HR Compliance in Singapore: The Essential Handbook
TRITON AI PTE LTD
Singaporean-owned talent resource organization formed with the purpose of developing a Singaporean core for our clients.
As a small to a medium-sized business owner in Singapore, it can be challenging to keep up with HR compliance and legislative updates when you already have a lengthy list of other concerns.?
?Managing your HR effectively from the get-go avoids time-consuming and stressful fines that could ultimately jeopardize your company. It's crucial to practice proactive HR compliance so you can identify and fix HR issues before they worsen.
?We’ve put together an HR Compliance and Employment Law Guidebook in this article to help HR professionals and leaders worry less about compliance difficulties and focus more on strategic tasks.?
?
What Does HR Compliance Mean?
?HR compliance refers to a company's commitment to adhere to the standards of conduct outlined by the applicable city, state, or country employment regulations. Although companies must abide by these regulations to maintain HR compliance, doing so when managing a large number of employees can be a challenge.?
?HR compliance requires that contracts be created following all applicable laws, regulations, and legal and regulatory obligations, including wage and hour rules. They ensure employees are aware of the laws that they should abide by throughout their employment period.?
?Additionally, HR compliance entails staying updated when it comes to changes to employment law. HR professionals need to stay current on all legislation that applies to them as well as best practices for HR compliance.?
?
Is Adherence to Local Laws the Responsibility of the HR Department?
?An HR department is responsible for a wide range of duties, including hiring, onboarding, employee training, and development. But perhaps their most crucial duty is to help the company maintain legal compliance.?
?Unquestionably, one of the most important duties of any HR department is compliance. They are in charge of ensuring that the company employs fair hiring and treatment practices, establishing the necessary workplace policies, ensuring that employees receive their contractual and statutory workplace entitlements, and ultimately ensuring that all other aspects of the organization comply with local employment laws.?
?HR departments are also responsible for developing and maintaining employee handbooks or policies to ensure the practice of complete transparency regarding employer and employee roles and duties. They should also be regularly evaluated and updated, taking into account any changes in the regulatory landscape or business requirements.
?However, the HR department itself is not solely responsible - in fact, the role of owners of businesses is equally essential to HR compliance. They are ultimately in charge of directing HR teams and putting compliance measures into place. HR leaders will struggle in their duty to maintain compliance if business owners are unaware of their obligations.
?
What are the important employment laws in Singapore?
?The Employment Act serves as the authoritative source for all issues pertaining to employment in Singapore. It specifies the fundamental terms and circumstances for employment under a service contract (with some exceptions included).
?Among other significant sources of employment law are:?
领英推荐
?
What are the most common HR compliance issues?
?Issues with HR compliance can take many different forms, and they are frequently influenced by an organization's size, the sector in which it works, and employee behavior.
?Equal employment opportunities for all and a fair and open recruiting process are crucial in a multicultural nation like Singapore. Although there are no particular laws in Singapore that prohibit workplace discrimination, companies are nonetheless expected to follow the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices and the Fair Consideration Framework.
2.??????????????Wrongful Dismissals?
?The Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) received 1,319 wrongful dismissal cases in all of 2020, according to the most recent Employment Standards Report published in July 2021 - many of which are submitted by terminated employees who were unhappy over how they were let go abruptly during the pandemic. Hence, the risks, fines, penalties, and controversies that can result from a wrongful termination are lessened by HR compliance.
3.??????????????Maternity Discrimination?
?There are still instances of maternity discrimination in Singapore even though is illegal to dismiss an employee due to pregnancy. Other types of maternity termination are:
·???????Being denied a promotion after taking a maternity leave;?
·???????Being compensated less than male counterparts since the “market rate” for women is lower;?
·???????Being denied a position because it is said to be physically difficult and the employee wasn’t willing to dedicate themselves to the job?
·???????Being denied employment because potential employers believe that women will likely become pregnant and take time off of work after recently getting married
?Although Singapore does not currently have anti-discrimination laws, the government plans to codify current workplace anti-discrimination regulations.?
4.??????????????Salaries Owed to Employees
?Around 4,848 pay claims were filed in 2021, according to the Employment Standards Report 2021- many of which concerned basic salary payments, as well as income in lieu of notice, the cashing out of unused yearly leave, and salary for overtime work. While 95% of employees were able to receive their entire salaries back, employers whose employees were not completely reimbursed had their work permits suspended by the MOM.?
Learn how to ensure HR compliance at your organization, avoid legal, and build a solid reputation as an employer. Talk to one of our HR experts today!