Singapore’s Workplace Fairness Bill is finally here and, once through Parliament, is expected to take effect in either 2026 or 2027. It is a landmark piece of discrimination legislation at a time of growing momentum for workplace equality in the APAC region. As Singapore enters a new chapter in its pursuit of greater diversity and inclusion, we explore the key obligations for employers, together with some practical pointers.
The landmark Workplace Fairness Bill (‘Bill’) was tabled in the Singapore Parliament for first reading on 12 November 2024 and will now make its way through the standard legislative process. It is anticipated that the Bill will come into force as currently drafted, although there may be some changes following the second reading of the Bill. The Bill seeks to:
- protect individuals from discrimination by employers on the ground of specified protected characteristics, such as age, nationality, sex, pregnancy, disability, and mental health; and
- establish fair employment practices in relation to the fair consideration of job applications, investigation and review of grievances, and prohibition of retaliation.
A second bill is intended to be tabled this year to set out claims procedures and implement amendments to the Employment Claims Act. If passed, both bills are expected to take effect concurrently in 2026 or 2027.
The Bill will herald a significant change to Singapore’s employment law, complementing and sharpening – without replacing – the existing Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (“TGFEP”) published by the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (“TAFEP”). In this update, we summarise the key statutory obligations under the Bill, and then answer some practical questions that employers are likely to be asking.
Discrimination on the ground of a protected characteristic
The Bill expressly prohibits discrimination in the following circumstances:
- As against individuals: when an employer makes an employment decision that adversely affects an individual on the ground of, or on grounds that include, a protected characteristic of the individual. This includes where the protected characteristic exists or is suspected, assumed or believed to exist by the person making the employment decision.
- By a written direction, instruction or policy that directs or influences the making of any employment decision that will adversely affect an individual (or the making of such employment decisions generally) on the ground of a protected characteristic.
- By advertisement or description: when an employer publishes a job advertisement that mentions (expressly or impliedly) a protected characteristic as a condition, advantage, disadvantage or disqualification for employment.
Various exceptions are set out in the Bill, including where a protected characteristic is a genuine requirement of a job (see below for further details).
What constitutes an ‘employment decision’?
Underpinning the anti-discrimination framework of the Bill is the concept of an ‘employment decision’. Under the Bill, employment decisions include the following:
- Pre-employment decisions to hire (or not hire) an individual. This includes taking any step towards an offer of employment, such as inviting the individual to an interview or even asking for information or documents for the purposes of possible employment.
- In-employment decisions, such as performance appraisals, promotions and demotions, and the provision of training.
- End-of-employment decisions such as to dismiss, retrench, or terminate the employment of an individual.
Through this, the Bill seeks to prohibit discrimination at all stages of the employment relationship.
The protected characteristics
The Bill includes the following as protected characteristics:
- age;
- nationality;
- sex, excluding sexual orientation and gender identity;
- marital status;
- pregnancy, including where the woman has expressed a desire or intent to have children, is breastfeeding, or takes her statutory maternity leave;
- caregiving responsibilities for a family member;
- race;
- religion;
- language ability;
- disability, including autism, intellectual, physical, or sensory disability; and
- mental health condition (i.e. where the individual has been “diagnosed with any mental disorder by a medical practitioner”).
The above protected characteristics account for 95% of workplace discrimination complaints received by Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower and the TAFEP.
Exceptions to discriminatory acts
There are three main exceptions under the Bill where an act will not be discriminatory. The first is where the protected characteristic is a genuine requirement of the job. This includes where:
- The job cannot be reasonably performed by an individual with (or without) the protected characteristic. Section 20(3) of the Bill highlights that communication in a particular language will not be considered reasonably necessary merely because other employees regularly communicate in that language.
- The possession (or lack) of the protected characteristic is necessary to preserve safety, health or standards of privacy, or to comply with legal requirements.
The second is where the employment decision discriminates in favour of either:
- individuals above a prescribed age, or discriminates against individuals below a prescribed age;
- Singapore citizens and permanent residents; or
- disabled individuals.
Finally, the third exception is where a religious group seeks to restrict certain roles to persons professing that religion.
Fair Employment Practices
The Bill sets out three fair employment practices that employers will need to comply with. These are as follows:
- Employers will be prohibited from applying for prescribed work passes if they have not fulfilled certain requirements relating to advertising and fair consideration.
- Employers will be required to develop a grievance-handling process to investigate, review, and maintain records of all grievances raised by their employees. An employee who raises a grievance should be notified of the outcome of the review. Furthermore, and unless reasonably necessary, the identity of that employee, as well as information on the inquiry or review, should not be disclosed to any person.
- Employers will be prohibited from retaliating against an employee because the employee has brought proceedings or given evidence against the employer under the Bill. Retaliatory action may include salary deductions, harassment, or dismissal.
The Bill in practice: Helpful Q&As for employers
1)Will the Bill apply to all employers?
No. The Bill will only apply to employers with 25 or more employees, which covers about 75% of all employers. This exception is expected to be reviewed five years after the Bill comes into effect. However, firms with fewer than 25 employees will continue to be subject to the TGFEP which prohibits all forms of workplace discrimination.
2)Are contractors or platform workers covered under the Bill?
No. The Bill clarifies that contracts for service, arrangements under a platform work agreement, and prescribed arrangements or classes of arrangements do not constitute employment.
3)Can individuals be found personally liable under the Bill?
Yes. Action may be taken against individual personnel of contravening employers if the contravention was committed with the consent or connivance of such individuals.
4)What penalties can be issued in the event of a contravention under the Bill?
There are two levels of contraventions for which penalties can be issued. The first is for civil contraventions, under which the following could be issued:
- An administrative financial penalty imposed by way of a contravention notice; and/or
- A direction to remedy, mitigate, eliminate and/or end the contravention. Failure to comply with the direction may lead to a fine capped at SGD 5,000 for a body corporate, or a fine capped at SGD 2,500 and/or imprisonment for a term capped at six months for an individual.
Then, there are more severe penalties issued for serious civil contraventions. The list of serious civil contraventions is set out in section 30 of the Bill, and ranges from repeated acts of discrimination to the retaliatory dismissal of an employee. For serious civil contraventions, an order for a civil penalty may be made as follows:
- For a body corporate, maximum penalties of SGD 50,000 for a first order and SGD 250,000 for subsequent orders; and
- For an individual, maximum penalties of SGD 10,000 for a first order and SGD 50,000 for subsequent orders.
5)Will the TGFEP still be relevant once the Bill comes into force?
Yes. Although the initial announcement of the Bill in 2021 indicated that the legislation would enshrine the TGFEP into law, the government has since accepted recommendations to have the new legislation supplement rather than replace the TGFEP. The TGFEP will therefore work in concert with legislation to provide protection against all forms of workplace discrimination, including those not covered by the legislation. This means employers will continue to be required to comply with the principles of fair employment practices set out in the TGFEP, rather than only complying with specific prescribed or prohibited actions under the Bill.
6)What preparatory steps should employers take in the interim?
While the Bill is anticipated to come into effect in 2026 or 2027, employers should start reviewing their current employment practices for compliance with the Bill as well as existing regulations such as the Fair Consideration Framework and the TGFEP.
A good place to start would be to assess if current employment decisions such as hiring, promotion or termination processes or documentation, particularly those that might touch on protected characteristics, contravene the Bill. Next, employers should review and strengthen their grievance handling processes in line with the relevant parts of the Bill. Additionally, employers may wish to scrutinise the use of human resources tools powered by artificial intelligence to ensure that such tools do not inadvertently lead to discrimination in employment decisions.
Takeaway for employers
The Bill marks a significant and welcome step forward for diversity and inclusion in Singapore. If passed, discrimination will be expressly prohibited in law at all stages of employment, while certain workplace practices, including job advertisements, applications and grievances, will need to be handled fairly.
However, there is no doubt that the Bill will introduce harsher penalties for non-compliance than the current guidelines in Singapore (which will continue to apply). This makes it all the more important that employers take 2025 as the year to adequately prepare themselves for the inevitable challenges that will come with the Bill, especially in an era where litigation and complaints against employers continue to escalate. With the new Bill, not only will employment processes, employer decision-making and documentation be subject to increased regulatory scrutiny, they are also likely to be regularly challenged by employees. Employers in Singapore need to make sure they are prepared for what lies ahead.
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.
