What you'll learn
- Country Introduction
- Tax Breakdown for Employers
- Statutory Leave Laws
- Minimum Wage and Working Hours
- Termination Process
- Additional Information
Singapore is a sovereign island country and city-state in southeast Asia. It lies just north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bordering the Strait of Malacca, the Singapore Strait, the South China Sea, and the Straits of Johor. The country's territory contains 1 main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and 1 outlying islet. Singapore is a highly developed country with the 2nd-highest GDP per-capita in the world, and its combined area has increased by 25% since its independence as a result of extensive land reclamation projects.
Paid Leave and Statutory Leave
Parental Leave
Pregnant employees who have worked at least 3 months before their due date are entitled to 16 weeks of paid maternity leave, which is usually split as half before the due date and half after the birth. However, if the employee’s child is not a Singaporean citizen, the maternity leave is reduced to 12 weeks total. The employer pays for half of the leave for the first and second child (the government pays the rest), however the government pays for the full leave for any child after the second.
Fathers/partners are entitled to 2 weeks of paid paternity leave as long as they have worked at their company for at least 3 months. This leave is paid for by the government. Employees can also take adoptive leave.
Sick Leave
Employee who have completed 6 months of work at their company are entitled to 14 days of paid sick leave if no hospitalization is necessary, or 60 days in the case of hospitalization. Before completing 6 months at the company, the employee is entitled to between 5-11 days of sick leave.
Paid Leave
Singapore has 11 public holidays, and employees are entitled to at least 7 days of paid time off each year after finishing 1 year at their company. This entitlement increases by 1 day for each additional year at the company. Employees can also receive leave for bereavement or marriage.
Wage Requirements and Working Hours
There is no minimum wage in Singapore, and the average wage is around SGD 5,847 per month. A standard workweek is 45 hours at 9 hours per day. Overtime work has a maximum of 72 hours per month and is regulated by the employment contract.
Termination Process
Process
Employers may end an employment contract after the probationary period as long as it is for just cause and notice is provided.
Notice Period
The notice period for terminations depends on the length of employment:
- 0-6 months = 1 day of notice
- 6 months-2 years = 1 week of notice
- 2-5 years = 2 weeks of notice
- 5+ years = 4 weeks of notice
Severance Pay
In Singapore, severance payments depend on the employment contract or collective agreement. For employees who have worked more than 2 years it is common practice to give a payment of 2-4 weeks of pay for each year of employment.
Additional Information
While not mandatory, it is customary to pay employees a 13th-month salary bonus at the end of the year.
★ 17% - Central Provident Fund
★ 0.25% - Skills Development Levy
Simplified Global HR and Payroll.
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Remote candidate
You've sourced a full-time employee or contractor located in a country where your company is not incorporated.
Cost Calculation
Pass us the details of your candidate and we will let you know exactly what it costs to employ your candidate in that country.
Onboarding & Admin
Sit back and relax as we onboard your new team member and take care of all the local compliances and admin work.
It can be prohibitively expensive to establish an entity in every country you want to hire talent in, so Remofirst will hire and pay your employee on your behalf while you manage their daily duties. Remofirst will handle formal HR procedures and employment contracts that adhere to local laws, so that you can simply approve invoices via our platform. When you work with an Employer of Record (EOR) you can compliantly hire the best employees around the world.
Unlike full-time employees, contractors work on projects with multiple companies at a given time and are technically self-employed. Full-time employees are solely focused on their employer and usually receive benefits (such as health insurance, equity or stock options, and time off) as an additional form of compensation. While it can be cheaper to work with international contractors instead of paying benefits to a full-time employee, you run the risk of misclassification. It's recommended to work with an EOR for contractor onboarding and payments, so you can know that your international contractors are paid compliantly and on time.
