Sick Leave (Singapore)

Entitlement and eligibility of Sick Leave for employees in Singapore

Nicholas avatar
Written by Nicholas
Updated over a week ago

An employee is entitled to paid outpatient and hospitalisation sick leave if:

  • she/he has worked for at least 3 months.

  • she/he has attempted to inform the employer within 48 hours of absence.

  • the sick leave has been certified by a physician approved by the company or a physician from an approved public medical institution.

The number of days of paid sick entitled depends on the length of service:

60 days of hospitalisation leave includes the 14 days of outpatient sick leave.
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An employee is eligible for hospitalisation leave, once the physician certifies the need for hospitalisation, without needing to be warded.

Paid hospitalisation leave and outpatient sick leave are payable at gross rate of pay. Any shift allowance is excluded from the gross rate of pay for outpatient sick leave unless approved by an affiliated union.

Paid sick leave is not applicable during:

  • Rest days

  • Public holidays

  • Non-working days

  • Annual leave

  • Unpaid leave

If an employee falls sick while on annual leave, it is up to the employer to decide if sick leave can be used to replace the annual leave taken. Any sick leave taken is counted as a full day of leave, even when taken on a half working day.
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An employee who is sick without sufficient sick leave remaining may be allowed to take unpaid leave for a period agreed upon with her/his employer.

Medical reimbursement

An employee who has worked for at least 3 months is eligible to claim for medical consultation fees, even on non-working days and annual leave.

Other medical costs e.g. medication are claimable based on the company's policy or its collective agreement with a union.

An employer does not need to grant paid sick leave or pay medical fees for cosmetic procedures, where an examining physician can determine if the reasons are cosmetic.

Unfit to continue working
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The employer may terminate the services of an employee if she/he is certified by a physician as unfit to continue working. Compensation for termination should respect the terms set out in the employment contract, where a payment in goodwill is optional.

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