The Tripartite Committee’s Final Recommendations for Workplace Fairness Legislation Accepted by the Singapore Government

The Ministry of Manpower had on 4 August 2023 announced that the Singapore Government has accepted the Committee’s final recommendations for the Workplace Fairness Legislation (the “Announcement”).

The Tripartite Committee on Workplace Fairness (the “Committee”) had on 13 February 2023, released its interim report on their recommendations for the workplace fairness legislation (“Interim Report”). We had set out a summary of the same in our legal update dated 20 February 2023, which can be found here. 

The Ministry of Manpower had on 4 August 2023 announced that the Singapore Government has accepted the Committee’s final recommendations for the Workplace Fairness Legislation (the “Announcement”).

While the specific date of implementation has not been revealed, the Workplace Fairness Legislation is expected to be implemented in 2024.

The Workplace Fairness Legislation aims to strengthen Singapore’s harmonious workplace culture while providing protection and redress to workers who experience discrimination and when implemented, is expected to benefit employers, employees and the society as follows:

1. Strengthen protections against discrimination and provide assurance to workers that they can come forward to report without fear of retaliation.
2. Ensure that employees and jobseekers have fair access to job opportunities.
3. Help fair employers benefit from a more productive and engaged workforce, a more harmonious workplace, and be better able to attract and retain talent, contributing to stronger business outcomes.
4. Shape positive workplace norms and strengthen social cohesion by addressing unfair treatment at workplaces.

A copy of the Announcement can be found here. A summary of the final recommendations by the Committee can be found in Annex A of the Announcement.