The principle legislation is The Employment Act.

All employees regardless of nationality are covered, including those in temporary employment. It would not, generally include contract workers under a contract for services.

The following are expressly excluded from cover: employees who are:

• employed in a managerial, executive or confidential position
• seamen
• domestic workers
• employed by a Statutory Board or by the Government

The following statutory provisions are relevant. They are not exhaustive:

Termination.

This is covered by the employment contract. If not, then the Act provides default provisions: where a person has been employed for less than six months, then the notice period can be as short as one day; where a person has been employed for more than five years, the notice period is not less than four weeks. There are graduated periods for shorter periods of employment.

Note: the period is the same whether the notice is given by the employer or the employee. Notice can be waived by mutual consent.

There are specific provisions in relation to someone who accepts in writing an offer of employment and then fails to appear and for contracts that provide for an employee to pay a penalty for terminating a contract early e.g. where the employer has funded education and training in return for a fixed term of employment after that education or training.

Constructive dismissal is to be found if the employer fails to pay salary or demands that the employee perform work outside the scope of the employment agreement.

Constructive resignation is to be found if the employee fails to attend work for more than two days without approval or good reason and without notice (or attempted notice) to the employer.

It is a criminal offence for an employer to refuse to accept an employee's resignation.

If notice is given, then the employer cannot require the employee to take leave during that period. The Ministry of Manpower says that periods of notice are intended to be served. That appears to be to ensure continuity. As a result, if a person is sent on "garden leave," he must be paid as if he were performing his duties - and his accrued holiday up to the end of his period of notice must be encashed. It follows, then, that any employee cannot take up employment with another employer during the notice period unless his contract permits it or the employer agrees to it.

Transfer of employees e.g. on takeover.

Where there is a transfer of the whole of part of the undertaking, employees can be transferred. But there are extensive conditions including advance notice to employees or their union, and to ensure that there is no break in the continuity of the period of employment so that long-service benefits are not lost.

Employees also have duties on such a transfer e.g. to serve the new employer as if he were the original employer.

And the employer to whom employees are transferred also has duties including to forewarn employees, prior to the transfer, of any matters that may affect the employee; such information is to be passed via the original employer.

Annual Leave

The minimum annual leave is determined according to a table and depends on length of service.

The period of service commences on the day of employment - although the annual leave may be pro-rata'd for employees starting part way through the 12 month period that the employer uses to calculate leave e.g. April to March or January to December.

However, to calculate the number of years' service, employers must always use the actual commencement date.

Employees are not entitled to any leave in their first three months. However, once that period has passed, that three months counts for accumulating their employment period. Only whole months count for accumulation. So if an employee serves 28 days of a 31 day month, that month will not count for accumulatio. In the first year of service, the employee is entitled to seven days' leave. That increased by one day per year served up to a maximum of 14 days in and after the eighth year of service.

Contracts of employment may provide for more leave.

There are provisions for annual leave to be forfeited if, for example, the employee absents himself without permission.

Singapore does not provide statutory entitlement to marriage, paternity or compassionate leave. It does provide statutory entitlement to maternity leave.

Sick leave

Where a person has been employed for at least three months, and provided he has informed or attempted to inform the employer that he is ill and that the illness is certified by an approved doctor (which may, at the company's discretion include a practitioner of traditional Chinese Medicine) he shall be entitled to sick leave according to a scale.

For an employee engaged for more than three months, five days per annum. The scale rises by three days per month up to 14 days after six months, and remaining at that level.

There is also hospitalisation leave: this starts at 15 days per annum after 3 months and increases to sixty days after six months, including the sick leave outlined above (i.e. an additional 46 days).

For qualifying sick or hospitalisation leave, employees are entitled to their salary as paid sick leave.

If the period of sickness includes a public holiday or a pre-planned day's leave, then the employee does not gain a day's pay or day off in lieu.

If an employee uses up all his sick leave, the employer may seek an opinion that he is not fit for work and if so terminate the employment; alternatively, he may allow the employee to take unpaid leave.

Medical expenses

Provided the employee has worked for at least six months, the employer has a duty to pay for medical examinations. However, all treatment costs are to be borne by the employee unless the contract states otherwise.

Even if the employee seeks medical examination whilst on leave, the employer must bear the cost. This would include, for example, an employee who is stung by a jellyfish whilst swimming on holiday.

Redundancy

In Singapore, this is termed "retrenchment."

The periods of notice in the case of redundancy are similar to those for termination. However, there is specific provision that companies must pay all financial sums on the last day of employment and must notify the Ministry of Manpower (not necessary in the case of a non-redundancy termination).

The Employment Act specifically provides for minimum redundancy benefits - however, no employee with less than three years' service is entitled to the statutory benefits.

The Ministry of Manpower recommends that companies try to avoid redundancy by temporary lay-offs or reductions in working hours. However, a shortened working week should be a temporary measure for at most two months and not reducing the working week by more than two days. Laid-off workers are entitled to half their pay. A deal between employers' groups, unions and the government has led to a provision that employees may take half-day's leave and half-day's lay-off. In this case they would continue to receive their full salary. But there are various terms and conditions attached to this scheme.

Hours of work

Certain staff, qualified with reference to their earnings, are protected by provisions that limit their working hours and other matters.

The provisions are very complex but in summary, a qualifying employee must not be required to work more than an average of 44 hours per week in any two week period.

There are limits on the number of working hours per day: maximum 9 hours per day for a five-day-week or maximum 8 hours per day for a week on which he works for more than five days.

However, shift workers may work up to 12 hours per day subject to the weekly maximum and, provided he has been made aware of the provisions of the Act, an employee can contract to work up to 12 hours per day. If he does work more than 44 hours per week, he is entitled to overtime pay.

Employees must normally be permitted to take a break at least once in every six hours - except in the case of a continuous process in which case he may be required to work up to 8 hours - but even so meal breaks of at least 45 minutes must be provided.

There are formulae set out to facilitate the calculation of overtime. And if overtime is worked on the employee's usual rest day or public holiday, then pay must be at the rate of 1.5 times his usual salary.

Employees may not work more than 72 hours overtime in any month.

Public holidays

Employees are entitled to 11 paid public holidays which are mostly religious and cultural holidays. However, employees may agree, either in the employment contract or on an ad hoc basis, that public holidays may be swapped, at par, with other days for the exigencies of the business.

Any employee who is absent without reasonable excuse on the day before or after a public holiday is not entitled to be paid for that public holiday.

If a public holiday falls on a non-working day, employers must compensate the employee by, either paying him for the day or giving him a paid day's leave on another day.

If an employee requires an employee to work on a public holiday, he must pay the grossed-up rate of pay for that public holiday and pay an extra day's basic pay. Special provisions apply to salaried i.e. monthly-paid employees.

Part Time Employees

Any person who works less than 35 yours per week is regarded as part-time.

There are a raft of measures for the protection of part-time employees including payment for public holidays, overtime, rest days, sick leave and hospitalisation leave, maternity leave.

(c) Chief Officers' Network

Note: nothing in this document constitutes legal advice.

All persons are cautioned to take advice on their particular circumstances from a properly qualified and experienced professional.