Your rights under the Singapore Employment Act cover six things: your salary and payslip, your working hours and overtime, your rest days, your leave, paid public holidays, and how your job can legally end. This guide explains each one in plain terms, with the exact rules and thresholds as of June 2026.
This is general information to help you understand the law, not legal advice. For a specific dispute, check your own contract and the official sources, or speak to the Ministry of Manpower or the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices.
Who the Employment Act actually covers
The Employment Act 1968 is Singapore's main labour law. You are covered if you work under a contract of service, whether you are full-time, part-time, temporary, or on a fixed-term contract, and whether you are a local or a foreign employee. That means most fresh grads, interns on employment contracts, and early-career staff are covered.
There is a second, narrower layer called Part 4, which sets the rules on hours of work, overtime, and rest days. Part 4 does not apply to every worker. Based on the Ministry of Manpower's guidance as of June 2026, Part 4 only covers a workman (someone doing mainly manual labour) earning a basic monthly salary of $4,500 or less, and a non-workman covered by the Act earning a basic monthly salary of $2,600 or less. Managers and executives sit outside Part 4. So if you are a junior executive earning above $2,600, you still have salary, leave, and notice rights, but the strict hours-and-overtime rules may not apply to you. You can check your status with MOM's who is covered page.
A few groups fall outside the Act entirely, including seafarers, domestic workers, and most public servants, who are protected under separate rules.
Your salary and payslip rights
Getting paid correctly and on time is the right people ask about most. Under the Act, your salary must be paid at least once a month, and within seven days after the end of the salary period. If you do overtime, that portion must be paid within 14 days after the end of the salary period (as of June 2026, per MOM's salary rules).
Since 1 April 2016, every employer must give employees covered by the Act an itemised payslip. It has to show your basic pay, the salary period, allowances, deductions, overtime hours and pay, and your net pay. If you are not getting a payslip, or the numbers do not add up, that is a breach you can raise with MOM.
Your employer also cannot make random deductions from your salary. Deductions are only allowed for specific reasons set out in the Act, such as absence from work, CPF contributions, or recovering an advance. On top of the Employment Act, if you are a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident, your employer must pay CPF contributions on your wages. For an employee aged 55 and below, the total rate is 37% of wages as of June 2026, split as 20% from you and 17% from your employer. The employer side is a cost they carry, not something they can claw back from your pay. See the CPF Board's employer page for the current rates.
Working hours, overtime and rest days
If you are covered by Part 4, your hours are regulated. Normal working hours are capped at 8 hours a day or 44 hours a week. If you work five days or fewer a week, that daily cap rises to 9 hours, still within 44 hours a week. Anything beyond your normal hours counts as overtime.
Overtime must be paid at no less than 1.5 times your hourly basic rate. For non-workmen, overtime pay is capped at a salary level of $2,600, which works out to an hourly rate of $13.60 as of June 2026. You cannot be made to do unlimited overtime either: the limit is 72 overtime hours in a month unless your employer gets an exemption. These figures come from MOM's hours of work and overtime page.
You are also entitled to at least one rest day a week. A rest day is a full day from midnight to midnight, and it is not a paid day. If your employer asks you to work on a rest day, extra pay rules kick in on top of your normal salary.
Leave and public holidays
Once you have worked at least three months, you earn paid annual leave. The minimum starts at 7 days in your first year and rises by one day each year until it reaches 14 days from your eighth year onward. If you leave partway through a year, your annual leave is pro-rated based on completed months.
You also get paid sick leave after three months of service. If you have worked six months or more, you get the full entitlement: up to 14 days of paid outpatient sick leave and up to 60 days of paid hospitalisation leave, where the 60 days already includes the 14. Between three and six months of service, the entitlement is pro-rated. The full breakdown is on MOM's leave page.
Singapore has 11 gazetted paid public holidays a year. If a public holiday falls on a day you are not required to work, such as a rest day, you get a day off in lieu or an extra day's pay. If a public holiday falls on a Sunday and your rest day is the Sunday, the following Monday becomes a public holiday. MOM lists the dates on its public holidays page.
Notice, termination and your final pay
Either side can end the employment, but there are rules on how. First, check your contract for the notice period. If your contract states one, both you and your employer must honour it, or pay salary in lieu of notice for the shortfall. Notice can also be waived if both sides agree in writing.
If your contract is silent on notice, the Act sets a default scale based on how long you have worked. Knowing when and how to leave well is a skill in itself, and it is worth reading up on when to quit your job in Singapore before you hand in a letter. The statutory notice periods, from MOM's termination page, are below.
| Length of service | Notice period (if contract is silent) |
|---|---|
| Less than 26 weeks | 1 day |
| 26 weeks to less than 2 years | 1 week |
| 2 years to less than 5 years | 2 weeks |
| 5 years or more | 4 weeks |
During your notice period you are still an employee, so CPF contributions continue on the salary you earn. CPF is not payable on salary paid in lieu of notice. Being dismissed with notice is not the same as being dismissed without notice. An employer can only dismiss you without notice for misconduct after a proper inquiry. If you feel you were dismissed unfairly, you can file a claim with the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management within one month of your last day.
Your key rights at a glance
Here is a summary of the core protections, with the figures that apply as of June 2026. Treat it as a starting checklist, then confirm the detail for your own situation on the official pages.
| Right | What the Act gives you |
|---|---|
| Salary timing | Paid at least once a month, within 7 days of the salary period ending; overtime within 14 days |
| Payslip | Itemised payslip for every pay cycle since 1 April 2016 |
| Working hours (Part 4) | Up to 8 hours a day or 44 hours a week; overtime at 1.5x, capped at 72 hours a month |
| Rest day | At least 1 rest day a week |
| Annual leave | 7 days in year one, rising to 14 days from year eight (after 3 months' service) |
| Sick leave | Up to 14 days outpatient, 60 days hospitalisation, after 6 months' service |
| Public holidays | 11 paid gazetted holidays a year |
| Notice | Per contract, or the statutory scale of 1 day to 4 weeks |
Understanding these rights changes how you handle work conversations. When you know the overtime rules or the notice scale, you negotiate from facts, not guesswork. The same confidence helps when you ask for a pay raise in Singapore or weigh a new offer.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Employment Act cover part-time and contract staff?
Yes. The Act covers full-time, part-time, temporary, and contract employees working under a contract of service, whether local or foreign. Part-timers get pro-rated versions of most entitlements, such as leave and public holiday pay, based on their hours.
Can my employer make me work overtime for free?
No, if you are covered by Part 4. Overtime must be paid at a minimum of 1.5 times your hourly basic rate, and there is a limit of 72 overtime hours a month without an exemption. If you are a manager or executive outside Part 4, the strict overtime pay rules do not apply, so your working hours are set by your contract instead.
What can I do if my employer pays my salary late or short?
Late or unpaid salary is a breach of the Act. Start by raising it in writing with your employer. If it is not fixed, you can file a salary claim with the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management, usually within one year while you are still employed, or within six months of leaving. Keep your payslips, contract, and any messages as evidence.
Where can I read the actual law myself?
The full text sits on the Singapore Statutes Online site as the Employment Act 1968. MOM's employment practices pages translate it into plain guidance with worked examples, which is the easier place to start before you dig into the Act itself.
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