Guide on

Employment Laws
雇佣权益指南
Panduan Mengenai Undang-Undang Pekerjaan

An initiative by Supported by

mom.gov.sg/workright

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 The Employment Act spells out the rights and
responsibilities of employees and employers under
a contract of service.

If you are a Singapore Citizen or Singapore

Permanent Resident employee, you are entitled
to Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions.

Am I Covered
under the
Employment Act?

The Employment Act covers every

employee (regardless of nationality)
who is under a contract of service
with an employer, except:

• Seafarers
• Domestic workers
• Statutory board and government
employees

Did You Know?

Part IV of the Employment Act, which covers working hours, rest days, and other
conditions of service, is applicable to workmen whose basic monthly salaries do
not exceed $4,500 and non-workmen whose basic monthly salaries do not exceed
$2,600. Part IV is not applicable to managers and executives.

To find out more about who is covered under the Employment Act,
please refer to the MOM website:
www.mom.gov.sg > Employment practices > Employment Act > Who is covered
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Differences between Contract of
Service and Contract for Service
A contract of service is an agreement between an employer and an employee.
A contract for service is an agreement between a client and an independent
contractor, such as a self-employed person or vendor, who is engaged to carry out
an assignment or project for an agreed fee. The Employment Act does not apply to
such persons.

To determine whether you are on a contract of service or a contract for service, you
would need to consider a number of factors holistically. Some key factors include:

• Who is responsible for the provision of work?

• Who provides the tools and equipment?
• Is the business carried out on the person's own account or is it for the employer?
To find out more about the factors to be considered,
please refer to the MOM website: www.mom.gov.sg >
Employment practices > Contract of service

If you are employed on a contract of service, you must

be issued with the Key Employment Terms (KETs) and
Itemised Pay Slips.

To minimise disputes on the

agreed terms and conditions, the
contract of service should be in
writing, e.g. a letter of appointment,
with details of the KETs.

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 Key Employment
1 Terms (KETs)

Your employer is required to issue Key Employment

Terms (KETs) in writing to you.

Key
Employment
Terms

Who When What

should receive should written form can the
written KETs? KETs be written KETs take?
issued?

• All employees who • Within 14 days • Can be issued in

are hired on/after after the first day soft or hard copy
1 April 2016 and of employment
employed for a • Common key
continuous period employment terms
of 14 days or more can be provided
in an employee
handbook and/or
company intranet

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Your employer should include the following items (listed in the table below) in your KETs:

Category Item description

Details of 1. Full name of employer
employment 2. Full name of employee (as specified on the identity
card, work pass or passport)
3. Job title, main duties and responsibilities
4. Start date of employment
5. Duration of employment (if you are employed on a fixed-
term contract)
Working hours 6. Working arrangements:
and rest day • Daily working hours (e.g. 9.00am to 6.00pm,
including 1 hour lunch break)
• Number of working days per week (e.g. 5)
• Rest day (e.g. Sunday)
Salary 7. Salary period (e.g. 1 Jan 2022 to 31 Jan 2022)
8. Basic salary
For hourly, daily or piece-rated employees,
employers should indicate the basic rate of pay
(e.g. $X per hour, day or piece)
9. Fixed allowances
10. Fixed deductions
11. Overtime payment period (if different from salary period)
12. Overtime rate of pay
13. Other salary-related components, such as:
• Bonuses
• Incentives

Leave and 14. Types of leave, such as:

medical benefits • Annual leave
• Outpatient sick leave
• Hospitalisation leave
• Maternity leave
• Paternity leave
• Childcare leave
15. Other medical benefits, such as:
• Insurance
• Medical/Dental benefits

Others 16. Probation period

17. Notice period
18. (Optional) Place of work
• Indicate if the work location is different from the
employer’s address. Although optional, employers
are strongly encouraged to include this

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 Working
2 Hours

Your contractual working hours (excluding break

time and overtime) cannot exceed 8 hours a day
or 44 hours a week.

Hours Hours Worked

Working Lunch Worked for the Week
Hours Break for the Day (assuming 5.5 day week)

9.00am to
1 hour 8 hours 8 x 5.5 = 44 hours
6.00pm

If you work more than 8 hours in a day

or 44 hours in a week, the extra hours of
work are considered overtime. Overtime
payment is at 1.5 times the hourly basic
rate of pay if your employer requires
you to work overtime.

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Computation and Payment
for Overtime Work
If you are monthly-rated, your
hourly basic rate of pay can be
calculated as such:

Total basic pay 12 months in a year x

in a year monthly basic rate of pay
=
Total number 52 weeks in a year x
of working hours 44 hours in a week
in a year

For example, if you earn $1,200 basic salary per month,

your hourly basic rate of pay is:

12 x $1,200
= $6.30 (to the nearest cent)
52 x 44
For each hour of overtime that you work, your overtime pay is calculated as:

$6.30 x 1.5 (*overtime rate) = $9.50 (to the nearest cent)

*overtime rate = 1.5 times hourly basic rate of pay
Including overtime, you should not work more than 12 hours a day (excluding break
times). Your total overtime must not exceed 72 hours in a month.
To calculate your overtime pay, please refer to the MOM website:
www.mom.gov.sg > Employment practices > Salary > Calculate overtime pay

Did You Know?

Regulations on working hours and overtime payment under the Employment Act
are only applicable to workmen whose basic monthly salaries do not exceed
$4,500 and non-workmen whose basic monthly salaries do not exceed $2,600.
They are not applicable to managers and executives.

If you are a shift worker, please refer to the MOM website:

www.mom.gov.sg > Employment practices > Hours of work, overtime and rest day
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 Payment
3 of Salary

Your salary and overtime pay must be paid at least

once a month and not later than the following timeline:

Payment Example
Deadline (Salary Period: 1 Jan 2022 to 31 Jan 2022)

Within 7 days after the Salary must be paid by

Salary end of the salary period 7 Feb 2022

Overtime Within 14 days after the Overtime pay must be paid by

Pay end of the salary period 14 Feb 2022

For end of employment, your final salary payment

could vary depending on the following situations:

In this situation Your final salary must be paid

You resign and serve the

On the last day of employment.
required notice period

You resign without notice

and do not serve the Within 7 days of the last day of employment.
notice period

On the last day of employment.

You are dismissed on
If this is not possible, then within 3 working days from
grounds of misconduct
date of dismissal.

On the last day of employment.

Your employer terminates
If this is not possible, then within 3 working days from
the contract
date of termination.

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 Itemised
4 Pay Slips

Your employer is required to issue itemised pay slips

to you.

• To be issued when salary is paid or within 3 working

days after salary is paid.
When
• In the case of termination or dismissal, pay slip must
be issued together with outstanding salary.

Format • Soft or hard copy

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 Items to include
Your employer should include the following items (listed in the table below) in your itemised
pay slips. If payments are made more than once a month, employers can consolidate pay slips.
The consolidated pay slip must contain details of all payments made since the last pay slip.

Category Item details

Salary details 1. Full name of employer
2. Full name of employee (as specified on the identity card,
work pass or passport)
3. Date of payment (or dates, if the pay slips
consolidate multiple payments)
• Salary
• Overtime
4. Basic salary
For hourly, daily or piece-rated workers, indicate
all of the following:
• Basic rate of pay (e.g. $X per hour, day or piece)
• Total number of hours or days worked
or pieces produced
5. Start and end dates of salary period
(e.g. 1 Jan 2022 to 31 Jan 2022)

Allowances, 6. Allowances paid in each salary period, such as:

deductions and • All fixed allowances (e.g. transport)
others • All ad-hoc allowances (e.g. one-off uniform allowance)
7. Any other additional payment in each salary period,
such as:
• Bonuses
• Rest day pay
• Public holiday pay
8. Deductions made in each salary period, such as:
• All fixed deductions
(e.g. employee’s CPF contribution)
• All ad-hoc deductions
(e.g. deductions for no-pay leave, absence from work)

Overtime details 9. Overtime hours worked

10. Overtime pay
11. Start and end dates of overtime payment period
(if different from salary period)

Net salary 12. Net salary paid in total

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 CPF
5 Contributions

If you are a Singapore Citizen or Singapore

Permanent Resident employee earning more
than $50 per month, your employer must
contribute CPF for you. This is applicable even
if you are working on a part-time/ ad-hoc/ contract
basis or during your probation.

Employers are required to pay both the

employer and employee’s share of CPF
contributions every month.

Your employer is entitled to recover

your share of the contribution from your
total wages if you earn more than $500
per month.

Find out more about the different classes of employees

where CPF contributions are payable for at
cpf.gov.sg/employer/employer-obligations/who-should-
receive-cpf-contributions

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 What payments attract CPF
Your employer will need to pay CPF contribution on wages payable. The table below
shows different types of payments that CPF contributions are payable and not
payable for:

CPF Payable: Wages CPF Non-payable:

Payments that are not
Basic wages considered wages

Overtime pay
Termination benefit:
Compensation given as a result of
Bonus termination (e.g. retrenchment benefit)
(e.g. performance bonus)

Reimbursement:
Allowance Expenses incurred on behalf of the
(e.g. meal allowance)
employers for official purposes (e.g.
purchase of office stationery)
Commission The reimbursement amount must not
(e.g. sales commission)
exceed the expenditure incurred.

Cash incentive Benefit in kind:

(e.g. productivity incentive) Non-cash benefit or gift given to the
employee (e.g. a commemorative watch)

Did You Know?

• If you earn more than $50 but not more than $500 a month, you are not
required to make CPF contributions on your part. Your CPF contributions will
be paid solely by your employer.
• The due date for your CPF contributions is on the last day of the calendar month.
• With CPF contributions, you can receive Workfare Income Supplement (WIS)
if you are eligible. Visit cpf.gov.sg/wis for more details.
• CPF contributions are rounded off to the nearest dollar.

You can find more information on the different types of payment that CPF contributions are
payable at cpf.gov.sg/paymentattractcpf

To calculate how much CPF contribution your employers need to contribute for you,
use the CPF Contribution Calculator at cpf.gov.sg/member/tools-and-services/
calculators/cpf-contribution-calculator

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 Rest
6 Day

You are entitled to one rest day

every week without pay. If you
work on your rest day, you should
be paid as follows:

For up to For more

half your than half Beyond your
If you work normal daily your normal normal daily
working daily working working
hours hours hours

At your
2 days’ salary
employer’s 1 day’s salary 2 days’ salary
+ overtime pay
request

At your
1 day’s salary
own Half day’s salary 1 day’s salary + overtime pay
request

Did You Know?

Regulations on rest days under the Employment Act are only applicable to
workmen whose basic monthly salaries do not exceed $4,500 and non-workmen
whose basic monthly salaries do not exceed $2,600. They are not applicable to
managers and executives.

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 Public Holidays,
7 Sick Leave and
Annual Leave

Public Holidays
You are entitled to 11 paid public holidays a year. If
you are required to work on a public holiday, your
employer should pay you an extra day’s salary or
grant you a day off in lieu.

How do I calculate my salary for working on a

Public Holiday?
Under these scenarios, you should be paid as follows if you work on a
public holiday:

If you work on a
public holiday that You are entitled to the following
falls on

• The gross rate of pay for that public holiday

• An extra day’s salary at the basic rate of pay
A working day
• Overtime pay if you work beyond your normal hours
of work

A non-working day (e.g. • Overtime pay for extra hours worked on a Saturday

Saturday for employees • One extra day’s salary at the gross rate of pay or
on a 5-day work week) another day off for the public holiday

• Payment for work done on a rest day

• Overtime pay if you work beyond your normal hours
A rest day
of work
The next working day will be a paid holiday instead.

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If you are not covered under Part IV of the Employment Act, your employer can
grant you time-off for working on a public holiday. The time-off should consist
of a mutually agreed number of hours. If there is no mutual agreement on the
duration of the time-off, your employer can decide on one of the following:

Pay an extra day’s For 4 hours or less For more than 4

salary of work on a public hours of work on
holiday, grant time- a public holiday,
off of 4 hours on a grant a full day off
working day on a working day

For more information on your employment entitlement for public holidays, please refer
to the MOM website:
www.mom.gov.sg > Employment practices > Public holidays: entitlement and pay

Did You Know?

The 11 paid public holidays are New Year’s Day, Chinese New Year (two days), Good
Friday, Labour Day, Vesak Day, National Day, Hari Raya Puasa, Hari Raya Haji, Deepavali
and Christmas Day. Please refer to the MOM website for other gazetted public holidays:
www.mom.gov.sg > Employment practices > Public holidays

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 Sick Leave
You are entitled to paid sick leave and paid hospitalisation leave if:

• You have worked for at least 3 months with your employer; and
• You have informed or tried to inform your employer within
48 hours of your absence.

To qualify for paid sick leave, you must be:

• Certified unfit for work by a medical practitioner registered under the

Medical Registration Act or Dental Registration Act

To qualify for paid hospitalisation leave, you must be:

• Warded in a hospital as an in-patient or for day surgery

• Quarantined under any written law
• Certified by a medical practitioner who can admit patients into an approved
hospital, including medical practitioners from national specialty centres
and ambulatory surgical centres

The number of days of paid sick leave and paid hospitalisation leave that you
are entitled to depends on your service period:

Number of months of Paid sick Paid hospitalisation

service completed leave (days) leave (days)

3 months 5 15
4 months 8 30

5 months 11 45

6 months
14 60
and thereafter

Did You Know?

The list of national specialty centres and ambulatory surgical centres is available
on the MOM website: www.mom.gov.sg > Employment practices > Leave
> Sick leave > Eligibility and entitlement

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Annual Leave
If you have worked with your employer for at least
3 months, you are entitled to paid annual leave.
Your annual leave entitlement should not be less
than the following:

Years of Days of
Continuous Service Annual Leave
1 7
2 8
3 9
4 10
5 11
6 12
7 13
8 14
and thereafter

If you have worked for at least 3 months but less than a year, your annual
leave is pro-rated based on the number of full months you have worked.
This applies even if you are on probation.

For example, if you have worked for 6 months, your pro-rated leave is:

6 full months
of service 7 days = 4 days
x (first year entitlement) (to the nearest day)
12 months
in a year

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 What if I am a part-time employee?
You are considered a part-time employee if you work
less than 35 hours a week under a contract of service.
You are also entitled to employment benefits such as paid public holidays,
sick leave, annual leave and childcare leave. However, your employment
benefits would be pro-rated according to the number of hours worked by a
similar full-time employee.

No. of working hours

per year of a
part-time employee Relevant employment No. of working hours
benefits that a in a day of a similar
X full-time employee X full-time employee
No. of working hours is entitled
per year of a similar
full-time employee

For example, if you are a part-time employee who works 22 hours per week,
your public holiday entitlement is:

22 hours of 52 weeks
work in a week x in a year 11 44 hours
8 = of pay for
X Public X Hours
Holidays 11 public
44 hours of x 52 weeks holidays
work in a week in a year

Therefore, for every public holiday, you should be paid:

44 hours
= 4 hours
11 days

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For more details on your employment rights, visit
www.mom.gov.sg/workright

Need help?
Call the Workright hotline at

1800-221-9922
or email
MOM_LRWD@mom.gov.sg

All information will be kept strictly confidential.

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 An initiative by Supported by

This guide is produced by the Workright Initiative under the Ministry of Manpower and the Central Provident Fund Board.
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All information in this guide is correct as of January 2023. The information in this guide is written in general terms and is not a complete statement of the law.