If your hiring form still asks for a headshot and your interview guide includes “Tell me about your family,” it’s time for a kopi break and a rethink. Singapore’s Workplace Fairness Act 2025 (WFA) resets the ground rules for recruitment. The landmark law will take effect in 2027, but the message is already clear: judge...
A recent article from The Straits Times (“Title inflation: Was your promotion real or just on paper?”, published on 7 October 2025) explored a growing problem in today’s job market – inflated job titles without their corresponding job scope or pay. This phenomenon, often referred to as “title inflation”, describes the practice of assigning employees...
Singapore has long been a favored hub for multinational employers deploying international talent into Southeast Asia. Employer of Record (EOR) structures—under which a third-party provider becomes the legal local employer of personnel while the provider’s client directs day-to-day work—had been widely used to test the market, accelerate hiring, and manage compliance without establishing a local...
For many growth companies, the challenge is how to share with employees long‑term value creation without the administrative burden, governance complexity and shareholder dilution that comes with issuing actual equity. Phantom share option schemes offer a pragmatic, high‑impact solution. If properly designed, they replicate the economic upside of share options, preserve cap table simplicity and...
Vaping (both possession and use of any kind of vape) has been illegal in Singapore since 2018 under the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act 1993. However, this law has not been heavily enforced. This has led to a general impression that it is acceptable, even in the workplace. From two years ago, employers...
Is vaping illegal in Singapore? Yes, vaping is illegal in Singapore, pursuant to section 16 of the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act 1993. This includes the use of e-cigarettes, vaporisers, and disposable vapes, regardless of whether they contain nicotine. Importantly, this prohibition applies regardless of age or location – whether someone is vaping...
Group Lease Holdings Pte Ltd v Group Lease Public Co Ltd [2024] SGHC 302 Group Lease Holdings Pte Ltd v Group Lease Public Co Ltd [2024] SGHC 302 is an important decision on a variety of issues including the applicable tests for interim prohibitory versus interim mandatory injunctions and whether a contract entered into in...
In Singapore, employers have several key legal obligations when it comes to employment matters. These include paying the agreed-upon salary or wages, as outlined in the Employment Act 1968 (the “Act“), which also governs salary payments, deductions, and variable wages. Employment contracts often include provisions for discretionary bonuses. The National Wages Council issues annual wage...
As we approach the year end, we look back on the year and the numerous layoffs, retrenchments and labour cutting measures that Singapore companies have taken in 2024. It is particularly interesting to note the different levels of scrutiny and publicity each company was subject to. Most recently, Samsung Electronics, Dyson, One Championship and Love,...
On 19 June 2024, the Privy Council delivered a significant judgment in the case of Sian Participation Corp (In Liquidation) v Halimeda International Ltd [2024] UKPC 16. This case, emerging from the British Virgin Islands (BVI), deals with the tension between the enforceability of arbitration agreements and the practicalities of insolvency proceedings. The ruling has...
