On August 17, 2015, Singapore passed amendments to the Employment Act. The amendments require employers to:
- Provide itemized payslips to employees at least once a month, together with salary payments;
- Provide employees who have continuous employment of at least 14 days with the company with a written record of key employment terms; and
- Keep detailed employee records containing certain prescribed particulars.
In addition, an administrative penalty framework was introduced to treat less severe breaches of the Employment Act as "civil breaches" rather than criminal offenses.
While some minor operational changes have already taken effect from August 22, 2015, the key changes will not take effect until April 1, 2016. Taking into account feedback from small businesses, the Ministry of Manpower has also stated that it will provide a one-year grace period in enforcing the amendments, during which time it will take a light touch on enforcements, focusing on helping employers meet the additional requirements introduced.
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