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Written Answer by Minister for Manpower Dr Tan See Leng on Key Employment Terms

Employment practices

NOTICE PAPER NO. 485 OF 2021 FOR THE SITTING ON 5 OCTOBER 2021
QUESTION NO. 1793 FOR ORAL ANSWER NOT ANSWERED BY END OF QUESTION TIME

MP: Mr Abdul Samad

To ask 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.


Answer: 

  • 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.