Employers Failing to Issue Proper Employment Contracts to Workers

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for Manpower (a) how many employers have been reported to the Ministry in the past five years for not issuing employment contracts to their workers; (b) what is the age group of these affected workers; (c) what action has been taken against such employers; and (d) what is the redress for these workers when their employers refuse to issue proper employment contracts that stipulate their wages, work hours and duration of the contract.

To help employees better understand their employment terms and to minimise employment disputes, the Employment Act requires employers to provide each employee with the key employment terms in written form. The required key employment terms include salary, hours of work and employment benefits, such as annual leave, as well as the duration of employment for term contracts.

Employers who fail to issue key employment terms may be subjected to an administrative penalty of a fine of up to $200 for each breach.

Since the requirement was implemented on 1 April 2016, 105 employers have been issued with advisory notices for failing to issue key employment terms. No fines have been imposed as all the employers were cooperative and rectified the breaches. None of them was a repeat offender. We do not track the age group of the employees affected.

Employees who are not provided with written key employment terms can approach the Ministry of Manpower for assistance.