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1. Who does the Employment Act Singapore
covers?
 The Employment Act (EA), enacted in 1968, is
Singapore's main labour law that seeks to ensure
reasonable employment standards while balancing
businesses' need to stay competitive.
 The Employment Act covers every employee
(regardless of nationality) who is under a contract of
service with an employer, except:

2. Who does the Employment Act covers?
 Any person employed in a managerial or executive
position who earns a basic monthly salary of more
than $4,500;
 Any seafarer;
 Any domestic worker; and
 Any person employed by a Statutory Board or the
Government.

3. Who does the Employment Act covers?
 Part IV of the Act, which provides for rest days, hours of work
and other conditions of service, applies only to:
 Workmen earning not more than $4,500 basic monthly
salaries; and
 Other employees (other than workmen) covered under
Employment Act earning not more than $2,500 basic monthly
salaries (Note: basic salary excludes overtime, bonus, Annual
Wage Supplement, productivity incentive payment,
reimbursement for special expenses and any allowances).
 Note: Part IV of the Employment Act does not cover
managers or executives.

4. How do we define Managers and Executives?
 Managers and executives are employees with
executive or supervisory functions. These functions
include the authority to influence or make decision
on issues such as recruitment, discipline,
termination of employment, assessment of
performance and reward, or involvement in the
formulation of strategies and policies of the
enterprise, or the management and running of the
business.

5. How do we define Managers and Executives?
 They also include professionals with tertiary
education and specialised knowledge/skills and
whose employment terms are comparable to those of
managers and executives. Professionals such as
lawyers, accountants, dentists and doctors whose
nature and terms of employment are comparable to
executives would generally be deemed as such, and
hence they would not be covered under the Act.

6. How do we define Workmen?
 A workman is an employee whose work involves
manual labour. This includes a worker who falls
under any of the following categories:
 Any person, skilled or unskilled, doing manual work, including
any artisan or apprentice but excluding any seaman or
domestic servant;
 Any person, other than clerical staff, employed in the
operation or maintenance of mechanically propelled vehicles
that transport passengers, for hire or commercial purposes;

7. How do we define Workmen? Cont’d
 Any person employed to supervise any workman and perform
manual work. However, this is subject to the requirement that
the time spent on manual work must be more than half of the
total working time in a salary period; or

8. How do we define Workmen? Cont’d
 Any person specified in the First Schedule of
the Employment Act, namely:
 Cleaners;
 Construction workers;
 Labourers;
 Machine operators and assemblers;
 Metal and machinery workers;
 Train,bus, lorry and van drivers;
 Train and bus inspectors;and
 All workmen employed on piece rates at the employer's
premises.

9. How do we define Workmen? (cont’d)
 It covers both local and foreign employees. It does not
make any distinction between a temporary employee,
contract employee, daily-rated employee or employee on
tenured employment.
 For employees working less than 35 hours a week, they
are covered by the Employment of Part-Time Employees
Regulations, which provide certain flexibility for both the
employers and employees, including the pro-rating of
employment benefits, encashment of annual leave and
provision of rest day.