Your Company Has Received a TADM Claim from an Ex-Employee: What Happens Now?

By Johnathan Lee, Advocate and Solicitor (Singapore). Updated 31 October 2026.

If your company has been notified of a claim at the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM), a former employee has taken the compulsory first step for a salary or wrongful dismissal dispute under the Employment Claims Act 2016 (ECA). A TADM mediator helps both sides try to agree, but does not decide who is right. If the dispute does not settle, the employee can take it to the Employment Claims Tribunals (ECT) of the State Courts, which can make binding orders. Your company should attend, send someone with authority to decide, and bring documents showing what was agreed, paid and done.

What is TADM, and is it a court?

No. TADM provides mediation, a structured negotiation led by a neutral mediator who has no power to order your company to pay anything. Under section 3(1) of the ECA, an employee “must submit to the Commissioner a mediation request” before lodging a claim. TADM’s mediation guide says unresolved disputes go to the ECT “for a determination”. The notification is not a finding against you.

Who can claim, for what, and by when?

The ECT hears salary-related claims (such as salary, salary in lieu of notice, overtime, bonus or commission: First and Second Schedules to the ECA) and wrongful dismissal claims (Third Schedule), that is, that the employee was dismissed “without just cause or excuse” under section 14(2) of the Employment Act 1968. Public servants, foreign domestic workers, seafarers and self-employed persons cannot file. The State Courts state a limit of S$20,000, or S$30,000 after tripartite or union-assisted mediation; an employee who gives up the excess cannot recover it elsewhere.

The employee’s time limits are in ECA s 3(2). TADM’s guide puts them more simply; where the two differ, the statute governs.

Type of claim	ECA s 3(2)	How TADM describes it
Wrongful dismissal	Not later than one month after the date of dismissal (s 3(2)(d))	Within 1 month of the last day of employment
Wrongful dismissal linked to pregnancy (Employment Act s 84(2))	Within 2 months after the date of confinement (s 3(2)(e))	Within 2 months of the delivery date
Salary-related, employment has ended	Not later than 6 months after the last day of employment (s 3(2)(f))	Within 6 months of the last day of employment
Salary-related, still employed	Not later than one year after the material facts (s 3(2)(g)); some Employment Act s 65 claims have their own period (s 3(2)(a))	Within 1 year from the first date of owed salary

If the dates suggest a late filing, check it carefully and raise it early.

What must the company do once notified?

Most cases begin with about a week of online e-Negotiation, then a mediation session online or in person. Employers respond through the TADM employer dashboard. The practical steps are:

• Appoint the right representative. Under ECA s 5(2)(b) a company may be represented by “an officer, or a full-time employee”. TADM’s representative registration page requires a letter of authorisation signed by a director for an employee who is not an office holder, and says lawyers and consultants “are not allowed to represent an employer”.
• Give that person authority to decide. TADM says the representative “should have the authority to represent an employer and make decisions on the employment claim(s)”.
• Attend, even if you disagree. TADM’s FAQ says you must, as mediation is compulsory before an ECT claim. Postponement needs exceptional circumstances and at least 3 working days’ notice with supporting documents.
• Prepare the file. The contract and any variations, payslips, salary and CPF records, attendance records, the policies relied on, warnings and performance reviews, any show-cause letter and reply, inquiry notes, the termination letter, and messages around the key dates.

If the company “is given reasonable notice of, but does not attend” the mediation, the mediator must issue the employee a claim referral certificate, the document needed to file at the ECT (s 6(2)(a)). On costs, the tribunal may consider “whether a party without reasonable excuse failed to attend a mediation” (s 22(2)(b)).

What happens at the mediation, and is a settlement binding?

Only the employee, the employer and the mediator take part, and a session can last up to 3 hours. ECA s 4(3) provides that “Each mediation session must be held in private”, although s 29 permits certain disclosures, for example to administer the Act.

Agreed terms are recorded in a settlement agreement signed by or on behalf of each party (s 7(1)). Any party may apply to a District Court to register it (s 7(2)); TADM says this is done through the State Courts’ Community Justice and Tribunals System (CJTS) within 4 weeks after all parties sign. Once registered, it is enforceable “as if the settlement agreement had been a judgment given in the District Court” (s 7(3)(a)). TADM adds that MOM may take enforcement action, including suspending work pass privileges, against employers who fail to pay on time. Before signing, check what is paid, by when, and whether it settles every dispute in the request.

What if the claim goes to the Employment Claims Tribunals?

A claim referral certificate is issued where the respondent does not attend, no settlement is reached, or the mediator is satisfied there is no reasonable prospect of settlement (ECA s 6(2)). The claim must be supported by that certificate (ss 12(5), 13); TADM says it must be filed within 4 weeks of issue. The company then receives a Notice of Case Management Conference. The State Courts set out these steps for a respondent:

• If the company disputes the claim, file and serve a response within 7 days after being served with the claim. A counterclaim (for example for notice pay) must also be filed within 7 days, and only after it has gone through TADM mediation.
• Attend the case management conference (CMC), a compulsory meeting with a registrar who manages the case and gives a further chance to settle.
• At the hearing, the company acts in person. Section 19(1) provides that a party “cannot be represented by an advocate and solicitor”, and s 19(2)(b) allows a body corporate to be represented “by an officer, or a full-time employee”. If a party fails to attend without reasonable excuse, the tribunal may decide in its absence (s 20(8)); an application to set aside such an order must be filed within 7 days, the State Courts say.

The hearing is informal (s 20(1)) and judge-led (s 20(2)), meaning the tribunal magistrate directs the proceedings and ensures the relevant evidence is put forward. It “is not bound by the rules of evidence” (s 21(1)) but decides on the evidence before it. It may order payment, dismiss the claim, order costs or order reinstatement (s 22(1)), and its orders are enforceable like District Court orders (s 22(12)). An appeal to the General Division of the High Court lies only “on any ground involving a question of law” or jurisdiction, with a District Court’s permission (s 23), and does not by itself stop enforcement (s 24(1)). Hearings are private (s 18(1)), but decisions may be published (s 29(2)), and many appear on eLitigation with anonymised names.

How have the tribunals treated employers in 2026?

In three published decisions, the employer’s documents largely decided the outcome.

• JGC v JGE [2026] SGECT 16. A start-up argued at trial that it had dismissed an employee for poor performance, although its termination notice gave no reason. Although the burden was on the employee, the tribunal found “insufficient evidence” that poor performance was the real reason (at [28]) and held the dismissal was in bad faith (at [31]). It awarded S$15,000, the cap of three months’ gross rate of pay under the Employment Claims Regulations 2017 (at [63]). The judgment records that the employer has since applied for permission to appeal (at [1]).
• JJA v JJJ [2026] SGECT 17. An employer said it paid salary in cash. The person said to have paid the cash, whom the employee identified as the owner, did not give evidence, and the employer “produced no cash ledger or withdrawal records” (at [23]). Payslips bearing the employee’s signatures and thumbprints saved it, but only “narrowly” (at [25]). The tribunal rejected its attempt to deduct notice pay from unpaid salary on a second claim (at [32]).
• JJT v JJU [2026] SGECT 19. An employer summarily dismissed a senior employee after a show-cause letter, a reply and two levels of review. The tribunal found due inquiry (hearing the employee before deciding) had been conducted (at [28]), the time taken “is not the determinant” (at [31]), and dismissed the claim (at [35]).

Each decision turns on its facts, but an undocumented reason is treated with caution and a record made at the time carries weight. For the inquiry step itself, see due inquiry before dismissal for misconduct, and for more decisions, wrongful dismissal decisions at the ECT in 2026.

Should the company settle or contest the claim?

That depends on your records, not on how strongly you feel. Ask: can we prove payment of every sum claimed; did we give the notice the contract requires; can we show the reason for dismissal with documents made at the time; and did we follow our own process? Contesting takes management time, and an adverse order is enforceable and may be published. Settling can be a sensible commercial step even where the company believes it is right; equally, a well-documented case need not be settled. See also TADM and ECT options.

When should the company speak to a lawyer?

Lawyers cannot appear at TADM or the ECT, but can review the claim and documents, advise on settlement terms and prepare your representative. Consider advice now if:

• the claim alleges wrongful dismissal and the reason for dismissal was not put in writing at the time;
• the employee was pregnant, on maternity leave, recently injured or had just raised a complaint;
• the company wants to counterclaim, for example for notice pay, or set off sums it says the employee owes;
• the claim is near the S$20,000 limit, or the employee may have claims outside the ECT, such as for share options or larger losses;
• a settlement agreement has been proposed and you are unsure what it covers;
• the company received an order made in its absence, or wants to consider an appeal, where the time limits are short.

See also employment law services and the employer dismissal checklist.

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Frequently asked questions

Can my company ignore a TADM mediation notice?

It should not. If the company is given reasonable notice and does not attend, the mediator must issue the employee a claim referral certificate, so the claim can proceed to the Employment Claims Tribunals. The tribunal may take the company’s failure to attend into account when deciding costs.

Can our lawyer attend the TADM mediation or the ECT hearing?

No. The Employment Claims Act provides that a party cannot be represented by an advocate and solicitor at the mediation or the tribunal. A company may be represented by its officer or a full-time employee. A lawyer can still advise and help you prepare beforehand.

Is a settlement signed at TADM legally binding?

A signed settlement agreement is a binding agreement. Any party may also apply to register it, and once registered it can be enforced as if it were a District Court judgment. TADM says registration is done through CJTS within 4 weeks after all parties sign.

How much can an employee claim at the ECT?

The limit is S$20,000, or S$30,000 if the dispute went through union-assisted or tripartite mediation. For wrongful dismissal, compensation for loss of income is capped at three months of the employee’s gross rate of pay, as the tribunal applied in JGC v JGE [2026] SGECT 16.

Can we appeal if the tribunal rules against us?

Only on a question of law or on the ground that the claim was outside the tribunal’s jurisdiction, and only with permission from a District Court. You cannot appeal simply because you disagree with the tribunal’s view of the facts. An appeal does not automatically stop the order from being enforced.

This article is general information, not legal advice. It states Singapore law as at October 2026. Speak to a lawyer about your specific situation.