Singapore 🇸🇬
Congratulations on your decision to hire employees in Singapore! As a bustling island nation and a global financial hub, Singapore's innovation-driven, diverse economy provides a strong platform for accelerating your business growth. Plane simplifies the hiring process for you by offering automated tax document collection, payroll, benefits administration, and more, while ensuring compliance and maximum efficiency. Still, hiring in a new country can pose certain challenges, so we’ve put together the following guide on how to navigate the process of hiring in Singapore.
Currency
SGD
 Onboarding
2.5 to 4 weeks minimum
Employer Cost
19.35%
Pay Frequency
Monthly
Public Holidays
11
6 Considerations Before Hiring in Singapore
As an employer in Singapore, it is important to have a comprehensive employment contract that outlines the terms and conditions of the employment relationship. The contract should include need-to-know info on compensation, benefits, vacation time, and sick leave policies. Before onboarding a new employee in Singapore, take a moment to consider the following:
Getting Started with Hiring in Singapore
Employment Contract
In Singapore, an employment contract is referred to as a “contract of service.” Each contract of service spells out the terms and conditions of employment, and must include key employment terms (KETs) in writing. Most contracts in Singapore are permanent, but you can hire employees on fixed-term contracts as well. However, the Singapore government advises that both employer and employee in a fixed-term contract give sufficient notice before its expiration as to whether it will be renewed for another period.
Payroll Timelines and Dates
Pay Frequency: Employee payroll is monthly, with 12 pay periods per year. Pay is distributed on the last business day of the month.Payroll Change Cutoff Dates: To meet payroll deadlines, any changes must be submitted to support@plane.com by the cutoff date. For Singapore, the payroll change cutoff date is on the last business day of the previous month. For example, changes to June payroll would need to be received no later than May 31, if May 31 is a business day.Plane sends payroll summaries to admins at the end of the second week of the month. After that, charges are automatically debited. Payroll summaries are also available to admins in their Plane accounts. Payday may vary based on country requirements.
Working Hours
Full-time working hours in Singapore consist of a 40- to 44-hour week, with eight- to nine-hour days. Employees typically work up to eight hours a day six days a week, or up to nine hours a day five days a week. A week is defined as a continuous period of seven days, starting on Monday and ending on Sunday.For work that surpasses these set working hours, some employees may claim overtime pay at a rate of 1.5 times their hourly rate, as long as their monthly salary falls below a specific cap set by the government. Employers must provide at least one rest day per week, and if employees are asked to work on their rest day, they’re entitled to extra payment beyond their normal salary.
Public Holidays
Singapore has 11 national public holidays:
- New Year’s Day
- Chinese New Year (two days)
- Good Friday
- Hari Raya Puasa
- Labour Day
- Vesak Day
- Hari Raya Haji
- National Day
- Deepavali
- Christmas Day
Compensation
We recommend using Plane's Remote Compensation Tool to check remote salary data in Singapore by job title.Bonuses in Singapore are not mandatory. However, many employers commonly provide bonuses to their employees such as 13th month pay, aka the Annual Wage Supplement. If the employer chooses to offer bonuses, the terms related to the bonus must be written into the employment contract.
Health Insurance Benefits
Singapore has universal healthcare for all its citizens and legal residents, funded by general taxation. Employers may choose to, but are not required to, offer private health insurance as an additional employee benefit for more comprehensive medical coverage. This could help with copays or non-covered services, as well as offer broader benefit coverage. We offer insurance to employees in Singapore through BUPA Global.
Sick Leave
Employees receive paid sick leave after three months of continuous service, receiving their full benefits of sick leave after six months of service. Sick leave is prorated based on the employee’s tenure:
- 3 months of service: 5 outpatient days, 15 hospitalization leave days
- 4 months of service: 8 outpatient days, 30 hospitalization leave days
- 5 months of service: 11 outpatient days, 45 hospitalization leave days
- 6+ months of service: 14 outpatient days, 60 hospitalization leave days
Annual Leave
Employees in Singapore who have worked for an employer for at least three months are entitled to paid annual leave. After 12 months of continuous service, employees earn seven days of paid annual leave. This amount is pro-rated for employees who have worked three to 12 months, based on the number of completed months worked. An employee’s annual leave entitlement increases for every 12 months of continuous service with the same employer, up to 14 days total of paid annual leave.
Maternity / Paternity / Parental Leave
Maternity leave: Pregnant employees who have served their employer for at least three months are entitled to either 16 weeks of government-paid maternity leave, or 12 weeks of maternity leave. To qualify for government-paid maternity leave, the child must be a Singapore citizen and the employee must be legally married to the child’s father. The government has a help page for what maternity leave eligibility looks like in various situations.Employees on maternity leave are protected from job dismissal and not obligated to work during the first four weeks of confinement.The first eight weeks of maternity leave must be taken in one continuous block. The last eight weeks may be taken flexibly if the employer and employee have a mutual agreement to do so.Employers can file for reimbursement for government-paid maternity leave from the Singapore government. Paternity leave: Working fathers who have served their employer for a continuous period of at least three months are eligible for government-paid paternity leave if the child is a Singapore citizen and if the father is legally married to the child’s mother between conception and birth. Government-paid paternity leave is two weeks, but may be doubled to four weeks voluntarily by employers for children born after Jan. 1, 2024.Shared parental leave: Mothers who qualify for government-paid maternity leave may choose to share up to four weeks of their leave with their husbands. Adoption leave: A mother who adopts a child below the age of 12 months who is a Singapore citizen, or will become one within six months of adoption, may take 12 weeks of government-paid adoption leave. Parents must file a formal intent to adopt, and serve their employer for at least three continuous months before filing this intent. Adoption leave must be taken before the child’s first birthday.Childcare leave: Working parents of children who are Singaporean citizens are each entitled to six days of paid childcare leave per year. Parents of non-citizens are entitled to two days of paid childcare leave per year. To be eligible, the parents’ youngest child must be below seven years old and the parents must work for their employers for at least three continuous months. In total, childcare leave is capped at 42 days per parent, regardless of how many children they have. Employees must use their yearly childcare leave entitlement by the end of each leave year, and cannot roll over leave meant for one year to the next.Unpaid infant care leave: Working parents with a child below the age of two who is a Singapore citizen may take infant care leave without pay if they’ve served their employers for three months continuously. As of Jan. 1, 2024, each parent may take 12 days per year of unpaid infant care leave in the child’s first two years, regardless of the number of children they have
Employment / Termination
At Plane, we process involuntary offboarding via Mutual Termination Agreement (MTA) as a common practice that enables an employer to terminate an employee while trying to minimize the risk of litigation and cost. It is a separation agreement including unused leave, notice period, severance, and terms negotiated between the parties in exchange for a waiver where an employee waives their right to challenge a termination as unfair or unlawful. The notice period varies based on the length of employment.It is important to note that Plane often cannot facilitate unilateral terminations or dismissals. These types of termination are a potential source of litigation that can expose employers to increased damages and other costs. Also, the reason for these terminations may not be valid for an employer of record. The notice period varies based on the length of employment.We ask that you give us as much notice as possible and involve us right from the beginning of the process so we can better support and guide you through the process. Involuntary termination can take time to negotiate with the employee to mutually agree and end on good terms. Here you can find additional information on how to terminate an employee.If the employment contract doesn’t specify a notice period, the required notice period depends on the employee’s length of service:Â
- Less than 26 weeks: 1 day's notice
- 26 weeks to less than 2 years: 1 week's notice
- 2 years to less than 5 years: 2 weeks' notice
- 5 years or more: 4 weeks' notice
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Annual cost of employment*
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| Salary | Taxes (32.65%) | Total | |
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*rates for: July 23, 2024
Once you have sorted out the details mentioned above, you can add the employee to the Plane platform. We provide a step-by-step workflow that shows what tasks need to be completed, as well as real-time updates and notifications. This way, you can stay on top of the hiring process at all times. With Plane, you can confidently hire, knowing that you have a powerful platform at your disposal to manage the entire process from start to finish. Here are the instructions for adding a new employee to the platform:
How to hire and onboard an employee
Plane offers a guided process for administrators and managers to hire and onboard their new employees...
Learn moreHiring an employee in a new country can be a complex process, but with the right guidance and resources, it can be a smooth and successful transition. At Plane, we're committed to helping you navigate the process of hiring an employee in Singapore. We'll keep you informed and up-to-date with the latest regulations and employment laws.Best of luck with your new hire, and welcome to Singapore!
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the answers to some common questions about hiring employees in Singapore with Plane:
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