The Employment Act is the labour law for Singapore, covering basic terms and conditions for local and foreign employees working under a contract of service.
This includes employees who work full-time, part-time, on a temporary or contract basis, where the rate of pay can be hourly, daily, monthly or piece-rated.
An employee is excluded from the Employment Act if he/she is a:
seafarer,
domestic worker,
civil servant or statutory board employee
Part IV of the Employment Act regulates specific working conditions but applies only to:
A workman (doing manual labour) earning a monthly basic salary of not more than $4,500.
An employee who is not a workman, but who is covered by the Employment Act and earning more not than $2,600/month in basic salary
NOTE: Part IV of the Act does not cover all managers or executives. A workman is generally understood as a person who primarily does manual labour.
Examples of workman jobs:
artisan and apprentice
cleaner
construction worker
labourer
machine operator and assembler
metal and machinery worker
train, bus, lorry and van driver
train and bus inspector
This includes a person who:
is employed at piece rates at an employer's premises
operates or maintains commercial vehicles with passengers
supervises manual workers but spends more than half their work time on manual work
An executive or manager is generally understood as having both executive and supervisory duties. This includes professionals with tertiary education, possessing specialised skills or knowledge, who are on similar employment terms.