Employment Act 1968 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 4 · Rest Days, Hours of Work and Other Conditions of Service
38. Hours of work
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The usual work limits are 6 consecutive hours without a break, 8 hours in one day and 44 hours in one week. Overtime is paid at least one and a half times the hourly basic rate. Overtime may not exceed 72 hours a month. Outside cases such as accidents, no employee may work over 12 hours in any one day.
Summary · Drafted with AI, checked against the official text on 30 Sep 2026.
Last amended by an amending law of 2013.
Except as hereinafter provided, an employee must not be required under his or her contract of service to work —
employee
“employee” means a person who has entered into or works under a contract of service with an employer and includes a workman, and any officer or employee of the Government included in a category, class or description of such officers or employees declared by the President to be employees for the purposes of this Act or any provision thereof, but does not include any of the following:(a)any seafarer;(b)any domestic worker;(c) (d)any person belonging to any other class of persons whom the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, declare not to be employees for the purposes of this Act;
more than 6 consecutive hours without a period of leisure;
more than 8 hours in one day or more than 44 hours in one week:Provided that —
an employee who is engaged in work which must be carried on continuously may be required to work for 8 consecutive hours inclusive of a period or periods of not less than 45 minutes in the aggregate during which he or she must have the opportunity to have a meal;
where, by agreement under the contract of service between the employee and the employer, the number of hours of work on one or more days of the week is less than 8, the limit of 8 hours in one day may be exceeded on the remaining days of the week, but so that no employee is required to work for more than 9 hours in one day or 44 hours in one week;
where, by agreement under the contract of service between the employee and the employer, the number of days on which the employee is required to work in a week is not more than 5 days, the limit of 8 hours in one day may be exceeded but so that no employee is required to work more than 9 hours in one day or 44 hours in one week; and
where, by agreement under the contract of service between the employee and the employer, the number of hours of work in every alternate week is less than 44, the limit of 44 hours in one week may be exceeded in the other week, but so that no employee is required to work for more than 48 hours in one week or for more than 88 hours in any continuous period of 2 weeks.
An employee may be required by his or her employer to exceed the limit of hours prescribed in subsection (1) and to work on a rest day, in the case of —
employer
“employer” means any person who employs another person under a contract of service and includes —(a)the Government in respect of such categories, classes or descriptions of officers or employees of the Government as are declared by the President to be employees for the purposes of this Act;(b)any statutory authority;(c)the duly authorised agent or manager of the employer; and(d)the person who owns or is carrying on or for the time being responsible for the management of the profession, business, trade or work in which the employee is engaged;
accident, actual or threatened;
work, the performance of which is essential to the life of the community;
work essential for defence or security;
urgent work to be done to machinery or plant;
an interruption of work which it was impossible to foresee; or
work to be performed by employees in any industrial undertaking essential to the economy of Singapore or any of the essential services as defined under Part 3 of the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act 1955.
In the event of any dispute, the Commissioner has power to decide whether or not the employer is justified in calling upon the employee to work in the circumstances specified in subsection (2)(f).
If an employee at the request of the employer works —
more than 8 hours in one day except as provided in paragraphs (d) and (e) of the proviso to subsection (1), or more than 9 hours in one day in any case specified in those paragraphs; or
more than 44 hours in one week except as provided in paragraph (f) of the proviso to subsection (1), or more than 48 hours in any one week or more than 88 hours in any continuous period of 2 weeks in any case specified in that paragraph,the employee must be paid for the extra work at the rate of not less than one and a half times the employee’s hourly basic rate of pay irrespective of the basis on which the employee’s rate of pay is fixed.
An employee must not be permitted to work overtime for more than 72 hours a month.
overtime
“overtime” means the number of hours worked in any one day or in any one week in excess of the limits specified in Part 4;
For the purpose of calculating under subsection (4) the payment due for overtime to an employee referred to in the first column of the Fourth Schedule, the employee’s hourly basic rate of pay is to be determined in accordance with the second column of the Fourth Schedule.
basic rate of pay
“basic rate of pay” means the total amount of money (including wage adjustments and increments) to which an employee is entitled under his or her contract of service either for working for a period of time, that is, for one hour, one day, one week, one month or for such other period as may be stated or implied in his or her contract of service, or for each completed piece or task of work but does not include —(a)additional payments by way of overtime payments;(b)additional payments by way of bonus payments or annual wage supplements;(c)any sum paid to the employee to reimburse him or her for special expenses incurred by him or her in the course of his or her employment;(d)productivity incentive payments; and(e)any allowance however described;
The Minister may make regulations for the purpose of calculating the payment due for overtime to an employee employed on piece rates.
Except in the circumstances described in subsection (2)(a), (b), (c), (d) and (e), an employee must not under any circumstances work for more than 12 hours in any one day.
This section does not apply to employees engaged in the fire services or in work which by its nature involves long hours of inactive or stand‑by employment.