SINGAPORE — Firms with at least 10 employees will be required from Nov 1 to notify the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on any retrenchment regardless of the number of employees affected.

Employers have to do this under the updated requirements for the mandatory retrenchment notification, which was introduced in 2017 to provide affected employees with support such as career coaching and job matching.

Notifications are presently required for employers with at least 10 employees, should they retrench five or more employees within a six-month period.

Announcing the tighter measure on Tuesday (Sept 7), Dr Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State for Manpower, said at a virtual media conference that MOM made the move after receiving feedback from some firms that flouted the present requirements.

“They find it very difficult to remember when they actually retrenched their fifth worker over the six month period,” Dr Koh said.

“They have to first track the number and then also remember the time frame, and it is a moving time frame… so it’s quite difficult and challenging for companies to track over time.

“By simplifying this requirement, we take this burden away from companies and at the same time, benefit the workers.”

Dr Koh said that for firms with fewer than 10 employees, the ministry does not want to “impose an extra burden” on them to notify MOM, but that they are still “strongly encouraged” to do so.

MOM added in a press statement that the revised notification will enable retrenched employees to receive, in a more timely manner, employment and job-search support from agencies, such as the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and Workforce Singapore.

Tripartite partners consisting of the Government, employers and unions can also help render support to those who are retrenched.

The ministry added that employers have to file a retrenchment notification within five working days of informing the staff member of his or her retrenchment.

Companies can do this via the MOM website, where they will have to submit information such as the size of workforce before the retrenchment exercise and the details of the worker to be retrenched.

The updated requirement will be reflected in the Employment (Retrenchment Reporting) (Amendment) Notification 2021.

Failure to comply with this requirement is a civil contravention and can lead to administrative penalties of up to S$2,000.

Asked if factors such as an expected increase in retrenchments could have led to this new requirement, Dr Koh said that the “overall driving force” behind the decision was due to “industry transformations” brought about by new technologies, which has led to companies looking to “restructure their workforce”.

“We want to help workers who may be retrenched (by) intervening earlier, to help them pivot to a new job (and) to provide career counselling.” 

He added that the Covid-19 pandemic has also brought about disruptions to the economy.

MOM also said in its statement: “Employers should also ensure that they manage any retrenchment exercises responsibly and fairly, in line with the tripartite advisory on managing excess manpower and responsible retrenchment.” 

The advisory, which can be found on MOM’s website, states that retrenchment should be a last resort for firms, and that affected employees should be supported with retrenchment benefits and job support, among other guidelines.