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.

Types of Contracts

• Fixed term
• Indefinite

We can offer both indefinite and fixed term contracts. The minimum length of a fixed term contract must be 6 months (This can changed based on the project requirements). We can also support with both full-time and part-time roles however, for it would be difficult for expat employees to obtain a valid work permit, employment pass on a part-time contract.

Job Title Restrictions

There are no job title restrictions in Singapore under the Employer of Record (EOR) model.

Working Hours

The standard amount of work hours is up to 48 hours per week, but capped at 88 hours in any continuous 2-week period.

Overtime hourly rate is 1.5 times the hourly basic rate of pay, and If overtime is owed, the employer must pay for overtime within 14 days after the salary period in which the overtime was worked. Under Singapore’s Employment Act, if an employee is required to work on a public holiday, they should get an extra day's salary at the basic rate in addition to their usual holiday pay or gross rate for that day.

Minimum Wage

The minimum salary in Singapore is SGD 2,245 per month.

Probation Period

The minimum probation period is 1 week. The standard probationary period in Singapore ranges from 3 to 6 months, and can be extended where there are reasonable grounds to justify it. Employees on probation are entitled to the same protections under the Employment Act (e.g., salary payment timelines, overtime pay, leave accrual if eligible). Benefits like annual leave or bonuses may be withheld until probation is passed, but this must be clearly stated in the contract.

Confirmation is not automatic under law; Employer must issue a confirmation letter to employee notifying them that they have cleared probation.

Payslips

Employers must issue itemized pay slips to all employees covered by the employment act, within three working days of salary payment.

Taxes & Local Employment Costs

Employee Taxes

Employees pay income tax depending on their residency status:

Resident employees pay taxes on a progressive scale (from 0% to 24%) and can have reliefs & deductions from their taxable income. The tax slabs in Singapore are as follows:

• First S$20,000 → 0%
• (20,001 – 30,000) → 2%
• (30,001 – 40,000) → 3.5%
• (40,001 – 80,000) → 7%
• (80,001 – 120,000) → 11.5%
• (120,001 – 160,000) → 15%
• (160,001 – 200,000) → 18%
• (200,001 – 240,000) → 19%
• (240,001 – 280,000) → 19.5%
• (280,001 – 320,000) → 20%
• (320,001 – 500,000) → 22%
• (500,001 – 1,000,000) → 23%
• Above S$1,000,000 → 24%

Non-resident employees are taxed at 15% flat OR resident progressive rates (0–24%), whichever results in higher tax payable. If a Non-resident falls under the Non-employment bracket (consultation/independent contractor), then they are taxed at 24% on net income.

Additionally, employees need to make contributions to the Central Provident Fund (CPF), Rates are based on age and apply to Ordinary Wages (OW) + Additional Wages (AW), up to the ceilings.

• ≤55 years → 20% of wages
• 55–60 years → 15%
• 60–65 years → 9.5%
• 65–70 years → 7%
• >70 years → 5%

For an employee ≤55 years old in 2025:

Max monthly contribution (if earning ≥ S$7,400/month):

20% × 7,400 = S$1,480/month

Max annual contribution:

20% × 102,000 = S$20,400/year

Employer Taxes & Contributions

For Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents, the employer’s statutory cost beyond salary is mainly CPF contributions, SDL and worker's compensation insurance.

For foreigners (non-residents without PR), no CPF is required.

Central Provident Fund (CPF): Contribution rates depend on the employee’s age. Applied up to the CPF wage ceilings. Capped at maximum of S$1,258/month.

• ≤55 years → 17% of wages
• 55–60 years → 13%
• 60–65 years → 10%
• 65–70 years → 8%
• >70 years → 7.5%

‍Skills and Development Levy (SDL): The levy payable for each employee is at 0.25% of the monthly total wages. The minimum payable is $2 for an employee earning less than $800 a month and the maximum is $11.25 for an employee earning more than $4,500 a month.

Workers' Compensation Insurance: Employer-paid insurance that covers medical costs, wage loss, and rehabilitation for employees injured or made ill on the job, ensuring compliance with labor laws and reducing employer liability. Contributed at 1.25% of monthly wage.

Annual Leave

An employee is entitled to paid annual leave if they have worked for their employer for at least 3 months.

After these 3 months, annual leave starts at 7 days for the first year of employment, then increases as follows, with a maximum of 14 days:

• 1st Year - 7 days
• 2nd Year - 8 days
• 3rd Year - 9 days
• 4th Year - 10 days
• 5th Year - 11 days
• 6th Year - 12 days
• 7th Year - 13 days
• 8th and thereafter - 14 days maximum

In the first year (3-12 months) - annual leave is pro-rated based on months worked.

Unpaid leave can be taken above the amounts listed if agreed between employee and employer. Any unused leave can be rolled over to the following year by mutual agreement, or can be paid out to the employee.

Sick Leave

Employees are entitled to up to 14 days for paid outpatient sick leave and 60 days for paid hospitalization leave. The 60 days of paid hospitalization leave includes the 14 days paid outpatient sick leave entitlement.

• Example: Employee hospitalized for 10 days after using 14 days outpatient leave → can still be paid for up to 46 additional hospitalization days.

Medical certificate (MC) must be issued by a registered medical practitioner or dentist.

Employee must submit the MC promptly (usually within 48 hours of absence, unless otherwise agreed).

Employees must have at least 3 months’ service with their employer to be entitled to statutory paid leave, and from this point the number of days is distributed based on months of service. For more information on sick leave, see the government website here.

Maternity Leave

• Employee must have worked at the company for at least 3 months.
• Applies to female employees who are citizens or permanent residents.
• Standard maternity leave: 12 weeks government-paid.
• Extended maternity leave: 16 weeks government-paid in specific cases
• Leave can be taken before or after delivery, with at least 1 week before the expected delivery date.

For more information on maternity entitlements, see the government website here.

Paternity Leave

Eligible working fathers are entitled to 2 weeks of paid paternity leave funded by the Government, if:

• Must be a working father (Singapore Citizen child)
• They are or were lawfully married to the child’s mother between conception and birth.
• They have been employed for at least 3 months

Leave is fully paid by the Government, reimbursed to the employer.

Leave can be taken within 16 weeks after the child’s birth. Employers may provide additional paternity leave at their discretion, but statutory entitlement is 2 weeks.

Public Holidays

Singapore has 11 days of paid public holidays per year.

Benefits

It’s possible for employers to provide supplementary benefits such as medical insurance, however, insurance companies in Singapore generally require all employees to have the same level of cover, making this impractical in most circumstances.

Employers may repay employees for taking out their own private insurance policies, but this would be considered taxable income.

Other Common Benefits

Not statutory, but often provided in practice by employers:

• Transport allowance / parking
• Meal allowance
• Annual leave above statutory minimum
• Performance bonuses
• CPF top-ups (employer can voluntarily contribute more than statutory minimum)

Medical Insurance

Public medical insurance (Medishield Life) is covered by the employee’s CPF (Social Security) payment.

MediShield Life is a basic health insurance plan which helps to pay for large hospital bills and selected costly outpatient treatments, such as dialysis and chemotherapy for cancer. MediShield Life is compulsory for all Singapore citizens and Permanent Residents. For Employment Pass holders, health insurance is not a requirement.

Employees can optionally enhance government insurance by purchasing private medical insurance.

Notice Period

Notice periods may be discussed between the employee and employer, but if not written in contract, the statutory rules are:

• Less than 26 weeks : 1 day notice
• 26 weeks - less than 2 years: 1 week notice
• 2 years to less than 5 years: 2 weeks notice
• 5 years or more: 4 weeks notice

The notice period rules above apply regardless of whether there is a probation period or not. Salary can be paid in lieu of notice; likewise, an employee may “buy themselves out” of the notice period (or their future employer may provide this money).

Statutory Payments

Any unused paid leave should be converted to cash included in their final pay. No statutory requirement for severance pay under the Employment Act. However, In common practice employers may voluntarily pay 2 weeks to 1 month per year of service, depending on company policy or employment contract.

Employees with less than 2 years of service are not entitled to retrenchment benefits under common practice.

Many employers voluntarily provide a 13th-month bonus or annual performance bonus.

Typically paid at the end of the year, often equivalent to one month’s salary, but this varies by company and industry.