More workers filed salary claims last year, driven by firms facing financial difficulties

SINGAPORE: Employment claims and appeals in Singapore increased last year, driven by a jump in salary disputes, according to an employment report released on Tuesday (Jul 25).
 
A total of 6,123 claims were filed for salary arrears – a 26 per cent jump on-year – with a majority of complaints made against firms that experienced business failures or financial difficulties, the annual Employment Standards Report showed.
 
Among local workers, more claims were made against employers in the information, communications, and services sectors.
 
There were also more salary claims from foreign employees predominantly in the construction industry.
 
Additionally, the report showed that wrongful dismissal claims remained relatively constant from the previous year at 946 cases.  
 
Overall, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) received 7,140 employment claims and appeals in 2022.
 
Despite the increase, numbers were still lower than before the pandemic. Last year, 1.97 per 1,000 employees lodged claims, compared to 1.73 in 2021 and 3.04 pre-COVID in 2019.
 
The report said most of the cases were settled amicably, with 80 per cent of claims resolved during mediation.
 
Over 90 per cent of employees recovered their salaries and payments, which amounted to S$12 million in total.
 
Firms that did not repay their workers in full had their work pass privileges suspended.

SALARY CLAIMS

One such employee who successfully retrieved his pay was a driver who preferred to be known as Jason Tan.
 
Months after he resigned, Mr Tan was still owed S$1,800 in outstanding salary. His employer ignored his repeated attempts to recover his wages.
 
“I felt very helpless, it was painful. I needed the money for my living expenses. (They) held my salary for so long. That should not have happened. Us workers, what do we work for? To live. This money will help my family survive,” he said in Mandarin.
 
Mr Tan was among 6,000 others who sought help from TADM last year, which is jointly set up by tripartite partners MOM, National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF).
 
“I made an appointment with TADM and told them everything. They said they can help me resolve this problem. They emailed and called my former boss, and told him to return the money he owes me,” he said.
 
After nearly two months, Mr Tan managed to recover his salary.
 
MOM said mediation is the most effective solution in resolving such cases.

WHAT HAPPENS DURING MEDIATION?

Mediators handling a claim will speak to both the employer and employee involved. They assess evidence such as employment contracts, salary slips, attendance records and CPF statements.
 
Correspondence between parties involved, such as phone messages and emails, are also helpful to mediators in verifying claims.
 
“As mediators, we are a neutral party, we don’t take sides, whether it is the worker or the employer. Our role is to guide both parties to work towards a common goal, to resolve their dispute effectively and fairly,” Ms Faye Kee, a senior mediator at TADM, told CNA’s Singapore Tonight.
 
If both parties agree to settle a claim after talks, they will sign a legally-binding agreement.
 
If the initial mediation at TADM fails, the alliance will help claimants lodge their claims with the Employment Claims Tribunal (ECT).  
 
“We understand that at the ECT, they may try another round of mediation. If that's not successful, the case will be heard by an ECT judge and there will be a decision made on the claim,” said TADM’s general manager Ng Hwei Min.
 
“In some cases, there are employers who are very willful, they have the means to pay but they refuse to do so. But of course, these are not in very large numbers – they make up less than 1 per cent of the claims that we see.”
 
MOM said it investigates such employers, with a view of taking enforcement action against them.

WRONGFUL DISMISSAL CLAIMS

The number of wrongful dismissal claims was higher amongst local employees as they were more likely to file them compared to foreigners, the report showed.
 
Still, only 25 per cent of the cases were assessed to be substantiated as the rest involved disputes over work performance, or had arisen due to miscommunication.
 
“We gather facts from employee and employer on the circumstances of the dismissal, review (the information), take guidance from the tripartite guidelines, then make an assessment,” Ms Ng told CNA938’s Singapore Today.
 
“A wrongful dismissal claim can be substantiated if the employer did not fulfil their legal obligations, such as not providing the workers with benefits that they are entitled to … or if they were unable to show evidence to substantiate (dismissal based on misconduct).
 
“On the other hand, if the worker cannot provide any evidence to suggest that the dismissal was wrongful, then we will assess that the wrongful dismissal claim is deemed to be unsubstantiated. We will work with both parties to help them understand the termination and help give them some closure.”
 
About S$1.29 million in wrongful dismissal claims was paid out last year.
 
The labour union said workplace fairness has improved over time, with lesser cases referred to the alliance for progressive employment practices.
 
Assistant Secretary-General Patrick Tay added that efforts to train human resources professionals are important and must continue.