MOM and Employment Guides

Guides for Singapore employers and employees on Ministry of Manpower (MOM) investigations, foreign manpower rules, dismissal and pay disputes, workplace fairness and workplace safety. They are written by Johnathan Lee, Advocate and Solicitor, who served as a prosecutor at the Ministry of Manpower before entering private practice and now advises employers and employees.

MOM investigations and prosecutions

• Under investigation by MOM? Your rights, the interview process and when to get a lawyer.
• False declarations in work pass applications: penalties, sentencing and what MOM looks for.
• Employing a foreigner without a valid work pass: section 5 EFMA penalties and defences.
• Employment kickbacks: section 22A EFMA for employers and workers.
• Phantom workers and CPF quota fraud: what employers must know.
• Called in by MOM? A checklist for employers (interactive tool)

Foreign manpower and work passes

• Foreign worker levy and quota problems: arrears, waivers, revocation and prosecution.
• Employment Pass rejected or not renewed: appeals, COMPASS and the risks in the declarations.
• Work pass cancelled or on a Special Pass: your rights in Singapore.
• Employing a domestic helper: the rules MOM prosecutes.

Dismissal, pay and the Employment Claims Tribunals

• Employment disputes: unpaid salary, wrongful dismissal and your options at TADM and the ECT.
• Employee rights and employer obligations under the Employment Act: a practical checklist.
• Before you dismiss: ten checks drawn from the 2026 tribunal decisions.
• Wrongful dismissal: what the Employment Claims Tribunals decided in 2026.
• Unpaid salary, overtime, commission and deductions: the 2026 tribunal decisions.

2026 Employment Claims Tribunals case notes

• [2026] SGECT 1: notice paid, but dishonesty still had to be proved.
• [2026] SGECT 2: no attendance records and an adverse inference.
• [2026] SGECT 3: no statutory right to retrenchment benefits.
• [2026] SGECT 4: commission disputes and the one-year time limit.
• [2026] SGECT 5: retirement age, notice pay and the Employment Assistance Payment.
• [2026] SGECT 8: a manager with under six months’ service and the limits of the tribunal’s jurisdiction.
• [2026] SGECT 9: dismissed with notice pay and no reason given.
• [2026] SGECT 10: forced resignation after cancer treatment.
• [2026] SGECT 11: loan deductions above a quarter of salary.

Workplace fairness

• Workplace Fairness Act for SME employers: what changes, when, and what MOM can do to your work passes.
• Workplace Fairness Act: what employees and employers must know.

Workplace safety and work injury

• MOM is investigating a workplace accident: what happens next and what you should do.
• WSH Act offences and penalties: who owes duties and what breaches cost.
• Charged under the WSH Act? Your defence options.
• A step-by-step guide to handling a WSH charge
• Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA) claims

Services

Employment law and MOM matters · WICA claims

These guides are general information, not legal advice. Speak to a lawyer about your specific situation.