Six steps in the toolkit
The bilingual 2022 toolkit turns payroll compliance into six tasks: issue written KETs; keep attendance and hours; pay salary and overtime correctly and on time; issue itemised pay slips; provide public holidays and leave; and pay the correct CPF contributions on time. Its dated examples illustrate recordkeeping rather than fixed rates for every future year.
Set up the employee record
Prepare the KETs and pay-slip templates before the first payroll. Record pay periods separately from payment dates; distinguish employee CPF deductions from employer contributions. Reconcile attendance with overtime approvals and the amounts shown on each pay slip.
| Group | Fields |
|---|---|
| Employment | Employer and employee names; job title and duties; start date; fixed-term duration |
| Work arrangements | Daily hours, working days and rest day |
| Pay | Salary period, basic pay, allowances, deductions, overtime period and rate, other pay components |
| Leave and medical | Leave types and medical benefits |
| Other terms | Probation, notice period; work location is optional but encouraged |
Applicable items
Include the statutory items unless they do not apply. For a PME without overtime entitlement, overtime period and overtime rate need not be listed. Work location is optional but strongly encouraged. The verification tool helps check work arrangements and generate the working-time and salary sections; blank and explained templates are available.
| No. | Item |
|---|---|
| 1 | Employer full name |
| 2 | Employee full name |
| 3 | Job title, duties and responsibilities |
| 4 | Employment start |
| 5 | Fixed-term duration where applicable |
| 6 | Daily hours, days/week and rest day |
| 7 | Salary period |
| 8 | Basic salary; applicable hourly/daily/piece rate |
| 9 | Fixed allowances |
| 10 | Fixed deductions |
| 11 | Overtime-payment period if different |
| 12 | Overtime pay rate |
| 13 | Other pay, including bonus/incentives |
| 14 | Annual, outpatient, hospitalisation, maternity and childcare leave |
| 15 | Other insurance, medical and dental benefits |
| 16 | Probation |
| 17 | Notice period |
| 18 | Workplace location: optional, especially if different from employer address |
Who receives a slip and when
Since 1 April 2016 all Employment Act-covered employees must receive itemised pay slips. Issue with salary; if that is not possible, within three working days of payment. On termination/dismissal issue with outstanding salary. Electronic, paper and handwritten formats are allowed. Multiple payments in a month may be consolidated only if every payment since the previous slip is detailed. Omit genuinely inapplicable items, such as overtime fields for an employee without overtime.
| Item |
|---|
| Employer and employee names |
| Payment date(s) |
| Basic salary; for non-monthly rates, rate plus hours/days/pieces |
| Salary-period dates |
| Fixed and one-off allowances |
| Additional payments including bonus, rest-day and holiday pay |
| Fixed and ad hoc deductions including employee CPF, unpaid leave and absence |
| Overtime hours |
| Overtime amount |
| Overtime-period dates where different |
| Total net salary |
Retain issued slips
Retain the latest two years for current employees. For former employees keep the final two years for one year after employment ends. The official blank template and further tools/workshops/advisory resources are linked.
What salary includes
Salary is remuneration, including allowances, for work under a contract of service. It excludes accommodation and utilities in kind, employer pension or provident-fund contributions, travelling allowances, work-expense reimbursements, discharge or retirement gratuities, and retrenchment benefits. Singapore has no single general minimum wage; agreed salary follows negotiation with the employer or union, while applicable wage requirements must still be checked separately.
Payment dates
Employees covered by the Employment Act must be paid at least monthly. Ordinary salary is due within 7 days after the salary period ends; overtime is due within 14 days. Commission timing and calculation follow the contract, established policy or practice.
| Situation | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Resignation with required notice served | Last day of employment |
| Resignation without serving notice | Within 7 days after the last day |
| Dismissal for misconduct | Last day; if impossible, within 3 working days of dismissal |
| Employer terminates the contract | Last day; if impossible, within 3 working days of termination |
Tax clearance and payment method
When a foreign employee leaves employment, the employer must withhold all monies due, including salary and leave pay, for tax clearance for up to 30 days after notifying the Comptroller of Income Tax. Salary should be paid on a working day during working hours at the workplace or another agreed place. Bank transfers are permitted; a cheque counts as payment only after it clears.
Payslips, records and disputes
Since 1 April 2016 employers must issue itemised payslips and retain detailed employment and salary records for employees covered by the Employment Act. Non-payment of salary is an offence. Ask the employer about late payment and restoration of the regular schedule; if unpaid, seek TADM advice through Ask TADM or an advisory appointment, file a claim through TADM eServices, or approach the union. File early because claim amounts and filing periods are limited.
Coverage and definitions
These statutory limits concern employees covered by Employment Act Part 4; managers and executives are excluded. Other employees rely on their contractual terms for these matters. A week runs Monday to Sunday. Working time covers assigned duties and excludes permitted meal or rest intervals, which the employer need not pay.
Breaks and contractual hours
Normally a break is required before more than six consecutive working hours. Work requiring an uninterrupted stretch of up to eight hours needs meal breaks totalling at least 45 minutes. Normal contractual limits differ by weekly pattern.
| Arrangement | Limit |
|---|---|
| Five or fewer working days a week | 9 hours/day or 44 hours/week |
| More than five working days a week | 8 hours/day or 44 hours/week |
| Alternate weeks below 44 hours | Up to 48 hours/week; total 88 hours in any continuous two weeks |
| Shifts up to 12 hours/day | Average 44 hours/week over any continuous three weeks |
Averaging examples and consent
A 40/48/40-hour weekly pattern produces 44-hour averages for weeks 1–2 and 2–3. A 40/44/48/40 pattern produces 44-hour averages for weeks 1–3 and 2–4. A non-shift employee agreeing to work up to 12 hours a day within the three-week average needs written consent, an explanation of Employment Act sections 38 and 40, and information about daily hours, weekly working days and the rest day.
Overtime eligibility, rates and payment
Overtime is work beyond normal contractual hours, excluding breaks. Eligible non-workmen have monthly basic pay no higher than S$2,600; eligible workmen no higher than S$4,500. Workmen mainly perform manual labour. The non-workman calculation is capped at S$2,600, or S$13.60 hourly. Pay at least 1.5 times the hourly basic rate within 14 days after the salary period ends. Two overtime hours at the capped rate produce S$13.60 × 1.5 × 2 = S$40.80.
| Pay arrangement | Calculation |
|---|---|
| Monthly-rated | 12 × monthly basic pay ÷ (52 × 44) |
| Daily-rated | Daily basic pay ÷ daily working hours |
| Piece-rated | Weekly basic pay ÷ hours worked that week |
Maximum hours and exemptions
The normal daily ceiling is 12 working hours. Exceptions cover an accident or its threat, work essential to community life or national defence/security, urgent machinery or plant work, and unforeseeable interruption. An overtime-exemption application is needed to work above 12 hours, up to 14, or above 72 overtime hours a month. Specified prohibited activities cannot receive an exemption. Rest-day or holiday work is excluded from the 72-hour count until it exceeds normal daily hours; those extra hours count. Add rest-day or holiday pay to the usual hourly basic rate × 1.5 × overtime hours.
Rest-day scheduling and pay
Provide one unpaid rest day a week: ordinarily midnight to midnight, or a continuous 30 hours for shift workers. A 30-hour period starting before 6pm on Sunday counts for that week even if it ends on Monday. A non-Sunday rest-day roster must be communicated before each month begins. Other non-working days are not automatically rest days; the gap between rest days may not exceed 12 days. Compulsory rest-day work is permitted only in exceptional circumstances.
| Requested by | Up to half normal daily hours | Above half, up to normal daily hours | Above normal daily hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employer | 1 day basic salary | 2 days basic salary | 2 days basic salary + overtime pay |
| Employee | Half day basic salary | 1 day basic salary | 1 day basic salary + overtime pay |
Eleven paid holidays
Employees covered by the Employment Act receive 11 paid gazetted public holidays: New Year, both Chinese New Year days, Hari Raya Puasa, Hari Raya Haji, Good Friday, Labour Day, Vesak Day, National Day, Deepavali and Christmas. When a holiday coincides with the rest day, the next working day becomes the paid holiday.
Eligibility for holiday pay
Holiday pay uses the gross rate. Unauthorised absence without reasonable excuse on the working day immediately before or after the holiday can remove entitlement. Authorised adjacent leave does not. A holiday falling within approved unpaid leave is unpaid: unpaid leave on 8 August alone leaves 9 August payable, but unpaid leave from 8–10 August makes 9 August unpaid.
Working-day, non-working-day and rest-day scenarios
For a five-day week, Saturday is normally the non-working day and Sunday the rest day. Apply the correct rule rather than treating both as the same. Contractual terms govern employees outside the Employment Act.
| Holiday falls on | Entitlement / work payment |
|---|---|
| Working day | Gross holiday pay is included in monthly salary; work adds one day basic pay, plus overtime beyond normal hours |
| Non-working day | Another day off or one day gross pay in lieu; overtime rules apply to additional work |
| Rest day | Next working day is the paid holiday; actual rest-day work receives rest-day pay plus qualifying overtime |
Substitution and time off
Employer and employee may agree to substitute another working day for the public holiday. Time off in hours instead of holiday-work pay is available only to employees outside Part 4 and normally by agreement. Without agreement on duration, the employer may pay an extra day basic salary, allow four hours off where holiday work was four hours or less, or a full day off where work exceeded four hours. Unexplained absence adjacent to the holiday permits deduction of one gross-paid day from monthly gross salary.
Find the applicable leave rule
Annual leave depends on Employment Act coverage, completed service and the relevant service year. The detailed guides cover entitlement, pro-rating, unused leave, unpaid leave and different work patterns.
Find the applicable leave rule
Start with eligibility and pro-rated entitlement, then check medical reimbursement and salary rules. The separate special-situations page addresses how particular circumstances affect the right to paid sick leave.
CPF topics
MOM’s CPF directory covers the account system, retirement withdrawal and payout ages, the Basic Retirement Sum, uses for housing and healthcare, contribution eligibility and employer payment duties. The CPF Advisory Panel material concerns recommendations made in 2015 and is presented with that historical context.
Forms and worked payroll checks
Annex templates support attendance records, KETs and itemised pay slips. Enter actual contractual terms rather than copying sample amounts. Check basic pay, fixed allowances, overtime, approved deductions and net pay against supporting records before releasing payroll.