Employees in Singapore have more scope to report discrimination

A proposed workplace fairness Bill will offer employees in Singapore more protection against workplace discrimination.

The legislation will be introduced through two Bills, the first of which has been introduced by Manpower Minister Tan See Leng. This outlines principles in protecting employees, the processes for dispute resolution and the levers to address breaches.

The second Bill, which will be tabled in 2025, will detail the specifics of claims procedures and introduce amendments to the Employment Claims Act. According to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), the legislation is bring introduced in two phases instead of one to give employers more time to prepare, reported The Straits Times.

MOM added that when enacted concurrently in 2026 or 2027, the legislation aims to reinforce fair and merit-based practices as workplace norms, bolster protection for employees and create a safer environment for employees to bring up bias grievances.

The proposed legislation sets out corrective action against errant employers and determines five groups of characteristics in employment decisions such as hiring, firing and appraisals, as unlawful.

These characteristics include nationality, age, sex, marital status, pregnancy status and caregiving responsibilities, as well as race, religion, language, disability, and mental health conditions.

Currently, 95% of workplace discrimination complaints made to MOM and the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices centre around these characteristics. Between 2018 and 2022, an average of 315 discrimination complaints were received by TAFEP and MOM.

Under the new legislation, employers who commit “serious breaches” will be subjected to punitive action like fines and civil lawsuits filed by MOM, which can result in higher financial penalties being imposed.

Employers will also be required to set up grievance-handling processes and inform employees about the procedures. Upon receiving a complaint, employers must conduct inquiries, document the process and communicate the outcome to the aggrieved employee, whose confidentiality must also be assured.

To protect employees who report workplace discrimination, the legislation will also prohibit retaliation such as dismissals, salary deductions or harassment. Employees who experience discriminatory treatment could file for claims of up to $20,000 (US$14,944), or $30,000 (US$22,417) if they are union members.

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Contrarily, employees who take employers to court frivolously could have their cases struck out or be ordered to pay costs of up to $5,000 (US$3,736) and be subject to employers’ disciplinary action.

MOM also highlighted that the new legislation is meant to complement, not replace, the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices introduced in 2007.