Singapore legislation
Clause 20
Clause 20
Exception — genuine requirement of job
(1)
It is not discrimination for an employer to do any act mentioned in section 17(1), 18(1) or 19(1) on the ground of or in relation to any protected characteristic, if the protected characteristic is a genuine requirement of a job.
(2)
In subsection (1), a protected characteristic is a genuine requirement of a job if —
having regard to the nature of the job, the job cannot be reasonably performed by an individual unless the individual has (or does not have) the protected characteristic;
the job needs to be performed by an individual who has (or does not have) the protected characteristic to preserve the health or safety of the individual or any other individual;
the job needs to be performed by an individual who has (or does not have) the protected characteristic to preserve standards of privacy (whether reasonable or not) of the individual or any other individual; or
the job must, under any written law or by any requirement imposed under any written law, be performed by an individual who has (or does not have) the protected characteristic.
(3)
For the purposes of subsection (2)(a), the ability to read, speak, write or understand a language is not reasonably necessary for the performance of a job merely because other employees of the employer regularly communicate in that language.