askST Jobs: Am I protected by Singapore’s labour laws as a remote worker?
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Employers and employees need to be clear on the express terms of the employment contract.
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Q: I was hired by an overseas company to work remotely for it. Am I covered by Singapore’s labour laws or those of the country in which the company is based?
A: Generally, any person who works and is based in Singapore under an employment contract with an employer would be able to claim protection under Singapore’s labour laws, says employment lawyer Laure de Panafieu.
Employees can do so regardless of where their employer is based, even if they work remotely, adds Ms de Panafieu, who is Asia head of employment and incentives at global law firm Linklaters.
“Singapore’s Employment Act, which is the country’s primary labour law, applies equally to both foreign and local employers, and does not differentiate between remote and in-person roles,” she says.
However, employers and employees who expressly agree in an employment contract that the provisions of a foreign law apply because they relate to the employee’s underlying work and employment relationship more than Singapore’s will be bound by that agreement, she notes.
Indicators that may clarify to a layman which country’s laws apply include a “governing law” clause in the employment contract that spells it out, says Ms de Panafieu.
If there is no such clause, other relevant but non-exhaustive factors include where the employee lives, where the employer’s head office is based and administrative details connected with the employment such as where and in what currency the salary is paid, says Ms Simren Kaur Sandhu, director at PRP Law.
Ms Sandhu adds: “It is critical for an employee to be clear on which country’s employment laws apply as it is these laws which will govern the rights and obligations of the employee.
“The employment laws of the home and host country may be vastly different.”
Ms Sandhu also advises employees who are working remotely to ensure that the terms of their employment contract provide for adequate local insurance and other coverage.
Ms de Panafieu says the employer would likely be challenged if it relied on choosing a foreign law to deprive an employee of their protection from Singapore labour laws, inasmuch as the foreign law protects workers less, such as in terms of wrongful dismissal, leave entitlements or wage deductions.
“Employees are unlikely to be successfully deprived of the protection of Singapore law if they are less well protected by the provisions of a foreign law, even if their employment contract provides for that law to apply,” adds Ms de Panafieu.
She also stresses that employers and employees need to be clear on the express terms of the employment contract, such as annual leave entitlements, instead of simply relying on a country’s labour laws as the agreed terms.
Ms de Panafieu adds that there would likely be procedural and practical difficulties with enforcing a claim against an overseas employer in an employment dispute, even if it is the overseas branch of a company that also has a Singapore presence.
Singapore’s Employment Claims Tribunal (ECT), which is a speedy and low-cost forum for employees and employers to resolve salary-related and wrongful dismissal claims, would be unavailable as its claims cannot be served on persons or entities outside Singapore, she notes.
While many countries have local labour tribunals serving as forums for employment disputes, such tribunals may not be available to employees who are employed abroad.
“In such cases, the employees would likely need to file private claims in civil courts, and may also need to engage lawyers in the employer’s foreign country in order to take legal action against their employer, which could be a logistically difficult and costly process for most employees,” says Ms de Panafieu.
“Given the potential cost and difficulty of doing so, employees should consider carefully whether they would be willing to take such measures and take these issues into account before accepting employment with an employer that does not have operations or a presence in Singapore.”
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