Mayank Malik · 10/28/2026
Singapore work laws – pay, leave and employee rights – aren't exactly the most exciting of reads. You'll only ever go looking them up when something on your payslip looks odd or your boss says “just this once” for the fifth time. The good news is the fundamentals are actually pretty straightforward. Once you know them, you'll be able to spot a problem early and avoid a lot of hassle.
The principal legislation is the Employment Act. That sets the minimum standards for how employers must treat their employees. That's the floor. Your contract can provide you with more, but it can't provide you with less than the applicable legal minimums. The Act covers pretty much every employee regardless of nationality. It doesn't cover civil servants, domestic workers, seafarers and statutory board staff, who are covered by their own rules. MOM (the Ministry of Manpower) is the government body that deals with all of this. Some rules, such as those on working hours and overtime, apply only to certain categories of workers. These include workers earning up to S4,500permonthinbasicpayformanualworkersanduptoS2,600 per month for non-manual workers. If you're not sure which category you fall into, MOM's website has a useful checker.
Before you start work, you need to know what you're signing up for. Your employer must provide you with a written copy of the key employment terms within 14 days of your first day. This will contain:
Your salary must be paid on time, at least once a month. It must be paid within seven days of the end of the salary period. If you resign or are made redundant, the final payment is due within seven days of your last day. You should also get a payslip. That will show:
After three months of service, you start to accrue annual leave, which means paid days off each year. The minimum entitlement starts at seven days in your first year and increases by one day for each additional year of service, up to 14 days. You are also entitled to paid public holidays. If you have to work on a public holiday, you are generally entitled to an extra day's salary or another day off, depending on the applicable rules and arrangements. You should not end up with a loss of entitlement simply because you worked on a public holiday.
Falling sick is no pleasure at all, but the law does at least protect your pay. After three months of service, you're entitled to paid sick leave, subject to the applicable conditions:
New parents are covered as well. Eligible employees may qualify for different types of family-related leave, including:
Your contract will state your notice period, which is how long you must give your employer before leaving. Your employer must also follow the applicable notice requirements if they want to end your employment. If the notice period isn't stated in your contract, the minimum notice period is determined by the Employment Act and varies depending on how long you've been employed. Either party may also be able to end the employment relationship by paying salary in lieu of notice. Employers cannot dismiss employees for wrongful reasons. Examples may include dismissal for exercising a protected employment right or for reasons related to pregnancy where the law prohibits such dismissal. If this happens to you, you can seek help through the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM), which provides assistance with employment disputes.