▷ With effect from 1 July 2026, the minimum retirement age was raised to 64 years and the re-employment age to 69 years under the Retirement and Re-employment Act. Employers may not dismiss an employee on the grounds of age before the employee reaches the minimum retirement age. (See below under: Prohibited grounds).
▷ Workplace Fairness (Dispute Resolution) Bill is set to take effect at the end of 2027, introduces several crucial components to the workplace.

▷ There are no exclusions based on the size of the enterprise.

▶ Employment Act (EA)
→ Under section 2(1) EA, “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 any of the following:
(a) any seafarer;
(b) any domestic worker;
(c) [Deleted by Act 55 of 2018 wef 01/04/2019 - (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.
▷ Note on managerial and executive employees:
With effect from 1 April 2019, following the Employment (Amendment) Act 2018, most employees in managerial or executive positions are now covered by the Employment Act. Prior to this date, many professionals, managers, and executives earning above a certain salary threshold were excluded from key protections under the Act, including the right to claim for wrongful dismissal.

▷ The tripartite partners – In 2020, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) issued a revised version of the Tripartite Guidelines on Managing Excess Manpower of 2008. The 2020 "Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment" (Available at: https://snef.org.sg/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Updated-Tripartite-Advisory-on-Managing-Excess-Manpower-and-Responsible-Retrenchment-as-at-11-Mar-2020.pdf).

The Workplace Fairness (Dispute Resolution) Bill was passed in Parliament on 4 November 2025. It establishes a framework that provides workers who experience workplace discrimination with an avenue to seek redress amicably and expeditiously, with safeguards to deter frivolous and vexatious claims.
The Act is set to take effect at the end of 2027 to give employers and workers time to familiarise themselves with, and prepare themselves for its implementation. (See: https://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/press-releases/2025/workplace-fairness--dispute-resolution----bill-press-release)

▷ Fixed-term contracts are not specifically regulated under the Employment Act. Their use and termination are largely governed by the terms of the individual employment contract and general principles of contract law.

▶ Employment Act (EA)
→ Section 9 EA provides that:
(1) A contract of service for a specified piece of work or for a specified period of time shall, unless otherwise terminated in accordance 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.

▷ The Employment Act does not impose any statutory limit on the number of successive fixed-term contracts.

▷ The Employment Act does not impose any maximum cumulative duration for successive fixed-term contracts.

▷ The Employment Act does not prescribe any maximum duration for a probationary period. It is common practice in Singapore for employees to serve a probationary period of between 3 and 6 months.

▶ Employment Act (EA)
→ Under section 2(1) of EA, “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 any of the following:
(a) any seafarer;
(b) any domestic worker;
(c) [Deleted by Act 55 of 2018 wef 01/04/2019 - (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;
▷ Domestic workers
→ Section 67 EA indicates that: The Minister may, from time to time, by notification in the Gazette, apply all or any of the provisions of this Act with such modification as may be set out in the notification to all domestic workers or to any group, class or number of domestic workers and may make regulations to provide generally for the engagement and working conditions of domestic workers.
▷ Note on managerial and executive employees:
With effect from 1 April 2019, following the Employment (Amendment) Act 2018, most employees in managerial or executive positions are now covered by the Employment Act, including the right to claim for wrongful dismissal before the Employment Claims Tribunal. Prior to this date, under section 2(1)(c) [Deleted by Act 55 of 2018 wef 01/04/2019], professionals, managers, and Executives (PMEs) were excluded from the definition of employee and consequently from key protections against dismissal.

▶ Employment Act (EA)
The Employment Act does not impose a general obligation on the employer to provide reasons for termination.
→ Section 10(1) EA allows either party to terminate the contract by giving notice without requiring the giving of reasons.
→ Sections 11(2), 13(2), and 14 EA also permit termination without notice in specific situations (willful breach, unjustified absence, and misconduct) without mandating that reasons be provided to the employee in the notice itself.

▷ Prohibit of discrimination
▶ Workplace Fairness Act 2025
→ Section 8 of the Workplace Fairness Act 2025 prohibit discrimination in employment, including dismissal, on the following grounds: age, nationality, race, religion, gender, marital status, pregnancy, caregiving responsibilities, disability, and mental health condition.
→ Section 17(1) of the Workplace Fairness Act 2025: It is discrimination to make an employment decision that adversely affects an individual on the ground of a protected characteristic (or where one of the reasons is a protected characteristic).
→ Section 28 of the Workplace Fairness Act 2025 prohibits retaliation against an employee for making a complaint, participating in proceedings, or assisting in an investigation under the Act.
▷ Age
▶ Retirement and Re-employment Act (Chapter 274A), No. 14 of 1993, as amended (by Act No. 49 of 1998)
→ Section 4(2) of the Retirement and Re-employment Act stipulates that: No employer shall dismiss on the ground of age any employee who is below 62 years of age or the prescribed minimum retirement age.
▶ Retirement and Re-employment (Prescribed Minimum Retirement Age) Notification 2026 (No. S 187 of 2026)
→ Section 2 of the Notification No. S 187: With effect from 1 July 2026, the prescribed minimum retirement age is raised to 64 years.
▶ Retirement and Re-employment (Prescribed Minimum Retirement Age) Notification 2026 (No. S 188 of 2026)
→ Section 2 of the Notification No. S 188: With effect from 1 July 2026, the prescribed re-employment age is raised to 69 years.
▷ Pregnancy and maternity
▶ Employment Act (EA)
→ Section 81 EA indicates that: Without prejudice to sections 84 and 84A, when a female employee absents herself from work in accordance with the provisions of this Part, it shall not be lawful for her employer to give her notice of dismissal during her absence or on such a day that the notice will expire during her absence.
→ Under section 84 EA: An employer shall not dismiss a pregnant employee without sufficient cause. A female employee who considers that she has been dismissed without sufficient cause may claim reinstatement or compensation before the Employment Claims Tribunal.
→ Under section 84A EA: An employer shall not dismiss a pregnant employee on the ground of redundancy or reorganization of the employer’s business. Such dismissal is prohibited during pregnancy (subject to length of service conditions), and the employee remains entitled to maternity benefits.
▷ Trade union activities
▶ Industrial Relations Act (chap. 136) of 1960 as subsequently amended.
→ Section 82 of the Industrial Relations Act stipulates that:
(1) An employer shall not dismiss or threaten to dismiss an employee or injure or threaten to injure him in his employment or alter or threaten to alter his position to his prejudice, by reason of the circumstance that the employee —
(a) Is, or proposes to become, an officer or member of a trade union or an association that has applied to be registered as a trade union;
(b) Is entitled to the benefit of a collective agreement or an award;
(c) Has appeared or proposes to appear as a witness, or has given or proposes to give any evidence, in any proceedings under this Act;
(d) Being a member of a trade union which is seeking to improve working conditions, is dissatisfied with such working conditions;
(e) Is a member of a trade union which has served a notice under section 18 or which is a party to negotiations under this Act or to a trade dispute which has been notified to the Registrar in accordance with Part III;
(f) Has absented himself from work without leave for the purpose of carrying out his duties or exercising his rights as an officer of a trade union where he applied for leave in accordance with section 81 before he absented himself and leave was unreasonably deferred or withheld; or
(g) Being a member of a panel appointed under section 6, has absented himself from work for the purpose of performing his functions and duties as a member of a Court and has notified the employer before he absented himself.
(2) An employer who contravenes any provision of subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction by a District Court to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.
(...)
(6) Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting a Court from inquiring into the dismissal or the reinstatement of an employee who has been allegedly dismissed in contravention of this section before any proceedings have commenced in a District Court.

▷ Pregnancy and Maternity
▶ Employment Act (EA)
→ Under section 81 EA, it is unlawful for an employer to give notice of dismissal to a female employee during her absence on maternity leave, or on such a day that the notice will expire during her absence.
→ Under section 84 EA, an employer shall not dismiss a pregnant employee without sufficient cause. If the dismissal is found to be without sufficient cause, the employee may claim reinstatement or compensation before the Employment Claims Tribunal.
→ Section 84A further provides that an employer shall not dismiss a pregnant employee on the ground of redundancy or reorganization. Such dismissal is prohibited during pregnancy (subject to length-of-service conditions) and does not affect the employee’s entitlement to maternity benefits.
▷ Trade Union Activities
▶ Industrial Relations Act (chap. 136) of 1960 as subsequently amended.
→ Under section 82 of the Industrial Relations Act, an employer shall not dismiss, threaten to dismiss, injure, or prejudice an employee by reason of trade union membership, participation in trade union activities, appearance as a witness, or performance of duties as a union officer or member of a panel under the Act.

▶ Employment Act (EA)
→ Under section 10(1) and (5), EA:
(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.
(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.

▶ Employment Act (EA)
→ Section 10(2) provides that the length of notice is governed by the contract of service. In the absence of any contractual provision, the statutory minimum notice periods in Section 10(3) apply:
- 1 day if employed for less than 26 weeks;
- 1 week if employed for 26 weeks or more but less than 2 years;
- 2 weeks if employed for 2 years or more but less than 5 years;
- 4 weeks if employed for 5 years or more.
→ Section 10(5) requires that such notice shall be in writing.

▶ Workplace Fairness Act 2025
→ Section 7 of the Workplace Fairness Act provides that:
(1) An employer makes an employment decision if the employer dismisses or retrenches, or terminates the contract of service of, an employee.
(2) In subsection (1), “retrench”, in relation to an employee, means to terminate the employee’s contract of service at the initiative of the employer because of redundancy or any reorganisation of the employer’s profession, business, trade or work.
▷ Note: Singapore legislation does not prescribe a numerical threshold to define collective dismissal. The above provisions apply to both individual and collective dismissals/retrenchments on economic grounds.

▷ No statutory provisions were found in the examined legislation in this respect.
See: the comments under Remarks regarding the "Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment" (updated in 2020).

▶ Employment (Retrenchment Reporting) Notification 2019
▷ With effect from 1 November 2021, employers who employ at least 10 employees are required to notify the Commissioner for Labour of any retrenchment within 5 working days after the employee is informed of the retrenchment. This requirement applies even if only one employee is retrenched (§§ 1 to 4 of the Employment (Retrenchment Reporting) Notification 2019).

▷ No statutory provisions were found in the examined legislation in this respect.

▷ No statutory provisions were found in the examined legislation in this respect.

▷ No statutory provisions were found in the examined legislation in this respect.

▷ No statutory provisions were found in the examined legislation in this respect.

▷ No statutory provisions were found in the examined legislation in this respect.

▷ No statutory provisions were found in the examined legislation in this respect.

▷ There is no statutory procedure for collective and individual dismissals on economic grounds.
▶ "Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment" (updated in 2020)
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 the Tripartite Guidelines on Managing Excess Manpower in 2008. It was last revised in 2020 as "Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment" (the 2020 updates are available at: (https://snef.org.sg/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Updated-Tripartite-Advisory-on-Managing-Excess-Manpower-and-Responsible-Retrenchment-as-at-11-Mar-2020.pdf) and reads as follows:
→ Para. 3: The alternatives to retrenchment, which employers should consider, are as follows:
• Send employees for training to upgrade their skills and employability
• Redeploy employees to alternative areas of work within the company
• Implement flexible work schedule, flexible work arrangements, shorter work-week, or temporary layoff
• Adjust wages in line with tripartite norms
• Implement no-pay leave (...);
→ Para 5: Where there is a need to implement any of the measures, the principle of leadership by example, close consultation and transparency should prevail. Employers should engage and communicate with unions and employees. The measures should be regularly reviewed to assess whether they remain necessary and whether other measures are required. Employers should always exercise care and fairness in implementing cost-saving measures, and pay special attention to the impact of any measures on low-wage employees.
→ Para. 7: The tripartite partners have developed the following advisory to help companies implement retrenchment exercises in a responsible and sensitive manner, bearing in mind the impact on the affected employees, in the event that retrenchment is inevitable. Retrenchment is a difficult time for all, especially for the affected employees and their families. It is important that employees are treated with dignity and respect during a retrenchment exercise.
→ Para. 8: 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, family responsibility, or disability. For instance, older, re-employed, and pregnant employees should not be unfairly targeted.
→ Para. 16: Employees being retrenched need time to prepare for and look for alternative arrangements. A longer notice period, to the extent practicable, will be helpful.
→ Para. 18: (...), responsible employers are encouraged to adopt a longer retrenchment notice period when compared to the normal termination of an employment contract, or to pay in lieu of such notice. This should be worked out with the union(s) in the collective agreement concerned; or with employees in their contracts of service; or codified in their company HR handbooks;
→ Para. 20. 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.
→ Para. 24: As responsible employers, companies should help affected employees look for alternative jobs in associate companies, in other companies or through outplacement assistance programmes. We urge employers to go beyond advisory assistance and make practicable efforts to place affected employees in their next jobs, possibly with the help of intermediaries such as employment/placement agencies. Supporting documentation (such as referral letters, service records, and past training certificates) should also be provided, where relevant, to facilitate the job search of affected employees.
→ Para. 25: Employers can work with unions, SNEF and agencies such as WSG, NTUC’s U PME Centre and the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) to provide employment facilitation services to assist the affected employees.

▷ There is no statutory severance pay in Singapore. The only statutory reference is the negative rule in Section 45 EA (which limits claims for employees with less than 2 years of service).

▷ There is no statutory requirement for employers to pay redundancy or retrenchment benefits in Singapore.
▶ Employment Act (EA)
→ Section 45 provides that no employee who has been in continuous service with an employer for less than 2 years is entitled to any retrenchment benefit on dismissal on the ground of redundancy or by reason of any reorganisation of the employer’s profession, business, trade or work. This provision does not create a positive legal entitlement to retrenchment benefits for employees with 2 or more years of service.
▷ Retrenchment benefits are payable only if provided for in the employment contract or a collective agreement. In the absence of such a provision, payment remains voluntary.

1) Dismissal not based on economic reasons: no statutory severance pay.
2) Economic dismissal: no statutory redundancy payment for employees with less than two years of service (§ 45 EA).
▶ Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment (updated in 2020)
According to the 2020 Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment:
→ Para. 10: 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. 20: 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.
→ Para. 21: The quantum of retrenchment benefit depends on what is provided for in the collective agreement or contract of service. If there is no provision, the quantum is to be negotiated between the employees (via their union in the case of a unionised company) and the employer concerned.
→ Para. 22: The prevailing norm is to pay a retrenchment benefit varying between 2 weeks and 1 month's salary per year of service, depending on the financial position of the company and taking into consideration the industry norm. However, in unionised companies where the quantum of retrenchment benefit is stipulated in the collective agreement, the norm is one month’s salary for each year of service.
→ Para. 23: If the retrenchment exercise follows shortly after a wage cut, the salary prior to the wage cut should be used to compute the retrenchment benefit, so that cuts are not implemented just to reduce retrenchment payments.