On December 16, 2014, the MOM, NTUC, and SNEF jointly announced
that they have developed a set of Tripartite Guidelines on the
Issuance of Key Employment Terms in Writing ("KET
Guidelines").
The issuance of the KET Guidelines follows the MOM's
announcement in April 2014 that they will impose on all employers a
mandatory obligation to provide their employees with select written
key employment terms by the first half of 2016. The guidelines aim
to provide employees with certainty as to their employment terms.
Businesses in Singapore should review their practices now to ensure
compliance when the provision of key written terms becomes
mandatory in early 2016. The following terms, where relevant to the
employment, must be provided by employers to their respective
employees in writing:
- Identity of employer and employee.
- Job title and scope of employee's duties and responsibilities.
- Commencement date and term of employment.
- Work days and hours of work.
- Rest days.
- Information on salary.
- Fixed allowances and other salary-related benefits.
- Overtime rate and overtime payment period.
- Leave entitlements, including annual leave, medical leave, and statutory leave.
- Medical benefits.
- Term of probation.
- Manner and mode of termination, including applicable notice period.
The KET Guidelines state that the key employment terms should be
provided to an employee prior to his or her commencement date and
in any event not later than 14 days following the date on which the
employee commences work with the company. As a matter of good
practice, companies should also procure the employees' written
acceptance of the key employment terms.
Key employment terms can be provided to employees in hard copy or
electronically and should be communicated to the employee in a
language that the employee understands.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.