Singapore has been building towards a Workplace Fairness Act (WFA) for several years, following the recommendations of the Tripartite Committee on Workplace Fairness. The Workplace Fairness Act passed in Parliament in 2024 and its core provisions are being progressively brought into force, with most employers expected to be subject to the full framework by 2026. For Singapore employers — whether SMEs or MNCs — understanding your obligations under the WFA is no longer optional.

This article sets out what the WFA does, who it covers, what it prohibits, and the practical steps employers need to take to achieve compliance.

Background: Why Singapore Enacted the Workplace Fairness Act

Singapore has long relied on the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) and the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP) to promote fair hiring and workplace conduct. These guidelines were advisory, not legally binding — employers who violated them could be reported to TAFEP but faced no direct legal liability.

The WFA changes this fundamentally. It converts the key norms of the TGFEP into statutory obligations with direct legal consequences for non-compliance, including civil claims by affected employees and regulatory action by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

The impetus for legislating came from the recognition that voluntary guidelines were insufficient to address persistent discrimination complaints, particularly around age, race, religion, and gender in hiring and promotion decisions.

Who Does the Workplace Fairness Act Cover?

The WFA applies to all employers in Singapore, including private sector companies, non-profit organisations, and statutory boards (in certain respects). There is no minimum headcount threshold for employers to be subject to the law.

The Act protects employees — defined as individuals employed under a contract of service. It does not cover independent contractors or platform workers under the baseline framework, though the government has indicated it will review coverage over time.

The WFA also covers job applicants — protection from discriminatory hiring applies not only to current employees but to individuals who apply for jobs and are unfairly rejected on protected grounds.

Protected Characteristics Under the WFA

The Workplace Fairness Act protects employees and applicants against discrimination on the following protected characteristics:

  • Age
  • Race
  • Religion
  • Nationality or national origin (with a specific carve-out allowing preference for Singapore citizens and PRs in certain circumstances)
  • Sex (including pregnancy and breastfeeding status)
  • Marital status
  • Disability or mental health condition
  • Responsibilities as a caregiver (including caring for children, elderly parents, or family members with disabilities)

The list was expanded from the original Tripartite Committee recommendations following public consultation. The inclusion of caregiving responsibilities and mental health conditions as protected characteristics is particularly significant — both are relatively novel in statute and will require employers to review policies on flexible work and leave arrangements.

What the WFA Prohibits

1. Discriminatory Employment Decisions

Employers must not make employment decisions — including hiring, promotion, dismissal, and terms of employment — based on a protected characteristic, unless a specific exception applies.

This covers:

  • Rejecting a job applicant because of their race, age, or religion
  • Promoting a younger employee over an older one with equivalent qualifications purely on age grounds
  • Dismissing an employee because of pregnancy or disability
  • Paying different salaries for equivalent roles based on sex or marital status

2. Victimisation

Employers must not victimise an employee or applicant because they have made (or are suspected of making) a complaint under the WFA, cooperated with an investigation, or brought civil proceedings under the Act.

3. Discriminatory Job Advertisements

Job advertisements must not specify requirements based on protected characteristics unless a genuine occupational requirement (GOR) exception applies. This extends the existing TGFEP guidelines — which prohibited advertisements stating preferences such as “Mandarin-speaking only” or “below 35 years old” — into law.

4. Harassment

The WFA addresses workplace harassment linked to protected characteristics. Employers must take reasonable steps to prevent and address harassment in the workplace. While the Protection from Harassment Act (POHA) already covers individual harassment claims, the WFA creates a specific employer duty in the workplace context.

Exceptions and Defences

The WFA provides for several key exceptions:

Genuine Occupational Requirement (GOR)

An employer may specify a protected characteristic where it is a genuine and necessary requirement of the job. Examples include casting roles requiring a specific ethnicity for authenticity purposes, or hiring a counsellor of a particular religion to serve a faith community. GOR exceptions will be interpreted narrowly.

Singapore Citizen and PR Preference

Employers are permitted to give preference to Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents in hiring, provided this is applied consistently and proportionately. However, this exception does not permit blanket exclusion of all foreign applicants where the role does not strictly require local hire, and must be applied within the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) requirements.

Reasonable Adjustments for Disability

Employers must make reasonable adjustments for employees with disabilities or mental health conditions, unless doing so would impose a disproportionate burden on the business. The concept of reasonable adjustment will be familiar to employers with UK or Australian operations — Singapore is now adopting a similar framework.

Enforcement and Remedies

Complaints to MOM/TAFEP

Employees and applicants who believe they have been discriminated against may file a complaint with MOM or TAFEP. Investigators have powers to inspect employer records, interview witnesses, and issue directions.

Employment Claims Tribunal (ECT)

After exhausting the MOM/TAFEP complaints process, a claimant may bring a civil claim before the Employment Claims Tribunal (ECT). Remedies available include:

  • Reinstatement (for dismissed employees)
  • Compensation for lost wages and future earning loss
  • Compensation for injury to feelings
  • An order requiring the employer to rectify the discriminatory practice

Regulatory Sanctions Against Employers

MOM can take administrative action against employers who are found to have violated the WFA, including:

  • Suspension or debarment from hiring foreign workers (a severe commercial sanction for Singapore businesses)
  • Public naming of non-compliant employers
  • Referral to the Public Prosecutor for criminal prosecution in serious cases

Interaction with Existing Employment Laws

The WFA sits alongside (and in some cases overlaps with) existing Singapore employment legislation:

  • Employment Act (Cap. 91A): continues to govern core terms of employment, working hours, leave, and termination rights. The WFA adds a discrimination layer on top of the Employment Act’s baseline.
  • Fair Consideration Framework (FCF): the WFA codifies and strengthens FCF requirements. Employers subject to the FCF (those with 10 or more employees advertising on MyCareersFuture) must already document fair consideration of local candidates — this obligation is now backed by the WFA.
  • Employment (Retirement Age) Act and Re-employment Act: from 1 July 2026, the retirement age is 64 and the re-employment age is 69. Age discrimination protection under the WFA reinforces an employer’s obligation not to dismiss employees who are entitled to re-employment.
  • Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA): screening candidates on protected characteristics may involve processing sensitive personal data. Employers should ensure their recruitment data handling is PDPA-compliant alongside WFA obligations.

Practical Steps Employers Must Take Now

1. Audit Your Recruitment Process

Review all job advertisement templates, screening criteria, and interview question guides to remove any references to protected characteristics that do not qualify as genuine occupational requirements. This includes:

  • Removing age ranges from job ads (“25–35 years old” is prohibited)
  • Removing language that implies racial, religious, or gender preference
  • Ensuring interview panels are briefed on prohibited questions

2. Review HR Policies

Update your employee handbook, promotion policies, and performance management frameworks to:

  • Include an explicit anti-discrimination and anti-victimisation statement
  • Define the company’s reasonable adjustment process for employees with disabilities or mental health conditions
  • Set out the internal grievance procedure for WFA complaints
  • Address flexible work requests under the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangements (2024)

3. Train Your Managers

Front-line managers make most of the day-to-day employment decisions the WFA regulates. Targeted training should cover:

  • What counts as a protected characteristic
  • Prohibited and permitted questions in interviews and performance reviews
  • How to handle reasonable adjustment requests
  • The company’s internal escalation path when a WFA concern arises

4. Set Up an Internal Complaint Channel

The WFA encourages resolution at the workplace level before escalation to MOM. Employers should have a clear, confidential internal complaints channel for employees to raise WFA concerns, and a documented process for investigating and responding to those complaints.

5. Document Employment Decisions

If challenged, employers will need to demonstrate that employment decisions were based on merit, legitimate business reasons, or qualifying GOR exceptions — not on protected characteristics. Good record-keeping of interview notes, promotion rationale, and performance evaluations is essential.

The Role of Your Company Secretary in WFA Compliance

Your corporate secretary can play an important role in WFA compliance by ensuring that relevant board and management policies are properly documented, that the company’s constitution and internal regulations do not contain provisions inconsistent with WFA requirements, and that directors are kept informed of their oversight responsibilities as the WFA comes fully into force.

For companies subject to ACRA annual filing obligations, ensuring governance documentation reflects current statutory requirements — including the WFA — is part of good corporate hygiene.

Legal obligations under the WFA are distinct from employment advisory services — for detailed legal advice on WFA compliance, specialist employment law guidance is advisable.

For broader context on Singapore’s regulatory landscape for businesses, Singapore business news and analysis provides useful updates for employers navigating new legislation.

To speak with our team about corporate secretarial and compliance support for your Singapore company, email [email protected] or WhatsApp +65 8501 7133.

— The Editorial Team, Raffles Corporate Services