Notice Period in Singapore: What Employers Must Give and Pay

If your contract names a notice period, both sides must serve it or pay salary in lieu. If it does not, MOM’s default notice period in Singapore depends on length of service: 1 day under 26 weeks, 1 week from 26 weeks to under 2 years, 2 weeks from 2 years to under 5 years and 4 weeks from 5 years. Ending the job without serving the full notice generally means paying salary in lieu of notice, with exceptions for breach of contract and misconduct covered below, and the final-pay deadline depends on who ended it.

This guide follows MOM’s pages on termination with notice (last updated 22 April 2026) and termination without notice (15 July 2026), plus its salary pages, with illustrative dates and amounts. MOM’s coverage page (24 July 2025) says the Employment Act covers local and foreign employees but not seafarers, domestic workers, statutory board employees or civil servants, whose terms follow their contract. This is general information, not legal advice.

What notice must an employer give if the contract is silent?

MOM says the contract sets the notice period and the length must be the same for employer and employee. It can be in days, weeks or months. Where it is in days, MOM’s FAQ (27 April 2026) says the contract should state whether they are calendar or working days.

If the contract says nothing, MOM’s default depends on length of service:

• Less than 26 weeks: 1 day
• 26 weeks to less than 2 years: 1 week
• 2 years to less than 5 years: 2 weeks
• 5 years or more: 4 weeks

Notice must be in writing, and neither side has to give a reason. Both sides can waive notice by mutual consent, which MOM says should be in writing. An employer cannot reject a resignation. MOM’s page on what termination is says the employee may resign at any time by serving notice or paying salary in lieu, and that it is an offence for an employer to disallow employees from leaving. Fixed-term staff resign on the same terms, though a contract may add compensation for leaving early, which MOM says sits outside the Act and suggests taking legal advice on. The notice clause is also one of the terms to settle in our first-employee checklist.

How do you count the last day of a notice period?

MOM’s rule is that the notice period includes the day notice is given, plus public holidays, rest days and non-working days. Its own examples use 2025 dates. One month’s notice given on 15 July 2025 ends on 14 August 2025. Given on 29 January 2025 it ends on 28 February 2025, and so does notice given on 30 or 31 January or 1 February, because February has 28 days.

MOM’s examples cover 1 day and 1 month only. The dates below are our own extension of that pattern, counted from the day notice is given and checked against MOM’s public holiday list (19 June 2026), and MOM does not publish these exact cases:

• 2 weeks over year-end (our reading): given Tuesday 22 December 2026, the 14 days run to Monday 4 January 2027. Christmas Day (Friday 25 December), New Year’s Day (Friday 1 January) and two weekends fall inside and all count.
• 1 month: given Friday 6 November 2026, the last day is Saturday 5 December 2026, the same pattern as 15 July to 14 August. Deepavali (Sunday 8 November) falls inside.
• 1 month from late January: given Friday 29 January 2027, the last day is Sunday 28 February 2027, and so it is for notice given on Saturday 30 or Sunday 31 January or Monday 1 February. Given Thursday 28 January, our reading of the same pattern is Saturday 27 February, because MOM’s example starts at 29 January. Chinese New Year (6 to 7 February 2027) falls inside and counts.

The last day can fall on a weekend, so write the date in the notice letter. If the contract counts working days instead, these dates do not apply.

What is salary in lieu of notice, and how do you work it out?

MOM defines salary in lieu of notice as money equivalent to the salary the employee would have earned during the required notice period. Either side can pay it. MOM’s monthly and daily salary page (8 December 2025) says it is worked out at the gross rate of pay. That includes allowances the contract entitles the employee to. It excludes overtime, bonus, annual wage supplement, reimbursement of special expenses, productivity incentive payments, and travel, food and housing allowances. For a monthly-rated employee the daily rate is:

12 × monthly gross rate of pay ÷ (52 × average days the employee is required to work in a week)

Here is a fictional case. A sales coordinator works five days a week on S$3,000 basic salary plus a fixed contractual allowance of S$300, so her monthly gross rate is S$3,300. Her S$150 transport allowance, overtime and bonus are excluded.

• Daily gross rate: 12 × 3,300 ÷ (52 × 5) = 39,600 ÷ 260 = S$152.31 (S$152.3077 before rounding)
• 1 week (5 working days): S$761.54
• 2 weeks (10 working days): S$1,523.08
• 4 weeks (20 working days): S$3,046.15

Figures round at the end. MOM gives the formula but no worked example of notice pay, so turning weeks into working days (1 week as 5 days for a five-day week) is our reading. On that reading 4 weeks is S$3,046.15, while one month’s gross rate, the simplest reading for notice in months (also ours), is S$3,300, which is S$253.85 more. Write the unit and the method into the contract. Our free salary in lieu of notice calculator shows the working for the daily rate and the last day.

Who pays whom, according to MOM:

• Employee resigns without serving notice: the employee pays salary in lieu.
• Employer ends the contract without notice, or asks an employee to leave without serving the notice: the employer pays. MOM’s FAQ on asking an employee to leave early (24 April 2026) says the employer may do so but must pay salary in lieu, and its FAQ on being asked to leave after resigning (27 April 2026) says that for someone already serving notice it is salary in lieu for the rest of the notice period.
• Breach of the contract: either side can end it without notice and the party in breach pays. MOM’s examples are an employee absent for more than 2 working days in a row without approval and a good excuse, and salary unpaid 7 days after it is due.
• Misconduct: after an inquiry finds misconduct, MOM’s misconduct page (2 August 2026) says the employer can terminate without notice and pays no salary in lieu.

MOM’s page on allowable salary deductions (16 December 2024) says an employer covered by the Employment Act can deduct salary only for the reasons it lists, and salary in lieu of notice is not among them. Its written-consent reason is meant for deductions that benefit the employee. The page also says any compensation should generally be recovered directly from the employee rather than through a salary deduction, and that deductions for items that do not benefit the employee, such as liquidated damages, must not be made.

When must the final salary be paid?

MOM’s paying salary page (30 January 2026) sets four deadlines:

• Employee resigns and serves the notice: on the last day of employment.
• Employee resigns and does not serve the notice: within 7 days of the last day of employment.
• Employer terminates the contract: on the last day of employment, or if that is not possible within 3 working days from the date of termination.
• Dismissal for misconduct: the same as employer termination, counted from the date of dismissal.

MOM’s FAQ on final pay and handover (24 April 2026) says an employer cannot withhold the final salary of an employee who has served the notice period, including where the handover was poor. The paying salary page also says commission follows the contract or existing practice. For a foreign employee, the employer must withhold all monies due, including salary and leave pay, for tax clearance for up to 30 days after giving notice of cessation to the Comptroller of Income Tax.

Applied to illustrative dates:

• Resigns on 6 November 2026 and serves notice: the last day is Saturday 5 December, so pay falls due that day. MOM also says salary should be paid on a working day during working hours. For a Monday-to-Friday office, our reading is that paying on the last working day, Friday 4 December, satisfies both rules.
• Employer ends the contract on Tuesday 17 November 2026: pay that day if possible, otherwise within 3 working days, with no public holiday that week. MOM does not say whether the termination day counts: not counting it gives Friday 20 November and counting it gives Thursday 19 November, so Thursday is clear on either reading (ours).
• Employee leaves without notice, last day Friday 20 November 2026: the employer’s deadline is Friday 27 November.

What happens to CPF, leave and sick leave during notice?

MOM’s termination with notice page sets these rules:

• CPF: employer and employee contribute on salary earned during the notice period, because the person is still an employee. CPF is not required on salary in lieu. MOM’s FAQ (14 March 2024) adds that contributions apply while the employee works and has not yet joined a new company. CPF Board’s list of payments (dated 28 October 2021, linked from MOM’s page) lists compensation in lieu of notice as not attracting CPF and payment in lieu of leave as attracting it. Our CPF rates page has the rates.
• Approved annual leave during notice: paid for the full notice period, and the last day does not move.
• Annual leave used to offset notice (with the employer’s agreement): the last day moves forward, pay stops then and the leave used is not paid.
• Unused annual leave: unless the termination is for misconduct, the employer pays it at the gross rate of pay on the last drawn salary.
• Unpaid leave: the employer can extend the notice, but only with the employee’s agreement.
• Sick leave: for employees covered by the Act, it counts as part of the notice and the employer cannot extend the notice or claim short notice.
• Reservist training: not part of the notice, so one week of training extends it by one week.

Overtime is outside the gross rate, so see our overtime pay examples for working it out, and our public holidays 2027 guide for holiday pay.

What should you check before ending, or accepting the end of, a contract?

Copy this list into the employee’s file:

1. Contract wording. Length, unit and calendar or working days. If silent, use MOM’s default.
2. Written notice. Dated and acknowledged, with the day given counted as day 1.
3. Last day. The calendar date, checked against weekends and public holidays, written in the letter.
4. Serve, waive or pay in lieu. Waiver in writing. Salary in lieu at the gross rate, with the method recorded.
5. Leave. Balance, and whether it is approved during notice, offset or paid out. Misconduct forfeits unused leave.
6. CPF. On salary worked and on payment in lieu of leave, not on salary in lieu of notice.
7. Final pay date. The deadline for the situation, plus tax clearance withholding for foreign employees.
8. Extras. Early-exit compensation clauses. Netting salary in lieu off final pay is unconfirmed (see above), so check first. Hold an inquiry first for any misconduct.

MOM’s page on what termination is says an employee who believes a dismissal was wrongful can file a claim at TADM, and our Workplace Fairness Act guide covers setting up a grievance process. Recheck the two MOM termination pages and the paying salary page on the day you issue the letter. More employer guides sit under operations.

Common questions