4 March, 2016
On 25 February 2016, the Ministry of Manpower (“MOM”) commenced a public consultation seeking feedback on the proposed establishment of an Employment Claims Tribunal (“Consultation”). The Employment Claims Tribunal (“ECT”) will address salary-related claims for all employees. This is contrasted with the present position where employees not covered by the Employment Act (including Professionals, Managers and Executives (PMEs) earning more than $4,500 per month) are required to seek recourse for their salary-related claims with the civil courts.
It is proposed to establish the ECT as a Tribunal under the State Courts, similar to the Small Claims Tribunal. The ECT will take over the work of the current Labour Court in adjudicating salary-related claims.
The proposed key features of the Employment Claims Tribunal are as follows:
- The ECT will handle salary-related claims for employees (including rank-and-file workers and PMEs) who have an employment contract, regardless of their salary level. At this time, public servants, domestic workers and seafarers will not be covered by the ECT as they have alternate avenues of recourse for employment disputes. However, this may change at a later date.
- The ECT will hear statutory claims provided for in legislation such as the Employment Act, as well as salary-related claims expressly provided in monetary terms in employment contracts.
- The ECT will not hear issues related to other workplace grievances such as unfair dismissal or discrimination. It will only hear claims related to salary and all other employment disputes must still be pursued under the provisions of the Employment Act, or through the civil courts.
- Mediation must be undertaken by parties before their claims can be heard by the ECT. The mediation will be carried out by MOM or MOM-approved mediators.
- Claims brought to the ECT will be capped at $20,000. A higher claims cap of $30,000 will apply to claimants who go through the Tripartite Mediation Framework or MOM conciliation prescribed under the Industrial Relations Act.
- A claim must be filed for mediation within one year from the date on which the claim arises, or if the employment relationship has ended, within six months of the end of employment.
The establishment of the ECT provides an expeditious and cost-effective avenue for resolving salary disputes. This is certainly a welcome development in employment law. However, if the proposed key features are adopted, it remains to be seen how effective the ECT will be, given the limited jurisdiction (capped at $20,000 or $30,000) and scope of disputes the ECT will adjudicate upon.
The Consultation is open for feedback until 23 March 2016. We would be pleased to assist with any feedback our clients would like to make to the MOM on the Consultation.
For further information, please contact:
Jenny Tsin, Partner, WongPartnership
jenny.tsin@wongpartnership.com
