SINGAPORE - Women planning to conceive, working mothers who are breastfeeding and workers with disabilities will have stronger protections under Singapore’s first workplace fairness law.

Employers that refuse to correct blatant prejudiced actions may also be publicly named under a proposed framework slated to be passed as the Workplace Fairness Legislation (WFL) in the second half of 2024.

The framework, comprising 22 recommendations, built upon 20 interim measures which were put up in February.

It was released on Friday by a tripartite committee, convened in July 2021, comprising the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF).

At a media conference, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng said: “This is a document which builds on our experience in handling disputes at Tafep and TADM, and it allows a more sure-footed way of tackling and addressing some of these complaints.

“We are looking at a review in five years but of course, today, for us to get to this stage is already a very significant one.”

The Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (Tafep) oversees the adoption of fair employment practices, while the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) handles employment disputes.

When enacted, the WFL will complement, not replace, existing Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices.

Under the new legislation, employers will have to set up grievance handling processes and inform employees about the procedures.

Upon receiving a complaint, employers must conduct inquiries, document the process and communicate the outcome to the aggrieved employee, whose confidentiality must also be assured.

The legislation will prohibit retaliation against staff – such as dismissals, salary deductions or harassment – who report workplace discrimination.

The framework covers all stages of employment, from hiring to termination. At the hiring stage, employers cannot indicate partiality for “protected characteristics” in job advertisements.

Such characteristics include nationality, age, sex, marital status, pregnancy status and caregiving responsibilities, as well as race, religion, language, disability and mental health conditions.

Exceptions are made for practical business needs and actions that support the national objectives of protecting workers, preserving harmonious workplaces and supporting business growth.

These include partial behaviours due to business requirements, or social groups that need more support such as persons with disabilities or workers aged 55 and above.

An exemption is also allowed for firms with fewer than 25 workers, and religious organisations.

Feedback taken on board by the committee for its final report include clarifying some of the protected characteristics.

• It will adhere to the Enabling Masterplan’s vision for Singapore as an inclusive society, which defines disability as “autism or any intellectual, physical or sensory disability, or any combination of any such disabilities with substantial impact on an individual’s ability to carry out day-to-day activities”.
• Mental health conditions will be medically certified mental disorders, such as anxiety disorder or schizophrenia.
• Its proposed trait on “pregnancy” includes women on statutory maternity leave, working mothers who are breastfeeding and women who express plans to bear children.
• Caregivers will be workers who care for parents and in-laws, spouses or children. Their gender will not be taken into account, or whether they are living together with their charges.

Some suggestions, such as broadening the scope of these characteristics to cover traits such as gender orientation or criminal history were passed over.

Explaining its reasons, the committee said imposing very wide legal obligations on employers may lead to more legalistic employee-employer relationships.

As it is, the protected characteristics already safeguard against 95 per cent of discrimination based on complaints to Tafep and MOM.

Dr Tan, however, said a “pathway” remains to expand the scope of these characteristics when the legislation is reviewed.

The committee backed calls for more firepower to penalise bosses that are recalcitrantly bigoted.

MOM may publicly name these employers on a case-by-case basis.

This was a contentious point between NTUC and SNEF, revealed NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng.

“Employers and our labour movement may come from different perspectives, but behind all of these arguments and grievances, we take a very fair-minded approach,” he told reporters.

The labour union’s call to name these employers was made in the spirit of helping these companies get up to mark, he added.

All employers that were suspected of breaching or had breached fairness guidelines between 2020 and 2022 had been cooperative, the report noted.

On suggestions to require the provision of reasonable accommodations such as modifying workplace facilities or practices for persons with disabilities, the committee opted for an advisory over its inclusion in the proposed law. An “overly rigid” approach may deter firms from employing such workers. In some countries, these are contentious and heavily litigated areas, it wrote in the report. “What is ‘reasonable’ can be difficult to define clearly,” it said.

Workers were not the only ones who got stronger safeguards.

The committee took up suggestions to send a stronger signal against frivolous claims and proposed that the Employment Claims Tribunals (ECT) be empowered to strike them out.

This could involve claimants who insist on going through the claims process despite having scant evidence. In such instances, employers could opt for mediation or have their cases fast-tracked to ECT to be struck out.

The ECT could award costs orders of up to $5,000 on the claimant, and the employer may take disciplinary action where ECT has struck out the claim or awarded costs to the respondents.

The committee stuck to its plan to exempt smaller firms with fewer than 25 employees from the law for five years. It felt that these companies, which hire 25 per cent of the local workforce, need time to build up their competencies.

Five years is a fair duration, said SNEF’s president Robert Yap.

Some smaller businesses, such as neighbourhood merchants, may not even have human resources (HR) personnel, he said. “They are just making ends meet all the time.”

However, these employers continue to be subject to the tripartite fairness guidelines, he added, and should not take exemption as a pass to be irresponsible.

The committee emphasised that legislation is not a panacea and that education remains a priority to correct stereotypes, shape mindsets and sustain fair employment practices.

Reactions from the industry:

“As needs of persons with disabilities vary widely due to medical conditions, severity and even personality, rules or guidelines to ‘reasonable accommodation’ requests will fall into a grey area which may discourage employers from hiring persons with disabilities. In extreme cases, some companies may choose not to shortlist job applicants with disabilities to avoid running afoul of the law. Cultivating inclusive mindsets and providing adequate support and incentives to both employers and persons with disabilities may be more sustainable where creating an inclusive work environment is concerned.”

Mr Abhimanyau Pal, chief executive of SPD. The local charity helped 415 job seekers with disabilities in 2022, of whom 158 were placed in 123 companies.

“Asking a subordinate about his or her intention to start a family will be problematic if asked at a job or promotion interview. For such information, it is best to let the employee lead rather than ask the employee, if the intention is only to engage them. There are other topics that employers can talk about. These are important points that not just HR officers must know, but decision-makers such as line managers and supervisors.”

Mr Alvin Tan Yong Joon, competition, antitrust and trade lawyer and partner at Rajah & Tann.

With the WFL, Protection from Harassment Act, Workplace Health and Safety Act, Personal Data Protection Act, the Employment Act and other related criminal Acts such as the Penal Code, we have covered most of the main areas where employee rights tend to be overlooked or abused. The suite of protections accorded to employees are on a par with what Hong Kong offers, which is a good barometer for us, since Singapore is similar to Hong Kong in striving to be Asia’s premier financial centre.”

Employment lawyer and partner at Simmons & Simmons, Mr Clarence Ding.

“It is fair not to subject businesses to the few individuals who for whatever reason – sometimes just to spite an employer – insist on proceeding with their case when there is little basis. Frivolous cases, especially those that get publicised, make it hard for those who genuinely face problems to seek help.”

Dr Mathew Mathews, principal research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, National University of Singapore.

“Earlier in the year we carried out a survey among our HR-certified community. More than 90 per cent of respondents agreed that the scope of the legislation was sufficient to safeguard against workplace discrimination. Over 75 per cent of HR professionals surveyed agreed that the proposed penalties such as allowing monetary compensation of up to $5,000 for pre-employment claims, and up to $20,000 for non-union members and $30,000 for union-assisted claims for in-employment and end-employment claims, would be sufficient to deter such behaviour.”

Mr Aslam Sardar, chief executive officer, Institute for Human Resource Professionals.

“We are still very glad that there is an exemption for smaller companies because some of these smaller firms tend to be not as well staffed administratively. That said, we want to emphasise that this isn’t a holiday for these small firms because they are still subject to the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices. The nuanced approach that we are adopting will continue to encourage SMEs towards the direction of improving their internal HR processes, to ensure we are all headed in the same direction as a nation.”

Mr Ang Yuit, vice-president, Association of Small and Medium Enterprises.