Remote’s guide to employing in

Singapore
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Make employment in Singapore easy. Let us handle payroll, benefits, taxes, compliance, and even stock options for your team in Singapore, all in one easy-to-use platform.

  • Capital City

    Singapore

  • Currency

    Singapore dollar (S$, SGD)

  • Languages

    English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil

  • Population size

    5,850,342

Services available in this country:
Employer of Record ProductContractor Management

Facts & Stats

Singapore Map Illustration
  • Capital City

    Singapore

  • Currency

    Singapore dollar (S$, SGD)

  • Languages

    English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil

  • Population size

    5,850,342

  • Ease of doing business

    Very easy

  • Cost of living index

    $$$$ (11 of 139 nations)

  • Payroll frequency

    Monthly

  • VAT - standard rate

    7%

  • GDP - real growth rate

    3.1% (2018)

Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2019, Singapore is the world's most competitive economy, having overtaken the United States. Singapore also ranks highly on the United Nations’ Human Development Index (HDI) and finds a place among the top 10 countries in per capita nominal GDP, as estimated by the International Monetary Fund.

Grow your team in Singapore with Remote

Looking to employ workers in Singapore? Companies hiring in Singapore must either own a legal entity in the country or work with a global employment solutions provider, usually one that provides employer of record services.

Remote can employ your team in Singapore on your behalf through our local legal entity in the country and handle payroll, benefits, taxes, and compliance for your Singapore team. You can also pay contractors now in Singapore with Remote.

Risks of misclassification

Singapore, like many other countries, treats self-employed individuals or contractors and full-time employees differently. Misclassification of contractors in Singapore may lead to fines and penalties for the offending company.

Employing in Singapore

The primary sources of employment law in Singapore are the Employment Act and common law. Other sources of employment law include the Child Development Co-Savings Act, the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, the Work Injury Compensation Act, and the Workplace Safety and Health Act.

Singapore’s employment law provides strong labor conditions and protections for employees, so employing workers in the country is an important investment and commitment. Temporary agencies are popular options in certain industries.

To employ workers in Singapore, contact Remote to learn more about your options.

Minimum Wage

There is no statutory minimum wage in Singapore, with two exceptions. Cleaners employed in the cleaning sector must have a minimum wage of SGD 1,200 per month, and security guards must have a minimum wage of SGD 1,100 per month.

Payroll Cycle

For customers of Remote, all employee payments will be made in equal monthly installments on or before the last working day of each calendar month, payable in arrears.

Onboarding Time

We can help you get a new employee started in Singapore fast. The minimum onboarding time we need is only 5 working days.

Our team ensures your employees are onboarded and paid as quickly as possible while keeping your business compliant with all local employment legislation. The minimum onboarding time begins after the employee submits all required information onto the Remote platform. The onboarding timeline is also dependent upon registration with local authorities.

For all non-nationals of the country of employment, the Right to Work assessment (if applicable) will add three extra days to the total time to onboard. There may be extra time required if we need to follow-up on the right to work assessment.

Please note, payroll cut-off dates can impact the actual first day of employment. Remote has a payroll cut-off date of the 10th of the month unless otherwise specified.

12 Public holidays

Jan
Monday, January 1, 20241New Year's Day
Feb
Saturday, February 10, 20242Chinese New Year's Day
Sunday, February 11, 20243Second Day of the Chinese New Year
Monday, February 12, 20244Third Day of the Chinese New Year
Mar
Friday, March 29, 20245Good Friday
Apr
Wednesday, April 10, 20246Hari Raya Puasa
May
Wednesday, May 1, 20247Labor Day
Wednesday, May 22, 20248Vesak Day
Jun
Monday, June 17, 20249Hari Raya Haji
Aug
Friday, August 9, 202410National Day
Oct
Thursday, October 31, 202411Deepavali
Dec
Wednesday, December 25, 202412Christmas Day

Want to see and manage all holidays? Sign up for our free HRIS!

Effortless HR in Singapore: Take the Tour

Seamlessly Manage Your Workforce, from First Hire to Final Paycheck

Competitive benefits package in Singapore

Remote supports our clients by offering competitive benefits packages that will help you attract and retain the best talent across the globe! Our benefits specialists have done the research on norms and requirements in each local market and have crafted packages that will allow your employees to thrive, no matter what country they live in.

Our benefits packages in Singapore are tailored to fulfil the local needs of your employees. Typically, our packages contain some or all of the following benefits:

  • Health Insurance

  • Dental Insurance

  • Vision Insurance

  • Mental Health Support

  • Pension or 401(K)

  • Life and Disability Insurance

Local market insights

  • In Singapore, 90%* of employers offer supplemental health insurance to their workforce. (*based on 3rd-party market research from our partners)

  • Although the country has a public health system, supplemental health insurance provides employees with access to a wider range of options for providers and specialists, as well as significantly shorter wait times. Our plans also offer global coverage (excluding the US) to protect your employees when they are traveling outside their home country.

Our core benefits (which often include things like healthcare) are required in most countries where we hire. Because Remote is the employer of record, it’s important for us to offer the same core benefits to all employees in a country to ensure fair equity and non-discriminatory hiring practices, which protects your business and ours. Note that we do not add a markup on any benefits premiums or administration costs.

If you'd like specific information about our benefits packages in Singapore, start onboarding your first employee with Remote today.

For more insight into fair equity and benefits best practices, download our Global Benefits Guide and share with the rest of your hiring team.

Taxes in Singapore

Learn how employment taxes and statutory fees affect your payroll and your employees’ paychecks in Singapore.

  • Up to 0.25%

    Skills Development Levy (SDL)

  • 9% - 17%

    CPF (Pension)

  • Up to 17.25% Total Employment Cost

Types of leave

All full-time workers are legally entitled to a minimum of seven days of annual leave after completing three consecutive months at a company. After that, one additional day must be added per year until reaching 14 days after completing seven years at the company. However, it is common for employees to receive 14 to 20 days of annual leave. Additionally, full-time employees receive 11 paid public holidays every year.

Employment termination

Termination process

Situation

Final salary due date

Employee’ resignation with notice period served

The last day of employment.

Employee’s resignation without notice period served

Within 7 days of the last day of employment.

Dismissal on grounds of misconduct

Or

Employer’s termination of contract

The last day of employment.

(If this is not possible, within 3 working days from the date of dismissal.)

As per the employment act in Singapore, either party can give the other a notice to terminate the contract of employment.

Notice period

The statutory notice period in Singapore depends on the duration of employment.

  • One day of notice for less than 26 weeks of employment

  • One week of notice for employees who have worked with the company for 26 weeks or above, but less than 2 years

  • Two weeks of notice for employment for two years or above, but less than five years

  • Four weeks of notice for five years or above of employment

Probation periods

In Singapore, probation periods are not mandatory, but common practice is from three to six months.

Fair Pricing in Singapore

Employer of Record

Hire and pay your global team

Starting at $599/month

Top features

  • Satisfaction guaranteed

  • No deposits or hidden fees

  • Zero onboarding or offboarding fees

  • Compliant equity incentives support including withholding and reporting

  • Built-in security and compliance

  • Fast onboarding (average 2-3 days)

  • Flexible, localized benefits

Contractor Management

Compliantly onboard and pay contractors

$29

per contractor/month

Start free trial

Top features

  • Only pay for contractors you actively work with

  • Work with contractors in 200+ countries

  • Create, edit, and sign tailored, localized contracts

  • Approve contractor invoices with one click or auto-pay

  • Transparent payments with complete visibility

Remote Payroll

Consolidate your multi-country payroll

$50

per employee/month

Top features

  • Reduce costs by centralizing payroll management

  • Ensure local compliance for every country

  • Direct support from in-house local payroll experts

  • Accurate, on-time, compliant payroll to level-up your employee experience

  • Tax and labor authority reporting handled for you

HR Management

Manage all of your employees in one place

Free
Sign up

Top features

  • Guided onboarding and offboarding

  • Employee profile and document management

  • Time and attendance (time off and tracking)

  • Expense management and reimbursement

  • Employee self-serve on the platform and mobile app