Businesses in Singapore should be aware of new measures aimed at improving workplace fairness. Together, two new laws will create the city‑state’s first unified framework addressing workplace discrimination and are slated to take effect at the end of 2027. We’ll discuss the core features of the legislation and what employers need to know as you prepare for compliance.

Key Aspects of the New Laws

• Discrimination prohibited: The Workplace Fairness Act (WFA), which was passed in 2025, prohibits discrimination at every stage of the employment relationship, including recruitment, hiring, training, performance evaluation, promotion, and dismissal.

Under the new law, an employer may not take an adverse employment action based on an employee’s or job‑seeker’s protected characteristics, such as age, nationality, sex, marital status, pregnancy, caregiving responsibilities, race, religion, language ability, disability and mental‑health conditions. The act codifies principles that were previously reflected only in the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices.

• Imposes civil penalties: Workplace discrimination is a civil violation under the WFA. Employers may face administrative penalties, and serious cases can lead to fines of up to S$50,000 – or S$250,000 for repeat breaches (about USD $38,770 and $193,850 respectively).
• Creates a statutory tort and new process: Additionally, Singapore’s parliament passed the Workplace Fairness (Dispute Resolution) Bill to flesh out...

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