HIRING EMPLOYEES As Singapore’s main labour legislation, the Employment Act covers the basic terms and conditions of
employment as well 1. Contract of Service Contracts of Service are binding agreements between employers and employees that explicitly
state the length of service, Contracts of Service essentially cover the following:
2. Wages
There are a few things to note when it comes to remuneration in Singapore. Salaries cannot be deducted under any circumstances except for authorised instances, some of
which are absence from work, damage/loss of goods, employer-supplied accommodation and salary advances and loans. Salaries are calculated in two ways: – Basic Rate of Pay which is the salary of a worker including wage adjustments and increments and excluding all allowances. – Gross Rate of Pay which is salary including allowances. It is used to calculate salary deductions for absence from work and 3. Hours of Work and Overtime, Rest Days and Public Holidays Hours of work are generally determined by the company and should be stated in the contract of
service. But the Employment Act does Generally, a workman’s working hours are 8 hours a day (excluding meal breaks) or 44 hours a week. In a day, they are allowed to work a maximum of 12 hours, with a break in between
for meals. For overtime, they All employees are accorded one unpaid rest day by the Employment Act every week, with a
maximum of 12 working days between each rest day. If an employer requests an employee to
work on a rest day, the payment All employees are entitled to the 11 gazetted public holidays, which are:
5. Retrenchment The Employment Act advises on the procedures, basis of benefits as well as recommended alternatives to the laying-off of workers to help ensure that both parties receive a fair and reasonable deal. Employers are required to give notice to employees affected by a company’s retrenchment exercise.
Unless the notice period is covered in the contract of service, the following table based on the
length of service should
An employee who has worked for more than 3 years at a company can request for retrenchment
benefits. Sources: IE Singapore and RSM Chio Lim, 2007.
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