower than most people assume, and it is worth having someone tell you honestly which side of the line you are on. Our note on what constitutes unfair, unlawful and wrongful dismissal sets out the distinctions, and our guide to employee termination covers the process from the other side.
Unpaid salary, overtime and benefits. Salary is due within seven days of the end of the salary period, and overtime within fourteen. Non-payment is not something to be patient about.
Your contract. If you are being asked to sign something, that is the cheapest moment to have it read. See employment contract review, and our note on whether to have a lawyer review it.
Restrictions on your next job. Non-compete and non-solicitation clauses are frequently drafted far wider than a court would enforce. More on that below.
Leave and family entitlements. What you are actually entitled to is often narrower or wider than the handbook suggests. See our notes on maternity leave and paternity leave.
For employers
Contracts and policies. Getting the contract right at the start is the cheapest risk management available. Our guide to employment contracts covers the terms that matter, including the ones that are unenforceable if drafted carelessly.
Terminating properly. Most disputes we see did not have to happen. They arise from a termination handled in a way that was defensible in substance and careless in process: no notice given or paid, a reason offered that the record does not support, or a departure dressed up as a resignation.
Retrenchment. Selection, notification and the obligations that attach where you have ten or more employees. This is a process with steps, and skipping them is what turns a commercial decision into a claim.
Restrictive covenants. We draft covenants that stand a chance of being enforced, and we act on enforcement where an employee has taken something with them.
Defending claims. At TADM mediation, before the Employment Claims Tribunals, and in court where a matter goes further.
Non-compete clauses
A non-compete is not enforceable simply because it was signed. To be upheld, it has to protect a legitimate proprietary interest, such as trade secrets or genuine customer connection, rather than merely shield the employer from competition, and it has to be reasonable in what it stops, for how long, and over what area.
Clauses written to cover the whole of Southeast Asia for two years in every conceivable role tend to fail, and a clause that fails protects nobody. Employers are better served by something narrower that holds. Employees are usually in a stronger position than they have been led to believe. Our note on whether non-compete clauses are enforceable goes through the test.
What the Employment Act does and does not give you
The Employment Act covers most employees, including managers and executives. What it does not do is give everyone the same rights.
The provisions on hours of work, rest days, overtime pay and shift limits sit in Part IV, and Part IV applies only to workmen and to lower-earning non-workmen. Someone on a manager’s salary who assumes they are entitled to overtime pay is usually mistaken, and someone who assumes the Act does not apply to them at all is also mistaken.
Notice periods come from your contract. Where the contract is silent, the Act supplies a length that rises with service. Either party can generally pay salary in lieu of notice instead of working it.
Discrimination and harassment
Fair employment is currently governed by the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices, enforced through the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices and, in serious cases, through consequences imposed by the Ministry of Manpower. Dedicated workplace fairness legislation has been passed and is to come into force in due course, which will change what a claim looks like.
Harassment at work can also be dealt with under the Protection from Harassment Act, which is a separate route with its own remedies, including protection orders. Which route fits depends on the facts, and sometimes both apply.
Employment law in Singapore: frequently asked questions
How long do I have to bring a wrongful dismissal claim?
One month from your last day of employment, lodged with TADM. It is a short window and it does not wait for you to feel ready. If you think you may have a claim, take advice early even if you have not decided whether to pursue it.
Can I be dismissed without being given a reason?
Generally yes, where proper notice is given or salary paid in lieu. Singapore does not require an employer to justify an ordinary termination on notice. What is not permitted is dismissal without notice where there is no just cause, or a dismissal for a reason that is itself unlawful, and that is where a wrongful dismissal claim arises.
What notice am I entitled to?
Whatever your contract says. Where it says nothing, the Employment Act supplies a period that increases with length of service, from a day for very short service up to four weeks for five years or more. Either side can normally pay salary in lieu rather than serve it out.
My employer has not paid me. What can I do?
Lodge a salary claim with TADM. Time limits apply: within a year of the sum falling due if you are still employed, and within six months of your last day if you have left. Mediation comes first, and unresolved claims go to the Employment Claims Tribunals.
Is my non-compete clause enforceable?
It depends on what it protects and how far it goes. A clause has to protect a legitimate interest such as confidential information or customer connections, and be reasonable in scope, duration and geography. Many are drafted far more widely than a court would uphold. Send us the clause; the answer usually takes one reading.
Am I entitled to overtime pay?
Only if Part IV of the Employment Act applies to you, which turns on whether you are a workman and on your salary level. Managers and executives generally are not covered by those provisions, whatever the practice in your office.
Do I have to go through TADM before going to court?
For the claims TADM handles, including wrongful dismissal and salary claims, mediation is the route and the Employment Claims Tribunals sit at the end of it. Other employment matters, such as a substantial breach of contract claim, may belong in court instead. Which is which is worth establishing before you file anything.
I was pressured to resign. Does that count as a dismissal?
It can. A resignation obtained under pressure may be treated as a dismissal in substance, but the facts matter a great deal and so does what was said and recorded at the time. If this has just happened to you, write down the sequence of events while it is fresh, and take advice quickly, because the same one month deadline applies.
We are an employer facing a claim. What should we do first?
Gather the contract, the personnel file, and every message and note relating to the termination, before anyone tidies anything. Then take advice before responding. Most employer losses we see are not about the merits of the decision. They are about a process that cannot be evidenced afterwards.
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