Withheld her salary over a training bond? Tribunal says that's unlawful

Tribunal Magistrate Joel Tan ruled on 25 August 2026 that an employer could not withhold a departing teacher's salary to enforce a training bond.

The dispute, decided before Singapore's Employment Claims Tribunals, centred on an employee sponsored by her employer to complete a Professional Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education through the National Institute of Early Childhood Development, under Workforce Singapore's Career Conversion Programme. She accepted the training bond terms on 12 December 2023, agreeing that leaving before 31 December 2027 would make her liable to compensate the company with one month's gross salary, the full course fee, and other expenses, though the letter never fixed the precise amount.

She resigned on 11 January 2026, citing a relocation after her marriage that made her daily commute unworkable, and served her full three months' notice. In her resignation letter she said she was "willing to… pay the bond compensation" as agreed, but a dispute over the amount followed. She estimated around $5,000 based on published course fees; the employer first demanded $22,227.90, then revised the figure to $20,745.20, then later offered a discount to $10,372.60, which it called "goodwill." Despite repeated requests, including a pre-hearing tribunal direction, the employer did not produce invoices or receipts until the hearing itself, when it admitted paying the institute only...

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