No need to raise penalties for late retrenchment notices for now: Tan See Leng
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In 2025, 80 per cent of the retrenchment notifications were filed before the required deadline of five working days - up from 70 per cent in 2024.
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
SINGAPORE - There is no need for tougher penalties on employers who fail to meet mandatory retrenchment notification rules for now, said Manpower Minister Tan See Leng, as most delays stem from administrative oversights and compliance rates remain high.
He was responding to a question in Parliament from Mr Patrick Tay (Pioneer), assistant secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress, who asked if the Government would consider stricter penalties against errant employers.
Currently, companies with 10 or more employees are required to submit a mandatory retrenchment notification to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) within five working days after informing workers that they are being retrenched.
Dr Tan said most employers here submit the notifications on time. In 2025, 80 per cent of the notifications were filed before the required deadline of five working days, up from 70 per cent in 2024.
Many companies also notify the Government earlier than required. In 2025, 77 per cent of retrenchment notifications were submitted at least seven days before an employee’s last working day, while 73 per cent were filed at least two weeks in advance.
Late submissions were typically due to administrative oversight rather than deliberate non-compliance, Dr Tan added.
Employers who missed the deadline were issued caution letters, and most have been compliant after the warning, he said.
Recalcitrant employers face an administrative penalty of $1,000 for the first breach, and $2,000 for each subsequent breach.
“The compliance rate has been high. We don’t see a need to raise the penalties at this point in time. And I want to emphasise ‘at this point in time’,” Dr Tan said.
“Nevertheless, we will review our enforcement approach and our penalties regularly.”
He had said in March that MOM would review suggestions by MPs to make advance notifications mandatory so that retrenched workers can get help earlier.
On May 5, Dr Tan emphasised again that a balanced approach is needed as mandating earlier notifications could risk pushing companies to finalise layoffs more quickly, instead of encouraging them to save jobs through backend negotiations.
“Our tripartite partners are indeed mindful of such concerns, and they will continue to take a very careful and balanced approach in the discussions,” he said.
