Key Workplace Fairness Act Points Organisations Must Not Miss

The Singapore Workplace Fairness Act raises the bar for how organisations hire, promote, manage, and protect employees. Boards, HR teams, and senior leaders need a clear view of what changes — and what governance must already be in place before enforcement begins.

This article summarises the key Workplace Fairness Act points Singapore organisations must not miss.

1. Protected characteristics

The Act sets out specific protected characteristics that employers cannot discriminate against in employment decisions. Review your policies, hiring forms, and appraisal templates to remove language that touches these characteristics.

2. Adverse employment decisions

"Adverse" decisions include refusing to hire, demoting, denying training, withholding promotion, and dismissal. Document the objective basis for every such decision.

3. Hiring and job advertisement fairness

Job ads, screening criteria, and interview questions must be neutral. Recruitment partners must be briefed in writing.

4. Promotions, training, appraisals, and termination

Use structured criteria, calibrated scoring, and HR review. Train managers to document evidence consistently.

5. Grievance handling

A formal grievance handling mechanism is now a governance expectation, not a nice-to-have. Define channels, acknowledgement timelines, investigation steps, and escalation routes.

6. Confidentiality

Restrict access to grievance files. Use case management with role-based access.

7. Anti-retaliation

Employees who report concerns must be protected from direct and indirect retaliation. Monitor pay, assignments, and performance ratings of complainants.

8. Documentation

Decisions, evidence, and follow-ups must be defensible and reproducible. If it isn't documented, it didn't happen.

9. Internal investigation process

Standardise evidence collection, interview protocols, and reporting templates. Train internal investigators.

10. Mediation and escalation pathway

Offer structured mediation before escalation. Define when matters move to external dispute resolution.

What to do next

Use the SAFEteam™ Workplace Fairness Readiness Assessment to benchmark your organisation against these requirements. Then prioritise gaps in policy, grievance handling, and manager training.