SINGAPORE: Requiring employers to notify authorities before they retrench workers may discourage talks to save jobs, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng said on Tuesday (Mar 3).
He was responding to calls by labour chief Ng Chee Meng and other members of parliament (MPs) from the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) to implement advance mandatory retrenchment notifications.
Dr Tan said: "While advance notification has merits, mandating such a requirement poses non-trivial challenges.
"Retrenchment is ... always a difficult process for all parties involved, and is often a last resort for companies.
"Many a time, the senior management, together with the board, conduct backroom negotiations to try to save as many jobs as possible.
"If we mandate advance notifications, this may inadvertently push companies to finalise retrenchments faster, discouraging such dispute negotiations.
“Businesses have also expressed concerns over the potential leakage of confidential, market-sensitive information.”
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is not ruling out any options, and is consulting tripartite partners on these issues and will provide an update in due course, said Dr Tan.
The minister also responded to a suggestion made by Workers' Party chief Pritam Singh to require bigger companies to give higher retrenchment benefits.
Dr Tan said: "We adopt a balanced approach. We protect our workers, but at the same time, we need to give businesses some flexibility to adjust in different situations, because retrenchments occur for a whole variety of reasons."
He added that company size is not an indicator of its ability to give retrenchment benefits.
"For example, if you mandate retrenchment benefits in larger companies facing financial difficulties, I think we may inadvertently put even more jobs at risk.
"So on balance, we are reviewing it," said the minister.
Currently, companies with at least 10 employees must notify MOM of any retrenchment within five working days after the affected employee is informed.
An administrative penalty of S$1,000 can be imposed if the employer fails to do so.
Labour MPs have said that early notification to unions is the difference between “proactive help and reactive damage control”.
An Economic Strategy Review committee to manage the impact of restructuring has also said there is scope to work with the tripartite partners to bring retrenchment notifications earlier.
Shortly after the comments by Mr Ng, the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) expressed strong reservations, saying that advance notification may reduce businesses’ operational flexibility and unintentionally narrow the window for redeploying workers.
Senior Minister of State for Manpower Koh Poh Koon also responded to NTUC’s call to raise the salary cap for receiving unemployment benefits under the Jobseeker Support Scheme (JSS).
Labour MPs had urged the government to raise the income ceiling from S$5,000 (US$3,950) to S$7,600 to match the median gross monthly income of professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs).
The JSS was launched in April 2025. It provides up to S$6,000 for people who have lost their jobs involuntarily and they must participate in job search activities to receive payouts.
As of the end of October 2025, more than 3,500 individuals had received support from the scheme, said Dr Koh. It is estimated that about 1,600 have found new roles.
“As the scheme has only been rolled out last year, we will conduct a review when we have more experience, including on key parameters such as the qualifying income, to ensure the scheme remains well-targeted and sustainable,” he said.
The Economic Strategy Review committee on restructuring is also studying how the government can support workers, including PMEs, more proactively and meaningfully, he said.
These ideas include leveraging networks of trade associations and chambers to support more targeted job-matching in sectors with more PME openings, and expanding the scope of career conversion programmes to help more workers transition into growth roles.
“These efforts reflect a shift from reacting to job loss, to actively supporting career transitions, guided by strong tripartite partnerships and closer alignment between skills, jobs and industry needs,” said Dr Koh.
Dr Koh also gave an update on the main areas of focus in the ongoing review of the Employment Act.
The tripartite workgroup carrying out the review has engaged more than 2,000 stakeholders so far and will publish its recommendations in the second half of 2026, he said.
Part Four of the Employment Act, which governs work hours and rest days, will be reviewed to ensure that time-based protections and overtime pay remain targeted at workers who need them most, said Dr Koh.
This is as wages rise and the profile of Singapore’s workforce evolves, he said.
Dr Koh said MOM is also in discussions with tripartite partners about how and when restrictive clauses in employment contracts can and should be used.
This follows discussions about the use of restraint of trade clauses, also known as non-compete clauses, which restrict an employee from working for a competitor.
Guidelines on this will be based on established principles articulated by the courts, he said.
Dr Koh said many stakeholders also pointed out that the Employment Act has become harder to navigate over time.
The workgroup will study how to streamline and clarify key provisions so they are easier to understand and follow, he said.
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He was responding to calls by labour chief Ng Chee Meng and other members of parliament (MPs) from the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) to implement advance mandatory retrenchment notifications.
Dr Tan said: "While advance notification has merits, mandating such a requirement poses non-trivial challenges.
"Retrenchment is ... always a difficult process for all parties involved, and is often a last resort for companies.
"Many a time, the senior management, together with the board, conduct backroom negotiations to try to save as many jobs as possible.
"If we mandate advance notifications, this may inadvertently push companies to finalise retrenchments faster, discouraging such dispute negotiations.
“Businesses have also expressed concerns over the potential leakage of confidential, market-sensitive information.”
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is not ruling out any options, and is consulting tripartite partners on these issues and will provide an update in due course, said Dr Tan.
The minister also responded to a suggestion made by Workers' Party chief Pritam Singh to require bigger companies to give higher retrenchment benefits.
Dr Tan said: "We adopt a balanced approach. We protect our workers, but at the same time, we need to give businesses some flexibility to adjust in different situations, because retrenchments occur for a whole variety of reasons."
He added that company size is not an indicator of its ability to give retrenchment benefits.
"For example, if you mandate retrenchment benefits in larger companies facing financial difficulties, I think we may inadvertently put even more jobs at risk.
"So on balance, we are reviewing it," said the minister.
Currently, companies with at least 10 employees must notify MOM of any retrenchment within five working days after the affected employee is informed.
An administrative penalty of S$1,000 can be imposed if the employer fails to do so.
Labour MPs have said that early notification to unions is the difference between “proactive help and reactive damage control”.
An Economic Strategy Review committee to manage the impact of restructuring has also said there is scope to work with the tripartite partners to bring retrenchment notifications earlier.
Shortly after the comments by Mr Ng, the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) expressed strong reservations, saying that advance notification may reduce businesses’ operational flexibility and unintentionally narrow the window for redeploying workers.
Related:
JOBSEEKER SUPPORT SCHEME
Senior Minister of State for Manpower Koh Poh Koon also responded to NTUC’s call to raise the salary cap for receiving unemployment benefits under the Jobseeker Support Scheme (JSS).
Labour MPs had urged the government to raise the income ceiling from S$5,000 (US$3,950) to S$7,600 to match the median gross monthly income of professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs).
The JSS was launched in April 2025. It provides up to S$6,000 for people who have lost their jobs involuntarily and they must participate in job search activities to receive payouts.
As of the end of October 2025, more than 3,500 individuals had received support from the scheme, said Dr Koh. It is estimated that about 1,600 have found new roles.
“As the scheme has only been rolled out last year, we will conduct a review when we have more experience, including on key parameters such as the qualifying income, to ensure the scheme remains well-targeted and sustainable,” he said.
The Economic Strategy Review committee on restructuring is also studying how the government can support workers, including PMEs, more proactively and meaningfully, he said.
These ideas include leveraging networks of trade associations and chambers to support more targeted job-matching in sectors with more PME openings, and expanding the scope of career conversion programmes to help more workers transition into growth roles.
“These efforts reflect a shift from reacting to job loss, to actively supporting career transitions, guided by strong tripartite partnerships and closer alignment between skills, jobs and industry needs,” said Dr Koh.
Related:
REVIEW OF EMPLOYMENT ACT
Dr Koh also gave an update on the main areas of focus in the ongoing review of the Employment Act.
The tripartite workgroup carrying out the review has engaged more than 2,000 stakeholders so far and will publish its recommendations in the second half of 2026, he said.
Part Four of the Employment Act, which governs work hours and rest days, will be reviewed to ensure that time-based protections and overtime pay remain targeted at workers who need them most, said Dr Koh.
This is as wages rise and the profile of Singapore’s workforce evolves, he said.
Dr Koh said MOM is also in discussions with tripartite partners about how and when restrictive clauses in employment contracts can and should be used.
This follows discussions about the use of restraint of trade clauses, also known as non-compete clauses, which restrict an employee from working for a competitor.
Guidelines on this will be based on established principles articulated by the courts, he said.
Dr Koh said many stakeholders also pointed out that the Employment Act has become harder to navigate over time.
The workgroup will study how to streamline and clarify key provisions so they are easier to understand and follow, he said.
Continue reading...