Number of Employment Disputes before Written Employment Contracts were Mandated in April 2016
Ministry of ManpowerSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the trend of employment disputes for workers hired before April 2016 without written contracts and whether Key Employment Terms (KETs) should be mandated for this group. Minister for Manpower Dr Tan See Leng explained that mandating KETs for pre-2016 hires was previously rejected to minimize administrative burdens on employers, particularly small and medium enterprises. He noted that most disputes handled by the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management involve salary issues rather than contractual clarity, and inspections have not found disputes linked to the lack of pre-2016 KETs. While most employees are eventually covered through new contracts or renewals, the tripartite partners still strongly encourage employers to provide KETs to all long-term staff. Minister for Manpower Dr Tan See Leng concluded that the Ministry of Manpower will review the exclusion of pre-2016 hires during the next review of the Employment Act.
Transcript
32 Mr Abdul Samad asked the Minister for Manpower (a) since 2016, whether there is an increasing trend in the number of employment disputes involving employees employed before 1 April 2016 with their employers where there is no written employment contract; and (b) whether Key Employment Terms (KETs) specified in the Employment Act can be mandated for all workers employed by companies before 1 April 2016 to protect all parties should there be any workplace grievance or dispute pertaining to the employment contract.
Dr Tan See Leng: The requirement for employers to provide Key Employment Terms (KETs) to all employees was introduced on 1 April 2016. The tripartite partners had considered mandating KETs for employees hired prior to 1 April 2016 but decided against it after taking into consideration the administrative burden on employers, especially the SMEs. Furthermore, most employees would eventually be covered under the requirement for employers to provide KETs when they change employer or when their contracts are renewed after 1 April 2016.
The vast majority of disputes handled by the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) are not related to the lack of clarity regarding contractual issues but involve non-payment of salary or for overtime work. In addition, for our lower-wage workers, MOM carries out WorkRight inspections, to check on compliance, including the issuing of KETs. It has, likewise, not observed any disputes arising from failure to provide KETs to persons employed before 1 April 2016.
Notwithstanding that the legal requirement for KETs does not cover employees hired before 1 April 2016, the tripartite partners continue to strongly encourage employers to issue KETs to such employees. MOM will also review this exclusion at the next review of the Employment Act.