Guide · Work · 3 min read
If you were dismissed unfairly
Who can claim for wrongful dismissal, the mediation that comes first, and what the tribunal can order.
In plain English · by laws.sg · not legal advice· Law as at 30 Sep 2026
On this page · 6 parts
The short answer
If you consider that your employer dismissed you without just cause or excuse, and you are a relevant employee under the Employment Act, you may lodge a claim for reinstatement in your former job or for compensation.
Before you lodge that claim, you must submit a mediation request, not later than one month after the date of your dismissal.
Who can make the claim
The Act calls the employees who can make this claim relevant employees. They are:
- An employee who is not in a managerial or an executive position
- A manager or an executive dismissed without notice and without salary in lieu of notice
- A manager or an executive dismissed with notice, or without notice but with salary in lieu of notice, after serving that employer for at least 6 months in any position
Dismissal for misconduct
An employer may, after due inquiry, dismiss an employee without notice for misconduct inconsistent with the fulfilment of the express or implied conditions of the employee's service. Instead of dismissing the employee, the employer may instantly down-grade the employee, or instantly suspend the employee from work without salary for a period not exceeding one week.
For the inquiry, the employer may suspend the employee from work for up to one week, or for a longer period the Commissioner determines on the employer's application, but must pay the employee at least half of the employee's salary during the suspension.
If the inquiry does not disclose any misconduct on the employee's part, the employer must immediately restore the full amount of the salary withheld.
Mediation comes first
Before a claimant lodges a claim against a respondent, the claimant must submit to the Commissioner a mediation request for every dispute the claim will be about.
A claim must be supported by a claim referral certificate issued for every dispute it is lodged for.
What the tribunal can order
If the tribunal hearing the claim is satisfied that you were dismissed without just cause or excuse, then in a claim for reinstatement it may direct your employer to reinstate you in your former employment and to pay you an amount equal to the wages you would have earned if you had not been dismissed.
In a claim for compensation, it may direct your employer to pay you, as compensation, an amount of wages the tribunal determines.
Claim limits
The total amount claimed for wrongful dismissal must not exceed the prescribed claim limit that applies to the claimant.
If a claim is for more than the limit, the claimant may abandon the excess amount. A claimant who abandons it cannot recover that amount in a tribunal or any other court.
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