Wrongful Dismissal in Singapore: What Employers and Employees Need to Know

Singapore’s Employment Claims Tribunals started publishing written decisions in 2026. For the first time since wrongful dismissal claims moved to the tribunals in April 2019, employers and employees can read how the tribunal actually reasons — rather than guessing from the guidelines.

The early decisions are instructive, and not always in the direction either side expects.

This guide covers what wrongful dismissal means in Singapore, how a claim runs, the deadlines that quietly end most weak claims, and what the tribunal can order.

The term causes confusion because it means something different in Singapore than in the UK or Australia.

Under the Employment Act, a dismissal is wrongful where an employee is dismissed without just cause or excuse. The assessment is guided by the Tripartite Guidelines on Wrongful Dismissal, which took effect on 1 April 2019 and which the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) applies when assessing claims.

The important structural point: an employer in Singapore generally can terminate a contract by giving the contractual notice period or salary in lieu of notice. Doing so is not, by itself, wrongful. What makes a dismissal wrongful is the reason behind it and the process used to reach it.

Broadly, the guidelines treat dismissals as wrongful where they are on discriminatory grounds, to deprive an employee of benefits or entitlements, or in retaliation for exercising an employment right. Dismissal on grounds of misconduct is not wrongful — provided the employer actually held an inquiry and the evidence supports the allegation.

That last condition is where employers most often come unstuck.

The tribunal’s published decisions from 2026 cover wrongful dismissal alongside overtime pay, retrenchment benefits, commission disputes and re-employment obligations. Two themes are worth flagging for employers.

The tribunal tests the evidence, not the assertion. In one 2026 misconduct case, the tribunal examined a dismissal based on suspected dishonest conduct and found that the employer’s evidence did not in fact establish the dishonesty alleged. The tribunal applied a proportionality analysis and ordered a payout covering lost income, harm and costs. Stating a reason for dismissal is not the same as proving it.

Technical jurisdictional arguments cut both ways. In one 2026 decision, an employee argued he should be treated as dismissed “without notice and without salary in lieu” — a category that would have opened a route to a wrongful dismissal claim for a manager — because his salary in lieu of notice had not yet been paid when he lodged his TADM request. The tribunal declined to take that snapshot view, noting the employer had committed in writing to paying, the employee knew that was the stated mode of termination, and the sum was paid before the claim was filed.

The practical lesson for employers is that documentation and timing carry real weight. The lesson for employees is that a claim can fail on jurisdiction before anyone examines whether the dismissal was fair.

Singapore routes employment disputes through a two-stage system built for speed and low cost. Mediation first, adjudication only if that fails.

Step 1 — File with TADM. A wrongful dismissal claim must be lodged with TADM within one month from the last day of employment. Where the employee was dismissed while pregnant, a longer window applies, running to two months from the date of delivery.

This deadline is unforgiving. The Ministry of Manpower has previously reported that around 60 employees each year miss it. A claim filed late is generally no longer eligible for mediation under the Employment Claims Act, though TADM may still assist informally if both sides want to settle.

Step 2 — Mediation. TADM mediation is a compulsory prerequisite; a claim cannot proceed to the tribunal without it. TADM assesses the facts against the Tripartite Guidelines, and where it considers a claim unsubstantiated it explains why and does not continue.

Step 3 — The tribunal. If mediation does not resolve matters, TADM issues a claim referral certificate and the employee must file at the Employment Claims Tribunals within four weeks.

The system works. MOM’s Employment Standards Report 2024 indicates that more than 80% of employment claims were resolved at TADM without reaching the tribunal. It also records that the overall incidence of employment claims rose from 2.53 to 3.12 per 1,000 employees between 2023 and 2024 — a meaningful increase.

The Employment Claims Tribunals hear salary-related and wrongful dismissal claims up to S$20,000, rising to S$30,000 for claims mediated under the Tripartite Mediation Framework or with the assistance of a union recognised under the Industrial Relations Act.

Where a dismissal is found wrongful, the tribunal can order reinstatement or compensation. Reinstatement is ordered rarely in practice, but employers should not assume it is unavailable.

Note that these caps apply to the statutory route. Claims founded on the employment contract itself are subject to the ordinary six-year limitation period and go to the civil courts, where the monetary limits are far higher. Choosing the wrong forum wastes months.

Most wrongful dismissal claims we see were avoidable, and they were avoidable at the documentation stage rather than the dismissal stage.

Gather your documents before you do anything else — employment contract, termination letter, payslips, any correspondence about performance or conduct. Raise the issue internally if there is a sensible route to do so. Then file with TADM, and file early, because the one-month clock runs from your last day of employment and no one will remind you.

Be realistic about the merits. A dismissal you feel was unfair is not automatically wrongful in the legal sense. Termination with proper notice, for a genuine business reason, generally is not wrongful — however badly it was handled.