The ECT Speaks: Is Singapore Still Employer-Friendly? What the new wave of ECT decisions means for employers

At a glance

For many years, Singapore has been regarded as one of the most employer-friendly jurisdictions in Asia. A new series of decisions from Singapore's Employment Claims Tribunal (ECT) may cause employers to question some long-held assumptions.

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Contents

Until recently, ECT decisions were largely out of public view. That has changed. For the first time, the ECT is publishing written decisions – giving employers, HR professionals and lawyers a much clearer picture of how the ECT approaches workplace disputes in practice.
 
And some of the decisions may come as a surprise.
 
Can an employer terminate an employee simply by exercising an express contractual right to terminate with notice? Must an employer establish "just cause or excuse" when terminating an employee who fails probation? When does poor performance provide sufficient justification for dismissal? What process is required before an employer can rely on misconduct? And how far must an employer go to accommodate an employee's health and welfare needs?
 
These are no longer simply hypothetical questions. The ECT has now considered them in a growing body of published decisions – with potentially significant implications for how employers manage employees and workplace disputes in Singapore.
 
Join our Singapore Employment team for a 60-minute webinar as we examine the most significant ECT decisions published to date and ask: what do they mean for employers?
 
Rather than simply summarising the cases, we will look at what happened, how the ECT approached the dispute, where the outcome may challenge conventional assumptions, and what employers should be doing differently as a result.
 
Among other issues, we will consider:

• whether termination with notice remains as straightforward as many employers have traditionally assumed;
• the ECT's approach to probationary and performance-related dismissals;
• the evidential and procedural requirements where employers rely on misconduct;
• emerging risks concerning redundancy, retirement and involuntary resignation;
• the potentially expanding significance of employers' obligations concerning employee health and welfare; and
• the practical lessons for HR processes, documentation and decision-making before a dispute reaches the ECT.

The session will conclude with an opportunity for questions and discussion.

The session will be recorded.

Contact

Jonas.Vergara@dlapiper.com

Register