At a glance: The proposed Workplace Fairness Legislation

SINGAPORE’S Parliament on Tuesday (Nov 12) tabled the Workplace Fairness Bill, the first of two Bills that will make up legislation to entrench anti-discrimination in the workplace.

They follow existing efforts such as the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices and the Fair Consideration Framework.

This first Bill, adopting tripartite recommendations, strengthens protections, sets out processes and expands enforcement actions. It will be debated at the next Parliament sitting expected in January 2025.

The second Bill, to be tabled later, will cover the rights and processes for making private claims related to workplace fairness.

The Workplace Fairness Legislation (WFL) proposes that:

• Adverse employment decisions based on protected characteristics, such as age, nationality, sex, race and disability will be illegal at all stages of employment.
• Exemptions will be made for genuine occupational requirements – reasonable job performance, health and safety, privacy and legal and regulatory reasons.
• The legislation allows for conditional preferential hiring, such as for locals or seniors. Smaller firms with fewer than 25 employees will be initially exempt from the WFL, with a review to come.
• Employers must implement internal grievance handling processes for dispute resolution, and employees who make reports will be protected.
• To correct errant practices, the Ministry of Manpower can issue corrective orders to employers, impose administrative fines, or recommend court-imposed fines.

If both Bills are passed, they are expected to take effect from 2026 or 2027.