Singapore has passed the country's first law designed to protect workers against discrimination and penalize employers who discriminate.
On January 8, 2025, Singapore passed long-awaited legislation to protect workers from discrimination in the workplace.
The Workplace Fairness Bill ("Bill") will apply to all employers in Singapore. It prohibits discrimination based on protected characteristics in hiring, employment, and termination decisions. Characteristics protected under the Bill include nationality, age, sex, marital status, pregnancy status, caregiving responsibilities, race, religion and language, disability, and mental health conditions.
In addition to prohibiting discrimination, the Bill requires companies to establish procedures for handling discrimination complaints. It also prohibits retaliation against those who report discrimination.
The Bill has important limitations. It does not protect certain personal characteristics that may be protected in other countries, such as sexual and/or gender orientation and criminal history. It does not prohibit employment decisions based on operationally necessary criteria, such as language capability. And the Bill has exceptions designed to promote certain national objectives, such as the hiring of disabled workers, Singapore citizens and permanent residents, and senior citizens.
While parts of the Bill mirror preexisting guidelines that applied in Singapore, such as the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices, the Bill introduces financial penalties for noncompliance. These penalties include company fines of up to S$50,000 and individual fines of S$10,000 for first offences, and fines of up to SG$250,000 for companies and SG$50,000 for individuals in the case of serious repeat violators who have two or more offences within a year.
Companies that employ less than 25 employees in Singapore will be exempted from compliance with the Bill for five years from the effective date.
A second related bill is expected to be released later this year to set out the procedure for individuals to pursue discrimination claims against employers as well as other implementation details. The government has stated that both bills will come into effect concurrently in 2026 or 2027 to allow businesses sufficient time to prepare.
Businesses are encouraged to review their internal practices, policies, and training to ensure compliance with, and monitor developments related to, the implementation of the new law.
