Hire in Singapore

The Employment Act does not have any clauses on probation periods for employees. The common practice is three to six months.

During a probation period, a shorter termination notice period is usually applied.

The common practice for working hours is 40 to 44 hours per week, usually performed over five days per week. Before the contract begins, employers and employees agree on the working hours. The working schedule is one of the key employment terms.

The guidelines are as follows:

• If an employee works for five days or less per week, contractual work hours are up to nine hours per day or 44 hours per week.
• If an employee works for more than five days a week, contractual work hours are up to eight hours per day or 44 hours per week.

Overtime work is considered all work performed in excess of the normal hours of work, excluding breaks. An employee is eligible for overtime payment if he or she is:

• A non-workman earning up to S$2,600
• A workman earning up to S$4,500

The overtime rate payable for non-workmen is capped at a maximum salary level of S$2,600 or a maximum hourly rate of S$13.60.

For overtime work, employers must pay employee at least 1.5 times the hourly basic rate of pay. Payment must be disbursed within 14 days following the last day of the salary period.

Overtime hours cannot exceed 72 hours per month. If employers require employees to work more than 12 hours per day or 72 overtime hours per month, they must apply for an overtime exemption.

• Annual Wage Supplement (AWS) is also referred to as the 13th month payment. It is a single annual payment on top of an employee’s total annual wage. AWS cannot exceed one month’s salary
• AWS is not compulsory but common in practice. It is usually paid in December.
• Annual bonus is usually paid after the company’s financial year closing, when the performance of the company can be qualified.

• If one party wants to terminate the employment contract, they must provide notice of the termination to the other party in a written form or resignation letter.
• A termination letter is mandatory. Any notice of termination, either by an employer or an employee, must be in writing.
• If a termination letter is provided, the employee is still considered as an employee of the company.
• An employee either encashes or clears the annual leave if his or her employment is terminated.
• If the unused leave is encashed, it should be calculated at the gross rate of pay based on the employee’s last drawn salary.
• However, if an employee is terminated for misconduct, any unused leave will be forfeited.
• Employers with at least 10 employees are required to notify the Ministry of Manpower on retrenchments, regardless of the number of employees affected. The notification must be made within five working days after the affected employee has been notified of the retrenchment.

• The notice period outlined in a contract must be the same for both the employer and employee. The length of the notice period should correspond to the terms in the written contract (or verbal agreement if there is no written contract).
• Common practice is a one-month notice although this is often longer for higher level positions.
• Both parties may also agree to waive the notice period by mutual consent. Such a waiver should be concluded in writing.

Employees who have served the company for at least two years are eligible for severance payment (retrenchment benefits). Those with less than two years’ service can be granted an ex-gratia payment out of goodwill.

The amount of severance payment depends on what is provided for in the employment contract or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) for unionized companies. If there is no provision, the amount will have to be negotiated between the employees (or their union) and the employer. The prevailing norm is to pay a retrenchment benefit of between two weeks to one month’s salary per year of service. This can also depend on the company’s financial position and the industry.

In unionized companies where the amount of retrenchment benefit is stated in the CBA, the norm is one month’s salary for each year of service.

Payment via bank transfer is the most common mode for salary payments and is the mandatory payment mode for foreign workers.

Payslip must be made available monthly on website, PDF or paper.

• Employees are entitled to paid annual leave if they work for more than three months.
• Minimum annual leave is seven days for the first year and an additional one day for each additional year of service. This is capped at 14 days.

The number of days of paid sick leave is dependent on the employee’s service period.

* An employee is deemed to be hospitalized if he or she is certified by a doctor to need hospitalization. He or she does not necessarily have to be warded in a hospital.

Maternity Leave under Child Development Co-Savings Act will be entitled to 16 weeks of maternity leave if all of the following are fulfilled:

• The child is a Singapore citizen.
• The mother has served her employer for at least three months before the birth of the child.
• The mother has given her employer at least one week’s notice before going on maternity leave.

The mother will be paid by her employer for the first eight weeks of maternity leave. The last eight weeks of maternity leave will be paid by the government.

For a female employee who does not qualify for Child Development Co-Savings Act Scheme, she may be entitled to 12 weeks maternity leave if she fulfills necessary criteria. The employer is required to pay a monthly salary for the first eight weeks of maternity leave. Whether the employer is required to pay salary during the last four weeks of maternity leave depends ultimately on the terms of the employment contract between the employer and employee.

Upon mutual agreement with her employer, an employee can take the last eight weeks (ninth to 16th week) of maternity leave flexibly over a 12-month period following the child’s birth. The number of days that can be taken flexibly will be equal to eight weeks’ worth of working days. This goes up to a maximum of 48 days.

The employer will pay the usual monthly salary during the leave period. They can then claim reimbursement from the government in accordance with the Government-Paid Maternity Leave (GPML) scheme: 50% for the first two children and 100% thereafter.

From January 1st, 2024, eligible working fathers, including those who are self-employed, are entitled to four weeks of paid paternity leave funded by the Government subject to the agreement of the mother and meet the following criteria under CDCA:

• The child is a Singapore citizen born on or after January 1, 2024.
• The father is or was lawfully married to the mother of the child between conception and birth.
• The father has served his employer for a continuous period of at least three months before the birth of the child.

Childcare leave is regulated by the Child Development Co-Savings Act. Eligible working parents of Singapore citizen children are entitled to six days of paid childcare leave per year and need to meet the following criteria to be eligible:

• The child is a Singapore citizen,
• The youngest child is below 7 years old.
• The parent has served the employer for at least three months continuously.

Parents of non-citizens can get two days of childcare leave a year, in accordance with the Employment Act.

Extended Childcare Leave

Extended Childcare Leave under Child Development Co-Savings Act, eligible working parents of Singapore citizen children are entitled to two days of paid extended childcare leave per year and need to meet the following criteria to be eligible:

The child is a Singapore citizen,

The youngest child is between the ages of 7 and 12 (inclusive).

The parent has served the employer for at least three months continuously.

For parents with children in both age groups (e.g. below 7 years as well as between 7 and 12 years), the total paid childcare leave for each parent is a maximum of six days per year.

There are eleven public holidays in Singapore. Each major local race and religion have two holidays each in addition to the secular holidays of New Year’s Day, Labor Day and National Day.