SINGAPORE: The rates of salary and wrongful dismissal claims rose in 2025 to their highest levels since 2019 amid more retrenchments, dismissals and business closures.
A total of 13,083 employment claims and appeals were lodged in 2025 – equivalent to about 3.44 claims per 1,000 employees, according to the Manpower Ministry (MoM) and the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management’s joint Employment Standards Report, which was released on July 24.
Salary claims accounted for the majority, at 10,801 cases, up from 9,848 in 2024.
This translated to 2.84 salary claims for every 1,000 employees, up from 2.63 a year earlier, the highest level shown in the report’s data series that began in 2019.
The rise was driven mainly by foreign employees. Their incidence of salary claims increased from 4.64 per 1,000 employees in 2024 to 5.16 in 2025.
For local employees, the figure was largely stable, edging up from 1.59 to 1.61.
Construction continued to account for the largest share of salary claims lodged by foreign employees, at 46%.
Food and beverage services accounted for 10%, while professional, scientific and technical activities made up 9%.
Among local employees, the sectors with the most salary claims include administrative and support services, professional, scientific and technical activities, food and beverage services, and wholesale trade.
Most salary disputes arose when employment ended, including disagreements over final salary payments and cases involving employers facing financial difficulties, according to the report.
The median amount claimed by local employees has trended upwards in line with the rising median gross monthly income of full-time resident workers.
Over the past five years, the typical claim remained steady at the equivalent of one month’s pay for local employees and about two months’ pay for foreign employees.
Despite the rise in cases, 88% of salary claims were resolved, while the remaining 12% were referred to the Employment Claims Tribunals. — The Straits Times/ANN
