Currency: Singapore dollar (Rate)
Public Holidays: 11 public holidays (see here)
Employer Taxes: Up to 17.25% of gross salary
Official Language(s): English, Chinese (Simplified), Tamil and Malay
Payroll frequency: Monthly
13th / 14th Salary: (what's this?) Not mandatory, but some employers offer a Annual Wage Supplement (AWS).
The minimum notice periods depend on the employee's length of service and range from one day to four weeks.
Either party can terminate the employment immediately by paying to the other party a sum equal to the amount of salary at the gross rate of pay which would have accrued to the employee during the period of the notice.
Either the employer or employee may terminate the employment relationship in accordance with the employment contract and applicable notice period (and payment in lieu of such notice).
Valid grounds for dismissal include misconduct, poor performance and redundancy.
There is no legal requirement for employers to pay severance. Severance payment must be included in the contract, and include all the salaries and benefits due at the last day of employment.
In case of dismissal due to redundancies, if the employee has been employed for at least two years, they are entitled to receive “retrenchment benefits” upon dismissal. The amount given to the employee depends on what is agreed upon in the employment contract or collective agreement.
In general, retrenchment benefits are usually between two weeks to one month for every year the employee has served at the company.
Probation period is optional but three-six months is common practice.
There is no minimum wage policy in Singapore.
Non-compete agreements must be reasonable in scope and limited in duration.
There are no specific statutory requirements for an employer to continue paying a former employee for adhering to the agreement.
Employees receive their salary payment on the 28th of each month.
Working hours per week are usually 44 (for a five-day workweek) or 48 (for a six-day workweek).
Employees can opt out of these provisions provided
For employees who are covered by the Employment Act, an employee must be paid 150% of the hourly basic pay of rate for any overtime hours.
White-collar workers ("non-workmen") are entitled to overtime pay only if they earn less than $2,600.
Employees are entitled to a minimum of seven days of annual leave after working in a company for three consecutive months. Afterward, one additional day is added per each year, capped at 14 days.
It is common to provide 14-20 days of leave for employees.
The duration of sick leave entitlement provided to workers is dependent on how long they have been employed by their employer.
Employees are only entitled to paid sick leave if they have worked for at least 3 months with the employer.
Employees will be reimbursed for medical consultation fees if it results in paid sick leave.
Employees are entitled to 16 weeks of paid maternity leave if they have worked for more than three months prior to giving birth and the child is a Singaporean citizen. The employee must also provide at least 1 week's notice before going on maternity leave, and informed the employer as soon as possible of the delivery.
If the child is not a Singapore citizen, maternity leave is 12 weeks.
Paternity leave in Singapore is two weeks. However, to meet the requirements of Government-paid Paternity Leave (GPPL), the child must be a Singaporean citizen and the employee must have been legally married to the mother between the conception and birth of the child. The employee must also have served the employer for a period of at least 3 months before birth of the child.
In case of adoption, the employee is also eligible for paternity leave if the child is a Singapore citizen.
There is also up to an additional 6 days of childcare leave dependent on certain conditions.
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*Employers will not be required to contribute CPF (Central Provident Fund) for foreign employees.
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