Help for Employees Who Face Difficulty in Recovering Unpaid Salaries Due To Required Court Enforcement

Ms Diana Pang Li Yen asked the Minister for Manpower of the 10% of employees who are unable to recover their salaries even with assistance from Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) and Employment Claims Tribunals (ECT) (a) what proportion of these employees continue to face difficulties in recovering unpaid salaries due to the requirement of further Court enforcement; and (b) whether the Ministry has available mechanisms to expedite the recovery process.

As reported in the Employment Standards Report 2024, 94% of employees who lodged salary claims with the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) fully recovered their salaries, while 4% recovered their salaries partially through security bond insurers and main contractors or were assisted through financial assistance. The remaining 2% did not recover their salaries and were mainly higher income earners.

Once a worker registers a settlement agreement with the District Court, it becomes enforceable as a Court order. If a worker did not receive payment by the due date, he or she can seek TADM's assistance to engage the employer on the payment obligation and advise the worker on the process to apply to the Courts to enforce the Court order. In serious cases, the Ministry of Manpower will investigate the employer for possible offences under the Employment Act. Penalties, such as warnings, debarment from applying for work passes and prosecution in Court, may be imposed on errant employers who do not pay salaries. Upon conviction, employers could be fined up to $15,000 and/or imprisoned for up to six months for the first offence; and up to $30,000 and/or imprisoned for up to 12 months for repeat offenders.