D&Npub-8
EMPLOYMENT LAW - AN OVERVIEW
BACKGROUND
The law relating to employment in Singapore is largely based on English common law
principles with some statutory protections. While sharing common roots, employment law
in Singapore has developed separately since Singapore's independence in 1965. From the
outset the government of independent Singapore sought to establish a pro-active and
complementary relationship between labour, industry and government. Labour relations
have generally been harmonious and constructive. The law has sought to strike a balance
between providing appropriate protection for workers and keeping the economy agile so
that it can respond quickly and flexibly to changes in conditions.
THE CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT
The relationship between employer and employee is regulated largely by the contract of
employment between them. Generally parties are free to contract as they choose but there
are some limits. For example, there are statutory minimum periods of notice of termination
which cannot be contracted out of, and under the common law certain contractual
stipulations such as unreasonable restraints of trade are not enforceable.
STATUTE LAW
The principal statutes regulating employment law are the Employment Act and the Industrial
Relations Act.
The Employment Act does not apply to all relationships of employer and employee because
it applies only to "employees" as that term is defined in the Act. The definition includes
workmen and certain government employees but it does not include seamen, domestic
workers, persons employed in a managerial executive or confidential position or any other
persons who may from time to time be declared by the Minister of Manpower not to be
employees for this purpose.
The term "workmen" includes manual labourers, drivers of commercial vehicles and certain
other categories of workers.
Part IV of the Employment Act which prescribes certain minimum requirements regarding
rest days, hours of work, holid