Sec. 2 EA: see definition of "employees":
"employee" means a person who has entered into or works under a contract of service with an employer and includes a workman, and any officer or employee of the Government included in a category, class or description of such officers or employees declared by the President to be employees for the purposes of this Act or any provision thereof, but does not include:
(a) any seaman;
(b) any domestic worker;
(c) subject to subsection (2), any person employed in a managerial or an executive position; and
(d) any person belonging to any other class of persons whom the Minister may, from time to time by notification in the Gazette, declare not to be employees for the purposes of this Act."

The tripartite partners – the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) - have jointly issued a Tripartite Guidelines on Managing Excess Manpower in 2008. It was revised in 2017 as "Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment" (Available at: https://www.mom.gov.sg/~/media/mom/documents/employment-practices/guidelines/tripartite-advisory-on-managing-excess-manpower-and-responsible-retrenchment.pdf?la=en).

Termination of contract
Art. 9 EA.u2014(1) A contract of service for a specified piece of work or for a specified period of time shall, unless otherwise terminated inaccordance with the provisions of this Part, terminate when the work specified in the contract is completed or the period of time for which the contract was made has expired.
(2) A contract of service for an unspecified period of time shall be deemed to run until terminated by either party in accordance with the provisions of this Part.

No statutory limitation in the legislation reviewed.

No statutory limitation in the legislation reviewed.

The EA does not refer to any probation period.
However, it is common practice for employees to serve a 3 to 6 month-probationary period.

The EA does not require the employer to provide the reasons for termination with notice: Sec. 10 (1) EA provides that either party may at any time give to the other party notice of his intention to terminate the contract.

In addition, the EA does not expressly stipulate any obligation to provide the reasons when dismissing without notice (on the grounds of misconduct: sec. 14 EA), for continuous absence from work (sec. 13 (2)), or willful breach of a condition of the contract (sec. 11 (2) EA).

* Age: sec. 4 (2) of Retirement Age Act 1993 (No. 14 of 1993) as amended by Act No. 49 of 1998 stipulates that "no employer shall dismiss on the ground of age any employee who is below 60 years of age or the prescribed retirement age".
* Pregnancy and maternity leave: sec. 81, 84 and 84 A EA.
* Trade union activities: sec. 82 of the Industrial Relations Act (chap. 136) of 1960 as subsequently amended.

See sec. 81, 84 and 84A EA.

Sec. 10 (5) EA.

Notice periods are governed by the terms of the contract (sec. 10 (2) EA), and it is only in the absence of such a stipulation that the statutory notice periods apply.
Sec. 10 (3) EA establishes statutory minimum notice periods as follows:
- one day for less than 26 weeks' service;
- one week for 26 weeks to less than two years' service;
- two weeks for two to less than five years' service;
- four weeks for five or more years' service.
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Notice of termination of contract
10.—(1) Either party to a contract of service may at any time give to the other party notice of his intention to terminate the contract of service.
(2) The length of such notice shall be the same for both employer and employee and shall be determined by any provision made for the notice in the terms of the contract of service, or, in the absence of such provision, shall be in accordance with subsection (3).
(3) The notice to terminate the service of a person who is employed under a contract of service shall be not less than — (a) one day’s notice if he has been so employed for less than 26 weeks; (b) one week’s notice if he has been so employed for 26 weeks or more but less than 2 years; (c) 2 weeks’ notice if he has been so employed for 2 years or more but less than 5 years; and (d) 4 weeks’ notice if he has been so employed for 5 years or more.
(4) This section shall not be taken to prevent either party from waiving his right to notice on any occasion.
(5) Such notice shall be written and may be given at any time, and the day on which the notice is given shall be included in the period of the notice.

Dismissal
14 EA.—(1) An employer may after due inquiry dismiss without notice an employee employed by him on the grounds of misconduct inconsistent with the fulfilment of the express or implied conditions of his service except that instead of dismissing an employee an employer may —
(a) instantly down-grade the employee; or
(b) instantly suspend him from work without payment of salary for a period not exceeding one week.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), where a relevant employee considers that he has been dismissed without just cause or excuse
his employer, he may, within one month of the dismissal, make representations in writing to the Minister to be reinstated in his former employment.
(2A) For the purposes of subsection (2), a relevant employee means —
(a) an employee employed in a managerial or an executive position —
(i) who is dismissed with notice; or
(ii) who is dismissed without notice but receives payment of any salary in lieu of notice, after having served that employer for at least 12 months in any position (whether or not a managerial or an executive position);
(b) an employee employed in a managerial or an executive position who is dismissed without notice and without salary in lieu of such notice; or
(c) an employee not employed in a managerial or an executive position.
(3) The Minister may, before making a decision on any such representations, by writing under his hand request the
commissioner to inquire into the dismissal and report whether in his opinion the dismissal is without just cause or excuse.
(4) If, after considering the report made by the Commissioner under subsection (3), the Minister is satisfied that the employee has been dismissed without just cause or excuse, he may, notwithstanding any rule of law or agreement to the contrary —
(a) direct the employer to reinstate the employee in his former employment and to pay the employee an amount that is equivalent to the wages that the employee would have earned
had he not been dismissed by the employer; or (b) direct the employer to pay such amount of wages as compensation as may be determined by the Minister, and the employer shall comply with the direction of the Minister. (...)

There is no statutory procedure for collective and individual dismissals on economic grounds.
However the tripartite partners – the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) - have jointly issued a Tripartite Guidelines on Managing Excess Manpower in 2008. It was revised in 2017 as "Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment" (Available at: https://www.mom.gov.sg/~/media/mom/documents/employment-practices/guidelines/tripartite-advisory-on-managing-excess-manpower-and-responsible-retrenchment.pdf?la=en) and reads as follows:
- Para. 3: Employers facing structural changes "should consider alternative ways of managing their local manpower where possible. These could include upskilling employees and redesigning jobs" and employers are "encouraged to consult the unions, business associations and employees about these changes";
- Para. 7: If the company is unionised, the relevant union(s) should be consulted as early as possible. Where it is provided in the collective agreement, the norm is one month before notifying the employee;
- Para 5.: When carrying out a retrenchment exercise, the selection of employees for retrenchment should be conducted fairly, based on objective criteria such as the ability of the employee to contribute to the company’s future business needs. Employers should not discriminate against any particular group on grounds of age, race, gender, religion, marital status and family responsibility, or disability. For instance, older, re-employed as well as pregnant employees should not be unfairly targeted;
- Para. 15: Responsible employers are encouraged to adopt a longer retrenchment notice period when compared to the normal termination of employment contract, or to pay in lieu of such notice;
- Para. 17. Employees with 2 years’ service or more are eligible for retrenchment benefits. Those with less than 2 years’ service could be granted an ex-gratia payment.

No provision on severance pay in the Employment Act.

Sec. 14 (4) EA: If the Minister of Manpower considers the dismissal to be unfair, he may:
1) order reinstatement and payment of wages the employee would have earned had he or she not been dismissed, or in lieu if reinstatement
2) direct the employer to pay such amount of compensation as freely determined by the Minister.

Sec. 14 (4) a) EA: If after consideration of the Labour Commissioner's inquiry, the Minister of Labour is satisfied that the employee has been dismissed (on the grounds of misconduct) without "just cause or excuse", he may order reinstatement.

No statutory provision in the legislation reviewed.

An employee who considers that he or she has been summarily dismissed on the grounds of misconduct without just cause or excuse may, within one month of the dismissal and in writing, seek reinstatement (and/or compensation) from the Minister of Manpower (sec. 14 (2) EA. The decision of the Minister is final and cannot be challenged in any court (sec. 14(5), EA).

Claims of unfair dismissal (without just cause) dealt with in this section are only available to the employee in the event of a summary dismissal dismissal (for misconduct).

In the event of any termination of the contract by the employer, the employee has the right to sue in the civil courts for breach of contract at common law.