Labour and Employment Comparative Guide

1 Legal framework

1.1 Are there statutory sources of labour and employment law?

The Employment Act 1968 is the main statute governing labour and employment law in Singapore. It covers all employees under a contract of service, including employees who are working under full-time, part-time, temporary or contract terms. However, the Employment Act does not cover:

• seafarers;
• domestic workers; or
• any person belonging to a class of persons whom the minister of manpower may, by notification in the Gazette, declare not to be an ‘employee' for the purposes of the Employment Act.

The Employment Act sets out the minimum baseline for various key aspects of employment, including:

• salary;