Singapore

• New Year’s Day
• Chinese New Year
• Good Friday
• Hari Raya Puasa
• Labour Day
• Vesak Day
• Hara Raya Haji
• National Day
• Deepavali
• Christmas Day

Working Hours

The standard workweek in Singapore is 44 hours.

Minimum Wage

There is no statutory minimum wage in Singapore. Salary is subject to negotiation and mutual agreement between the employer and employee.

Expatriates must however be paid above a threshold set by the government. From 1 January 2025, all new employment pass applicants must be paid a fixed monthly salary of at least SGD 5,600 (or SGD 6,200 in financial services). This increase in the fixed monthly salary will apply to existing employment pass holders renewing their employment pass from 1 January 2026.

Employee Tax

Annual income	Tax rate
Up to SGD 20,000	0%
SGD 20,001 - 30,000	2%
SGD 30,001 - 40,000	3.5% + SGD 200
SGD 40,001 - 80,000	7% + SGD 550
SGD 80,001 - 120,000	11.5% + SGD 3,350
SGD 120,001 - 160,000	15% + SGD 7,950
SGD 160,001 - 200,000	18% + SGD 13,950
SGD 200,001 - 240,000	19% + SGD 21,150
SGD 240,001 - 280,000	19.5% + SGD 28,750
SGD 280,001 - 320,000	20% + SGD 36,550
SGD 320,001 - 500,000	22% + SGD 44,550
SGD 500,001 - 1,000,000	22% + SGD 84,150
More than SGD 1,000,000	22% + SGD 194,150
Central Provident Fund (CPF) contribution	20% (up to  55 years old). 17% (56 to 60 years old). 11.5% (61 to 65 years old). 7.5% (66 to 70 years old). 5% (above 70).

Bonuses

In Singapore, the 13th month bonus is common.

In Singapore, employers must contribute to employee pensions. They must also provide relevant statutory benefits such as annual leave and sick leave.

A contract of service must include the following clauses:

• Commencement of employment;
• Job title and job scope;
• Hours of work;
• Probation period, if any;
• Remuneration;
• Employee’s benefits (e.g. sick leave, annual leave, maternity leave);
• Notice period;
• Code of conduct

Fixed term contracts are allowed, but contract employees are usually not entitled to certain privileges like bonuses and medical insurance.

Annual Leave

An employee’s annual leave entitlement depends on their length of service:

• 1 year: 7 days
• 2 years: 8 days
• 3 years: 9 days
• 4 years: 10 days
• 5 years: 11 days
• 6 years: 12 days
• 7 years: 13 days
• 8 years+: 14 days

Sick Leave

Sick leave allowance is determined by length of service:

• 3 months of service: 5 days of non-hospitalisation leave and 15 days of hospitalisation leave.
• 4 months of service: 8 days of non-hospitalisation leave and 30 days of hospitalisation leave.
• 5 months of service: 11 days of non-hospitalisation leave and 45 days of hospitalisation leave.
• 6 months of service: 14 days of non-hospitalisation leave and 60 days of hospitalisation leave.
• Over 6 months of service: 14 days of non-hospitalisation leave and 60 days of hospitalisation leave.

Parental Leave

Maternity leave: a female employee is entitled to up to 16 weeks of paid statutory maternity leave, if her child is a Singaporean citizen and she has served her employer for at least three months. If this criteria is not fulfilled, she is still entitled to 12 weeks of leave. Eight weeks are paid if she is covered under the Employment Act and has been working for her employer for three months.

If neither set of criteria is fulfilled, she is not entitled to any paid statutory maternity leave.

Paternity leave: as of 1st January 2024, fathers are entitled to two weeks' paternity paid leave by the government if his child is a Singaporean citizen, he is lawfully married to the child's mother, and he has served his employer for at least three months.

There is also an option to provide eligible fathers with an additional two weeks of paid paternity leave on a voluntary basis. Under new rules, and with effect from 1st April 2025, fathers will be entitled to four weeks of government paid paternity leave.

Parental leave: eligible fathers can share up to four weeks of their wife's government paid maternity leave. With effect from 1st April 2025, an additional six weeks of government paid shared parental leave will be provided. From 1st April 2026, this additional six weeks of government paid shared parental leave will be increased to 10 weeks.

Termination Process

In Singapore, contracts must be terminated in writing.

An employee may terminate an employment relationship without giving notice under select circumstances. This includes failure to pay wages, or if they are called upon to undertake work outside of the terms of their contract.

An employer may terminate a contract if the employee is absent from work for more than two days without approval or notice.

The party that breaks the contract must pay compensation in lieu of notice.

Severance Pay

In Singapore, severance pay is applicable only after two years of continuous employment.  The law does not stipulate the severance to be paid. The amount is subject to negotiation between the employee and employer, if not already provided for in the employment contract.

Under a Mauve Group Employer of Record solution, clients and workers can reap the benefits of Mauve’s Global Master Insurance Programme – a market-leading unified corporate insurance programme that connects all Mauve entities to its two preferred providers.

The insurance provides coverage in overseas locations through a combination of the master policy and its linked local policies, where required by law in certain jurisdictions.  The policies include:

• Employer’s Liability and Public Liability - £10,000,000 combined limit.
• Professional Indemnity - £5,000,000 limit.
• Worker’s Compensation – Limit is dependent on location of work.

For specific information about statutory and recommended insurances in your chosen country, get in touch with Mauve.