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On 3 March 2026, Manpower Minister Dr Tan See Leng announced that, as part of its broader review of the Employment Act (EA), the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will consider suggestions to make advance retrenchment notifications mandatory. The proposed change marks a significant departure from Singapore's current approach, which only requires notification after affected employees have already been informed of their retrenchment.
Current Framework
Under the existing framework, employers with at least 10 employees must notify MOM within five working days of informing an employee that they are being made redundant.
Beyond this, there is no statutory obligation to consult employees before a decision is made, no mandatory minimum notice period specific to redundancy, and no prescribed minimum severance entitlement. In practice, employers are guided by the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment (Retrenchment Guidelines), which recommends severance payments of between two to four weeks' salary per year of service.
Proposed Change
The proposals being considered by the MOM would introduce a requirement for employers to notify the MOM before the redundancies take effect.
By giving employees, unions and government agencies earlier visibility of impending job losses, employees would be provided with a meaningful window to engage with job placement services, commence retraining, and manage the financial and personal impact of redundancy before the end of their employment. Government agencies like Workforce Singapore could also use the early notification to deploy support resources proactively rather than reactively.
MOM has indicated that it will consult tripartite partners in the course of its review, consistent with Singapore's longstanding approach of developing employment policy through consensus rather than unilateral legislative action.
Key Takeaways
MOM's review sits within a period of sustained employment law reform in Singapore, with forthcoming increases in shared parental leave entitlements, statutory retirement and re-employment ages, as well as the Workplace Fairness Act 2025 which is expected to come into force by end-2027 and will for the first time introduce statutory protections against workplace discrimination. The direction of travel is clear: Singapore is progressively strengthening the floor of statutory employment protections, and the retrenchment framework may be the next area to be brought into line.
That said, no legislative changes have been announced yet and the timeline for the MOM's review has not been confirmed. In the meantime, employers should:
- monitor MOM announcements on the outcome of the review;
- review current retrenchment policies to assess what changes would be required; and
- factor the possibility of mandatory advance notification into the planning and sequencing of any anticipated restructuring exercise, particularly where the exercise spans multiple jurisdictions or involves employees on work passes.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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