Employment Claims Tribunal Singapore: an Employer’s Guide

The Employment Claims Tribunals (ECT) at the State Courts hear salary-related and wrongful dismissal claims between employees and employers in Singapore. A claim reaches them only after mediation at the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) fails and the mediator issues a claim referral certificate. Each claim is capped at S$20,000, or S$30,000 after tripartite or union-assisted mediation.

For employers the rules are narrower. Employees can claim salary-related items and wrongful dismissal. An employer can claim only salary in lieu of notice, within 6 months of the employee’s last day, with a TADM filing fee of S$10 or S$20.

Limits, deadlines and fees below come from MOM, TADM and the Singapore Courts as read on 3 October 2026 and rechecked on 17 October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

How does an employment claim reach the Employment Claims Tribunals?

MOM says the claims the ECT can hear “need to be first filed at TADM”. TADM’s mediation guide gives this sequence:

1. File at TADM through its eServices with Singpass and pay the filing fee. A claim counts as filed only when payment is received.
2. e-Negotiation, online, about 1 week. A responding organisation must appoint a representative.
3. Mediation, online or in person, in sessions of up to 3 hours. TADM says the process takes about 8 weeks.
4. A settlement agreement or a claim referral certificate. A settlement agreement can be registered through the Courts’ online system to make it a binding order (TADM says with the ECT; the Courts’ registration page says it becomes enforceable as a District Court order). If the parties do not agree, the claimant may ask the mediator for the certificate.
5. Filing at the ECT within 4 weeks of the certificate, online through the Community Justice and Tribunals System (CJTS). The Courts’ filing page gives the same 4 weeks.
6. At the ECT, the Courts’ page for respondents says the parties may first try online negotiation or mediation on CJTS. If the dispute is not resolved, both attend a case management conference, where a registrar manages the case, and the case may then be fixed for a hearing before a tribunal magistrate.

The Courts’ eligibility page confirms the gate: no certificate from the TADM mediator, no ECT filing. Its online pre-filing assessment asks for the certificate number and date, and is not conclusive.

Who can claim what at TADM and the ECT?

• Employee, statutory salary-related claim: for employees covered by the Employment Act, the Retirement and Re-employment Act or the Child Development Co-Savings Act. Courts’ examples: unpaid salary, overtime, unauthorised deductions, annual leave.
• Employee, contractual salary-related claim: items the contract provides, such as a bonus, commission or retrenchment benefit. MOM excludes domestic workers, public servants and seafarers, and TADM says such items cannot be claimed unless the contract or a collective agreement provides for them.
• Employee, wrongful dismissal claim: the Courts say the remedy is reinstatement with the wages the employee would have earned, or compensation decided by the tribunal.
• Employer, notice pay only: TADM’s employer page says employers can only claim notice pay (salary in lieu of notice), and only for an employee covered by the Employment Act. TADM’s mediation guide describes the claim as one for an employee who leaves without serving notice or does not complete the full notice period.

The ECT does not hear non-payment of CPF contributions, workmen’s compensation or transfer of employment. Other sums you believe a former employee owes are not among the employer claims these pages list; seek legal advice on where such a dispute belongs.

What counts as wrongful dismissal for an employer?

TADM describes it as dismissal without just or sufficient cause: for example discrimination on grounds such as age, race or gender, depriving an employee of a benefit such as maternity benefits, punishing an employee for exercising an employment right, or involuntary resignation. It excludes dismissal for misconduct, poor performance or redundancy where the contractual notice was served or paid in lieu.

A manager or executive dismissed with notice needs at least 6 months’ service to file; MOM’s wrongful dismissal page adds “or salary in lieu of notice”. TADM lists no minimum for managers and executives dismissed without notice, or for other employees. That MOM page, last updated 22 April 2026, also points employers to the Tripartite Guidelines on Wrongful Dismissal, which this guide has not summarised. Grievance processes under the Workplace Fairness Act are a separate matter: see our Workplace Fairness Act guide.

What are the filing deadlines?

TADM’s guide and MOM’s page give these windows:

• Salary-related claim, employee still employed: within 1 year from the first date of owed salary (MOM: 1 year after the dispute arose). The claim period reaches back 1 year from filing.
• Salary-related claim, employee has left: within 6 months of the last day of employment.
• Wrongful dismissal: within 1 month of the last day of employment, or 2 months from the date of delivery for a pregnancy-related claim.
• Employer’s notice-pay claim: within 6 months of the employee’s last day.
• After mediation: file at the ECT within 4 weeks of a certificate, or register a settlement agreement within 4 weeks of all parties signing it.

The 1-month window is the shortest, so a wrongful dismissal claim can be filed within a month of the last day. Keeping the reason for a dismissal, and proof that notice was served or paid, on file at termination rather than assembling it after TADM’s email arrives is our suggestion, not a TADM rule.

What are the claim limits and fees?

Each claim is capped at S$20,000, or S$30,000 if it went through the Tripartite Mediation Framework or mediation assisted by a union recognised under the Industrial Relations Act. MOM lists union members as the eligible group, so our reading is that the S$20,000 limit is the one an employer’s claim will normally face. The Courts say a claimant may abandon the excess to have a larger claim heard, but cannot recover it elsewhere or split a claim to fit under the limit.

• TADM mediation filing fee: S$10 including GST for S$10,000 or less, S$20 above that. TADM’s fees page says it is not refundable, is based on the amount declared at filing and is due within 3 days of filing.
• ECT filing fee after a certificate: S$30 per claim for S$10,000 or less, S$60 above that. TADM’s mediation guide and the Courts’ filing page (last updated 2 June 2026) give the same figures.
• ECT hearing fees: none for a case management conference. For a hearing before a tribunal magistrate, the Courts’ page on going to court (last updated 28 August 2026) lists S$30 a day for claims of S$10,000 or less and S$60 a day above that, for each day or part of a day. The first day, or the first two half-days, of the first set of hearing dates is excluded, as is any day fixed only for the tribunal’s decision.
• Registering a settlement agreement: S$10, which TADM and the Courts’ registration page both give.

How does an employer claim notice pay from a former employee?

TADM’s employer page covers these points; the step order and numbering are ours:

1. Ask first. Try to recover the pay directly, for example by letter, and give a reasonable period to respond. TADM names no number of days.
2. Check eligibility. The employee must be covered by the Employment Act, and TADM’s mediation guide describes the claim as one for an employee who left without serving notice or did not complete it.
3. Check access. Only company Corppass users assigned “EmPOWER” can file, using Singpass.
4. Upload documents. The resignation or termination letter (where applicable) or proof of your attempt to recover the pay, the key employment terms or employment contract, and salary payment records for the past few months.
5. Pay within 3 days. Otherwise the claim is purged and must be refiled. TADM emails the next steps within 3 working days of payment.

Worked example (fictional, for illustration). A design studio’s production assistant, covered by the Employment Act, leaves on Friday 30 October 2026 without serving the one month’s notice in the contract. The studio puts salary in lieu at S$4,200; our notice period guide covers how to work out the amount.

• Monday 2 November 2026: the studio writes asking for S$4,200 by Monday 16 November (its own choice of date).
• Monday 16 November 2026: no reply, so the studio files through EmPOWER, declares S$4,200 and pays S$10 by Thursday 19 November. The 6-month deadline, counted as TADM’s own examples are, is Friday 30 April 2027.
• Around Monday 11 January 2027: mediation ends if the 8-week estimate runs from filing. TADM does not say what it runs from, so this is a planning guess.
• If there is no agreement: with a certificate issued on Friday 15 January 2027, the studio files at the ECT by Friday 12 February 2027 and pays S$30.

Filing-fee arithmetic for the full route (amounts illustrative, before any ECT hearing fees):

• S$4,200 or S$10,000 claim: S$10 + S$30 = S$40.
• S$10,400 claim: S$20 + S$60 = S$80.
• S$22,000 claim, such as a senior hire with a long notice period: abandon S$2,000 to reach the S$20,000 limit, then S$20 + S$60 = S$80. The S$2,000 cannot be recovered in a tribunal or any other court.

What should an employer do when an employee files a claim?

TADM’s guide sets these rules for mediation:

• Who may attend: only the employee, the employer and the mediator. Lawyers, family and friends are not allowed.
• Who represents the company: a director or partner registered with ACRA, a sole proprietor registered with ACRA, or a full-time employee authorised by a director or partner with a signed Letter of Authorisation. Generally one representative, registered beforehand.
• Postponement: only in exceptional circumstances, with at least 3 working days’ notice and supporting documents.
• Non-attendance: if the responding party is absent, the claimant may refer the dispute to the ECT, which may order that party to pay costs.

TADM asks an employee to upload the contract, salary payment or attendance records, CPF statements and messages, or for a dismissal claim the termination letter. Expecting the same records to matter to the respondent is our inference. The checklist below is our own, to copy:

• The claim type, the amount claimed and the date TADM contacted you.
• The contract or key employment terms, and any handbook that grants a bonus, commission or retrenchment benefit.
• Payslips, proof of each salary payment, attendance or overtime records and CPF contribution records for the period.
• The termination or resignation letter, notice given or served, any salary in lieu paid, and messages or emails about the dispute.
• For a dismissal claim: the reason recorded at the time, whether notice was served or paid, and whether a manager or executive had under 6 months’ service.
• The named representative, with ACRA position or Letter of Authorisation, registered before the session, and the mediation date.
• What the company could settle on and who may agree (our suggestion).

What happens after mediation?

If a party fails to pay under a settlement agreement or an ECT order, TADM says the claimant may apply to the State Courts to enforce it. MOM may also take enforcement action and suspend work pass privileges against errant employers for late payment under either, or for infringing labour laws. Lesser breaches can bring advisory letters, a corrective clinic and follow-up checks at your premises. A claimant can withdraw a claim at any time after a private settlement or a decision not to pursue it.

A customer’s unpaid invoice is a different kind of dispute: see our guide to chasing an overdue invoice up to the Small Claims Tribunals. More on running a compliant team is in our operations topic.

Common questions