MOM

THE overall incidence of employment claims and appeals fell in 2021, compared to the year before, alongside Singapore's economic recovery from Covid-19, ...

Local workers accounted for 64% of all employment claims and appeals, while foreign employees made up the remaining 36%.

The employers had fulfilled their contractual or statutory obligations of employment termination with notice. For salary claims, the improvement was largely due to a drop in the number of claims lodged in 2021. Claims fell for both local and foreign employees. TADM and the Employment Claims Tribunals helped 95 per cent of workers who lodged salary claims recover their salaries in full, compared with 92 per cent in 2020. Most of the 5,882 employment claims and appeals were salary claims (4,848) and dismissal claims (922). Official figures published on Monday (Jul 18) showed the overall number of employment claims and appeals lodged with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) “fell significantly” from 2.59 in 2020 to 1.73 per 1,000 employees in 2021.

Foreign workers also made “sharply” fewer claims; MOM said its early interventions over the last two years have worked. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Names have been withheld for confidentiality. The number of claims rectified in two months rose drastically from 76 per cent in 2020 to 92 per cent last year, due to the drop in claims filed. Daniel took his boss to TADM for unpaid salary after working overtime for no pay, and receiving only part of his wages in his two years of employment. After TADM warned that the case would be sent to the Employment Claims Tribunals for adjudication, Daniel's boss relented. The body set three records: the number of disputes it mediated to resolution, the speed of resolution, and the percentage of workers who sought its help and recovered their wages in full. But the employer botched the paperwork, and he lodged a claim with TADM for wrongful dismissal. The TADM was set up by the Ministry of Manpower, National Trades Union Congress and Singapore National Employers Federation to mediate and advise workers and employers on employment disputes. At the same time, the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) resolved about 84 per cent of salary claims, and referred the remaining to the Employment Claims Tribunals for adjudication. Further improvements to allow remote signing of settlement agreements and a chatbot to help with claims filing and computation are being planned by next year, the report said. Overall, workers took fewer disputes with their employers to the authorities last year, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in the release of the 2021 Employment Standards Report on Monday (July 18). It had encouraged employers to declare upfront when they could not pay wages so they could tap aid, and workers could alert the ministry of salary arrears early via an app. The tally translates to 1.73 claims per every 1,000 employees - excluding foreign maids - lodged last year, compared with 2.59 in 2020.