PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
SINGAPORE – While dismissal of staff on probation is permitted under Singapore’s employment law, experts say employers who cite poor performance as the reason must be ready to back it up with proper documentation.
This advice is underscored by a recent case in which the Employment Claims Tribunals (ECT) awarded a woman the maximum $30,000 compensation for her “sudden and unjustified” dismissal just before her six-month probation was up.
She was told her performance had fallen short of the standards required for confirmation and was given two weeks’ notice. She then filed a wrongful dismissal claim.
The magistrate concluded that the employer had failed to justify its decision that the woman, an audit manager, had not passed probation.
The court ruling has raised concerns among employers about the potential legal risks of dismissing employees on probation.
Ministry of Manpower (MOM) data showed there were 2,168 wrongful dismissal claims in 2025, although it does not provide a breakdown of cases filed by employees on probation.
Human resources (HR) professionals said dismissals during probation are relatively rare.
Akshay Mendon, director of leadership hiring at global executive search firm Mercuri Urval, said: “Companies do spend a lot of time and money on hiring, so in my experience, they do try to retain employees and make things work, within reason.”
Juliet Tan, founder of HR consultancy firm Emplifi, also noted that for most organisations, failing...
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