Legal Employment Framework - Employment Act (Chapter 91)
The Employment Act in Singapore is an act that covers every employee who is under the contract of service to their employer except employees engaged under managerial and executive levels or domestic workers. If either party intends to end the contract, they may do so with a notice of their motive of termination. Employees may need to serve a notice period before leaving, which ranges from 1 day to 1 month.
The Employment Act consists of many regulations which acts as a basis with regards to payment of salary, conditions of service including rest days and working hours and also leave entitlements including sick leave and childcare leave. It serves to protect the basic rights of the employees and even the employers and it is essential for both parties to follow these regulations to avoid any convictions against them. Each part of the Employment Act has its own set of implications and benefits to either parties.
Part III: Payment of Salary
A salary period may be fixed by an employer and during this period, salary earned by the employee is to be paid with a timeframe not exceeding one month. This regulations ensures that every employee earns the correct amount of money they worked for, for the whole month. It will be considered an offense if employers failed to do so. The fixed salary period may also act as a reminder to some employers who may be preoccupied handling the other aspects of larger businesses to make sure that they pay their employees on time every month. It is also a very organised way of handling the accounts of the company as the dates for the salary payouts are fixed every month so employers can also set aside the total sum of money for the salary payout.
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As for employees, it is essential for them to work together and cooperate with one another to prevent any accidents from occurring and to not carry out any actions that may be reckless and bring harm to their fellow colleagues. They are ultimately responsible for the safety of their colleagues and themselves. Failing to do so will not only cause mishaps but it may also result in parties being convicted for breaching this act.
Article 12: Anti-Discrimination Law
Article 12 of the Constitution of Singapore emphasizes on the importance of anti-discrimination in Singapore. It ensures that every person is treated equally before the law. With this law in place, an employer, who may be hiring someone, must not discriminate against their race, religion or even where they were born. If he/she does so, they may be liable for going against the law and may be convicted.
The Employment Rights Act 1996 came into force on 22 August 1996. It sets out the statutory employment rights of workers and employees.
It is important for business management to develop and promote sound health and safety policies and to consider, not only the legal requirements and the possibility of prosecution, but also the possibility of an employee personal injury claim.
14. Fair Labor Standards Act, www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk, 6/11/04 --------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] Fair Labor Standards Act; www.inforplease.com, June 11, 2004.
The culture in Singapore is very formal, group oriented and much of the communication is done via non-verbal methods. In Singapore, the needs of the group or the company in this case, are given higher preference over the individual needs. The success of company is more important than the work that a person does. Since the culture is very formal, some things are not said by an employee to his manager or by the manager to his employee. Non-verbal cues are to be picked up to see if the employee is happy or not or if the manager is happy or not. A hierarchical structure is used and there is a clearly defined boundary of the individual. The employees are expected to follow this structure within the company and stay within their boundary. Relationships between employees and managers take time to develop and it is considered important that the manager plays close attention to the needs of the employees. The manager should realize that each employee has a part to play in the role of the running of the company. Keeping yourself within the duties of the role brings order within the organization and everything remains in a well defined manner. The managers in Singapore try to keep a general view about the life of the employee outside the organization. The manager tries to learn as much as possible about the family of his subordinate to make sure that he understands that
Bennett-Alexander, D.; Hartman, L (2012) Employment Law for Business 7th Edition. New York, NY. McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.
There are different types of discrimination against a job applicant or an employee. It is prohibited by law to make biased decisions based on preconception to group of people according to a certain race, national origin, class, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, age, disabilities, genetic information etc. All developed countries have an advanced legislation to protect job applicants and employees against different types of discrimination in many types of work situations such as hiring, firing, promotions, harassment, training, wages and benefits. This paper examines issues associated with the main forms of discrimination.
It applies to most employers engaged in interstate commerce with more than 15 employees, labor organizations, and employment agencies. The Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Sex includes pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions. It makes it illegal for employers to discriminate in relation to hiring, discharging, compensating, or providing the terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. Employment agencies may not discriminate when hiring or referring applicants. The Act also prohibits labor organizations from basing membership or union classifications on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
United States of America. National Employment Law Project. National Employment Law Project. N.p., Jan. 2011. Web. 18 May 2014.
The Working Time Regulations 1998 consider working time as a health and safety matter than an employment rights matter. All European member states including the United Kingdom follow the regulations as before in the UK there was no universal legislation which dealt with working time and holidays. The regulations are part of the domestic employment law after being implemented 2 years after originally planned.
Comparative advantage means that an industry, firm, country or individual are able to produce goods and services at a lower opportunity cost than others which are also producing the same goods and services. Also, in order to be profitable, the number in exports must be higher than the number in import. From the diagram we seen above, Singapore is seen to have a comparative advantage in some services. The services are Transport, Financial, business management, maintenance & Repair and Advertising & Market Research, etc. These export services to other countries improve the balance of payment. On the other side, Singapore is seen to have a comparative disadvantage in some services. The services are Travel, Telecommunications, Computer & Information,
Employers negligent in providing health and safety in the work environment could become criminally charged, fined or sent to jail. Providing an unsafe workplace is no longer considered just as morally unjust, but an act of crime. Health and safety in the workplace has become more encompassing and broader, accepting new causes and problems that influence occupational health and safety. Health is no longer just defined as wellness of the physical body, but also wellness of the mind. Mental health is considered an area of workplace safety.
A candidly of risk occurs in every organisation. Governance principals and the occupational health and safety urge that the organisations take reasonable measures to hinder loss, charge or rage to the organisational and all stakeholders/management. Injury and accidents can even happen ultimately with stringent OHS and the fact that an accident when occurs, does not mean that someone is liable if all responsible steps for prevention or minimisation has been taken.
Termination of workers gives immediate results. Generally, there will be costs associated with this approach depending on your employment agreements. Notice periods are guaranteed in all provinces. Be sure to review the employment and labor standards in your province or territory to ensure that you are compliant with the legislation.
Although workplace accidents are very common, the majority of them can be prevented. As a company, you are obliged by the law to protect your employees, so it is important to take the necessary actions that will minimize the risk of accidents (Intelligent HQ, 2015).
A person is classed as an employee in the event that the person is working under an agreement of employment. An agreement not necessary to be written as it exists when both employee and employer agree the terms and condition of employment. It can likewise be implied from actions and those of the individual to be worked for. As stated in the law, employer is obliged to deduct income tax and national insurance contributions from employee’s wages before they are paid. Employee also qualified for all minimum statutory employment rights including maternity and paternity leave, the right not to be unjustifiably released, statutory redundancy pay and all the worker’s rights.