Re-employment of Employees & Constructive Dismissal Claims

17 Oct 2014

This update reports recent developments on employment law and practice in Singapore.

In September 2014, the Tripartite Committee on Employability of Older Worker recommended that the Government adopt a promotional approach towards raising the re-employment age from 65 to 67 years old, and provide interim incentives to encourage companies to re-employ older workers beyond the age of 65, before such measures are legislatively required. It also recommended that employers provide an outplacement assistance payment to employees aged 65 to 67, if employers are unable to find suitable jobs for them within or outside the company.

Separately, the Singapore Court of Appeal recently issued the decision of Wee Kim San Lawrence Bernard v Robinson & Co (Singapore) Pte Ltd [2014] SGCA 43, discussing the damages that may be claimed on an employee’s constructive dismissal.

This case is noteworthy because, apart from upholding the longstanding principle that damages may be awarded for loss of remuneration for the contractual notice period, it indicates that the Singapore courts may also consider damages that are proven to arise from a breach of the implied term of mutual trust and confidence between the employer and the employee.

This serves as an important reminder to employers, when deciding on termination of employee matters, to be mindful of any conduct that could give rise to a breach of the mutual trust and confidence between employers and employees.

To read the update, please click here.