Employment Act (Singapore)

Who is covered, and by how much

Since 2019 the Act covers professionals, managers and executives along with everyone else, so the old assumption that PMEs sit outside it is a decade stale. Coverage comes in two layers: the general provisions (salary payment rules, statutory leave, public holidays, termination notice) apply to all covered employees, while Part IV's working-time protections (44-hour standard week, rest days, overtime at 1.5 times, capped hours) apply only below the salary thresholds, and never to managers and executives.

The default notice scale

Where the contract is silent, the Act sets notice by service: one day under 26 weeks, one week from 26 weeks, two weeks from two years, and four weeks from five years, and notice must be equal for both sides. Contracts almost always specify longer periods, but the statutory defaults still matter for casual arrangements and for spotting one-sided clauses that would not survive scrutiny.

How Singapore's architecture differs

Singapore regulates lightly by ANZ or UK standards: no unfair dismissal regime of general application, no statutory redundancy pay, and a lot of weight carried by tripartite advisories (MOM, unions and employers issuing joint guidelines that function as strong norms). Wrongful dismissal claims exist through the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management and the Employment Claims Tribunals, but the practical governance of Singapore employment runs on the contract, the Act's floors and those advisories.