SINGAPORE - Employers who do not issue itemised payslips or spell out employment terms in writing for their workers can be fined under changes to the law approved by Parliament on Monday.

The Bill also sets up a administrative penalty framework to make less severe breaches of the Employment Act (EA) non-criminal.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), the key changes to the employment act are outlined below:

Itemised payslips

MOM will require employers to provide itemised payslips to all their employees covered under the EA together with their salary payments. Employers however have some flexibility, including whether to issue the payslips in soft or hard copy, as long as they reflect the required breakdown of items; as well as the ability to consolidate payslips if payments are made more than once a month.

Key Employment Terms (KETs)

MOM will require employers to provide written KETs to all employees covered under the EA with continuous employment of at least 14 days with the company. Employers will also have some flexibility in how they provide the KETs as long as the required items are clearly accessible.

Currently, all breaches of the Employment Act are criminal offences. The breaches include:

a) Failure to provide itemised payslips

b) Failure to provide written KETs

c) Failure to keep detailed employment records

d) Provision of inaccurate information without fraudulent intent to the Commissioner for Labour or inspecting officers

According to the MOM, the new requirements will come into effect on April 1, 2016. However, in view of strong feedback from the smaller SMEs who will be most affected by these changes, employers will be given a one-year grace period, where MOM will adopt a "light-touch enforcement approach".

Tripartite Guidelines on Issuance of Payslip

Employers can now refer to a set of guidelines on how to issue itemized payslip to employees and what information to include in them.

MOM intends to mandate the issuance of itemised payslips within the next two year. The guidelines were developed after consultation with various stakeholders, the ministry added.

The tripartite guidelines - developed by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), the National Trades Union Congress and the Singapore National Employers Federation - provide templates of payslips that companies may use and customize based on their own needs. According to the guidelines, the payslip should include items such as basic salary, total allowances and total deductions for each salary period.

What information should be in a payslip?

The following elements are listed by manpower ministry to be itemised in payslips

In a press release on Monday, MOM said that the tripartite partners "agree that the provision of itemised payslips to employees is a good employment practice" as it raises employee's awareness of their salary components and helps in resolving salary disputes.

References from Straits Times:

Money no longer attracts & retain employee

A new survey by human resource consultant Kelly Services had shown more money may no longer be enough to retain your staff in your organisation.

The survey result shows that Singapore workers prefer to learn new skills than advancing to a higher level in their organization.

Skills upgrading is such an important aspect for employees here that they are even willing to sacrifice higher pay for the chance to learn new skills at work.

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