Retirement and Re-employment Act

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“collective agreement” has the same meaning as in the Industrial Relations Act (Cap. 136);

“Commissioner” means the Commissioner for Labour appointed under section 3(1) of the Employment Act (Cap. 91);

“contract of service” means any agreement, whether in writing or oral, express or implied, whereby one person agrees to employ another as an employee and that other agrees to serve his employer as an employee;

“eligible employee” means an employee who satisfies the re‑employment eligibility criteria set out in section 7(1);

“employee” means a person who has entered into or works under a contract of service with an employer;

“employer” means any person who employs another person under a contract of service and includes —

“employment assistance payment” means such sum of money which is payable by an employer to an eligible employee under section 7C(1);

“investigating officer” means any person appointed as an investigating officer under section 3;

“prescribed minimum retirement age” means such other minimum retirement age as may be prescribed by the Minister under section 4(1);

“re-employment”, with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, means the employment of an employee by the same employer on or after the date the employee attains the specified age;

“salary” has the same meaning as in section 2(1) of the Employment Act;

“specified age” means —

“tripartite guidelines” means the guidelines relating to re‑employment issued by the Minister under section 11B.

For the purposes of this Act, an employee shall be treated as dismissed by his employer if —

In this Act, a person shall be regarded as attaining or having attained N years of age (where N is a positive integer) or other higher age on or after the Nth or other anniversary, as the case may be, of the date of his birth.

The Commissioner for Labour shall be the officer in charge of the general administration of this Act.

Any Deputy Commissioner for Labour, Principal Assistant Commissioner for Labour or Assistant Commissioner for Labour appointed under the Employment Act (Cap. 91) may, subject to such limitations as may be prescribed, perform all duties imposed and exercise all powers conferred on the Commissioner by this Act, and every duty so performed and power so exercised shall be deemed to have been duly performed and exercised by the Commissioner for the purpose of this Act.

The Minister may appoint such number of investigating officers, conciliation officers and other officers as he may consider necessary or expedient for the purpose of this Act.

The Minister may, from time to time, make rules for the conduct of the duties of officers under this Act.

The Commissioner or any investigating officer shall, for the purposes of this Act, have power to do all or any of the following:

[Deleted by Act 4 of 2011]

Any person who hinders or obstructs an investigating officer in the exercise of the power under this section or makes to an investigating officer exercising the power under this section a statement either orally or in writing which is false in any material particular shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

Whenever —

Any person who in any way wilfully obstructs the service of or obedience to such summons, and any person summoned who neglects to attend as required in such summons, shall be guilty of an offence.

The Commissioner or investigating officer shall have the power to report any failure by such person to attend as required by the summons under subsection (2) to a Magistrate, who may thereupon issue a warrant to secure the attendance of that person as required by the summons.

Any employer or other person who in any way obstructs any employee in appearing before the Commissioner pursuant to any summons issued under this Act shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

Any person who wilfully obstructs or impedes any entry, inquiry or investigation made under this Act for which no penalty is expressly provided shall be guilty of an offence.

An investigating officer, with the approval of the Commissioner, may in his discretion compound any offence under this Act which is prescribed as a compoundable offence by collecting from a person reasonably suspected of having committed the offence a sum not exceeding —

On payment of such sum of money, no further proceedings shall be taken against that person in respect of the offence.

The Minister may make regulations to prescribe the offences which may be compounded.

The Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, exempt with or without conditions any person or class of persons from all or any of the provisions of this Act.

The Minister may at any time revoke any such exemption, vary or revoke any existing conditions or impose new conditions.

The Minister may make regulations for any purpose for which regulations may be made under this Act and for prescribing anything which may be prescribed and generally for the purpose of carrying this Act into effect.

Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the Minister may make regulations with respect to any of the following matters or for any of the following purposes:

Nothing in this Act shall operate to relieve any employer of any duty or liability imposed upon him by the provisions of any other written law for the time being in force.

Nothing in the Retirement Age (Amendment) Act 2011 (Act 4 of 2011) shall affect any investigation carried out by an investigating officer who —

Any representation made to the Minister before 1st January 2012 —

For a period of 2 years after 1st January 2012, the Minister may by regulations prescribe such additional provisions of a savings or transitional nature as he may consider necessary or expedient.

Notwithstanding anything in any other written law, contract of service or collective agreement, the retirement age of an employee shall be not less than 62 years or such other age, up to 67 years, as may be prescribed by the Minister.

No employer shall dismiss on the ground of age any employee who is below 62 years of age or the prescribed minimum retirement age.

Any employer who contravenes subsection (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

This section shall only apply to employees who attain 60 years of age on or after 1st January 1999, and any reference in this section to an employee shall be a reference to any such employee.

Where a retirement age higher than 60 years is prescribed by or under section 4(1), an employer may, from time to time and in accordance with this section, reduce the salary of any of his employees on or at any time after the employee attains 60 years of age.

An employer who intends to reduce the salary of any of his employees under this section shall, before the employee concerned attains 60 years of age or other higher age, as the case may be, give reasonable prior notice in writing to the employee of his intention to reduce his salary, stating the amount of such reduction and the effective date of such reduction, and giving him a reasonable opportunity of being heard.

If an employee does not agree with any proposed reduction in his salary, he may either retire or be retired by his employer on or after attaining 60 years of age notwithstanding any of the provisions of this Act.

An employer may reduce under this section the salary of different employees differently except that —

Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the service of a written notice under subsection (3) by an employer on any of his employees shall not be regarded as a termination or repudiation of the contract of employment between the employer and the employee, or as requiring or causing the employee to retire or resign on the ground of age.

For the purposes of this Act, an employee shall be eligible for re-employment if —

For the purpose of subsection (1)(b)(ii), an employee shall be presumed to be medically fit to continue working, unless the employer of the employee proves, on a balance of probabilities, that the employee is not medically fit.

An employer shall, before his employee (being an eligible employee) attains the specified age, offer re-employment to that employee and the obligation of the employer to re-employ that employee shall begin from the time that employee attains the specified age, until that employee attains the age of 65 years or such other age, up to 67 years, as may be prescribed by the Minister.

Where —

Where subsection (2) applies, the employer referred to in that subsection —

For the purposes of re-employment under subsection (1) or (3)(a)(i), a new contract of service shall be entered into by the employee and his employer in which the job scope and the terms and conditions may vary from those in the previous contract of service between them.

Any variation referred to in subsection (4) shall be based on reasonable factors such as, but not limited to, the employee’s productivity, performance, duties and responsibilities, and the wage system such as the seniority system applicable to the employee.

Unless otherwise agreed by the parties to a new contract of service for the purpose of re-employment under subsection (1) or (3)(a)(i), the period of employment stipulated in the contract shall not be less than one year at any one time.

Notwithstanding subsection (6), where the period between —

Where an employer does not intend to re-employ an employee because the employee does not satisfy the eligibility criteria set out in section 7(1), the employer shall, in so far as is reasonably practicable, give notice in writing to the employee, within a reasonable period before he terminates the employment of the employee, stating his intention to do so.

Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this Act, an eligible employee may retire or be retired, if he does not wish to be employed by his employer on or after the date he attains the specified age.

An eligible employee who intends to retire shall, in so far as is reasonably practicable, give notice in writing to his employer, within a reasonable period before he retires, stating his intention to do so.

Unless otherwise agreed by the parties to a contract of service, and subject to subsections (2) and (3), when a new contract of service is entered into between an employer and his employee pursuant to section 7A(4), then for the purposes of determining any right, privilege, obligation or liability to be acquired, accrued or incurred by the employee under his new contract of service, any period for which the employee has served under his employer under the previous contract of service before he commences his service under the new contract of service shall be disregarded.

Any period for which an employee has served under his employer before he commences his service under the new contract of service entered into pursuant to section 7A(4) shall be reckoned for the purposes of —

Where there is more than one contract of service entered into by an employee and his employer pursuant to section 7A(4), the aggregate periods for which the employee has served under his employer under those contracts of service shall be treated as continuous service for the purposes of determining any right, privilege, obligation or liability acquired, accrued or incurred by the employee under those contracts.

If an employer is unable to re-employ an eligible employee in accordance with section 7A because the employer is unable to find a vacancy in his establishment which is suitable for the eligible employee despite making reasonable attempts to do so in accordance with the tripartite guidelines, the employer shall be required to —

Notwithstanding subsection (1), an employer shall not be required to offer any employment assistance payment to an eligible employee who informs his employer of his decision not to continue to be employed by his employer on or after the date he attains the specified age.

Subject to subsection (4), the employment assistance payment shall be —

In determining the amount of employment assistance payment to be paid under this section, an employer shall take into account the tripartite guidelines.

Where any employee below the specified age considers that he has been unlawfully dismissed on the ground of age, he may, within one month of the dismissal, make representations in writing to the Minister to be reinstated in his former employment.

The Minister may, before making a decision on any such representations, direct the Commissioner in writing to inquire and report whether in his opinion the employee has been unlawfully dismissed on the ground of age.

If, after considering any report made by the Commissioner under subsection (2), the Minister is satisfied that the employee has been unlawfully dismissed by his employer on the ground of age, the Minister may, notwithstanding any rule of law or agreement to the contrary —

In determining the amount of compensation to be awarded under subsection (3), the Minister shall, in particular, have regard to —

The decision of the Minister on any representation made under this section shall be final.

Any direction of the Minister under subsection (3) shall operate as a bar to any action for damages by the employee in any court in respect of the unlawful dismissal on the ground of age.

Any employer who fails to comply with the direction of the Minister under subsection (3) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.

Where any amount to be paid by an employer under subsection (3) is not paid in accordance with the direction of the Minister and the employer has been convicted of an offence under subsection (7), the amount or so much thereof as remains unpaid shall be recoverable by the court as if it were a fine and the amount so recovered shall be paid to the employee entitled to payment under the direction of the Minister.

The Minister may, by writing under his hand, delegate all or any of his powers under this section (except this power of delegation) to any public officer.

A delegation under subsection (9) is revocable at will and no delegation shall prevent the exercise of any power by the Minister.

A power so delegated, when exercised by the delegate, shall for the purposes of this section be deemed to have been exercised by the Minister.

An employee who has a re-employment dispute with his employer which relates to any matter referred to in subsection (4)(a) or (b) must, before making any representation to the Minister under section 8B, first notify the Commissioner in writing of the re-employment dispute no later than one month after the last day of his employment with his employer.

An employee (being an employee who attains the specified age on or after 1st January 2012) who considers that he has been dismissed without just cause or excuse by his employer on or after the date the employee attains the specified age must, before making any representation to the Minister under section 8B, first notify the Commissioner in writing of the dismissal no later than one month after the last day of his employment with his employer.

An employee who has a re-employment dispute with his employer which relates to any matter referred to in subsection (4)(c) or (d) must, before lodging a claim with the Commissioner under section 8C, first notify the Commissioner in writing of the re-employment dispute no later than 6 months after the last day of his employment with his employer.

For the purposes of this Part, a re-employment dispute means a dispute over any of the following matters:

Upon receipt of the notice referred to in subsection (1), (2) or (3), the Commissioner may consult, or direct a conciliation officer to consult, the employer and employee concerned in an endeavour to assist them to reach an agreement through conciliation.

An employee who has a re-employment dispute with his employer which relates to any matter referred to in section 8A(4)(a) or (b), or an employee (being an employee who attains the specified age on or after 1st January 2012) who considers that he has been dismissed without just cause or excuse by his employer on or after the date the employee attains the specified age, may at any time after any conciliation conducted pursuant to section 8A(5), make representations in writing to the Minister to be re-employed.

Any representations to the Minister under subsection (1) shall be made no later than one month after the conclusion of any conciliation conducted pursuant to section 8A(5).

Where an employee who is dismissed by his employer makes any representations to the Minister in accordance with subsection (1) to be re-employed, such representations made shall operate as a bar to —

Where an employee who is dismissed by his employer makes any representations to the Minister in respect of that dismissal under section 14(2) of the Employment Act or section 35(3) of the Industrial Relations Act, such representations made shall operate as a bar to —

The Minister may, before making a decision on any such representations made under subsection (1), direct the Commissioner to inquire and report whether in the Commissioner’s opinion the employee has been unreasonably denied of re-employment by his employer, or has been dismissed without just cause or excuse by his employer, as the case may be.

If, after considering any report made by the Commissioner under subsection (5), the Minister is satisfied that the employee has been unreasonably denied of re-employment by his employer, or dismissed by his employer without just cause or excuse, as the case may be, the Minister may, notwithstanding any rule of law or agreement to the contrary —

Notwithstanding any other provision in this section, if the Minister —

Sections 8C(4), 8D, 8E and 8F shall apply in relation to any claim lodged by an employee pursuant to subsection (7).

In determining the amount of compensation to be awarded under subsection (6), the Minister may, in particular, have regard to —

The decision of the Minister on any representation made under this section shall be final.

Any direction of the Minister under subsection (6) shall operate as a bar to any action for damages by the employee in any court in respect of the unreasonable denial of re-employment, or the dismissal of the employee without just cause or excuse, as the case may be.

Any employer who fails to comply with the direction of the Minister under subsection (6) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.

Where any amount of compensation to be paid by an employer under subsection (6) is not paid in accordance with the direction of the Minister and the employer has been convicted of an offence under subsection (12), the amount or part thereof that remains unpaid shall be recoverable by the court as if it were a fine and the amount so recovered shall be paid to the employee entitled to payment under the direction of the Minister.

The Minister may, by writing under his hand, delegate all or any of his powers under this section (except the power of delegation conferred by this section) to any public officer.

A delegation under subsection (14) is revocable at will and no delegation shall prevent the exercise of any power under this section by the Minister.

A power so delegated, when exercised by the delegate, shall for the purposes of this section be deemed to have been exercised by the Minister.

An employee who has a re-employment dispute with his employer relating to any matter referred to in section 8A(4)(c) or (d), may at any time after any conciliation conducted pursuant to section 8A(5), lodge a claim with the Commissioner for the purpose of making a claim for the payment or the amount of the employment assistance payment, as the case may be.

Any claim lodged with the Commissioner under subsection (1) shall be made no later than one month after the conclusion of any conciliation conducted pursuant to section 8A(5).

Where an employee who is dismissed by his employer lodges any claim with the Commissioner in accordance with subsection (1) in relation to the matter referred to in section 8A(4)(d), such claim shall operate as a bar to —

In making a decision on any claim in relation to the employment assistance payment, the Commissioner —

The procedure for the making and hearing of claims in relation to the employment assistance payment shall be as follows:

Where an employer admits to the Commissioner in writing that an amount of the employment assistance payment is owing by him to an employee, he need not be summoned before the Commissioner and the Commissioner may make such order in his absence.

Any person so summoned shall be legally bound to attend at the time and place mentioned in the summons and to answer truthfully all questions relating to the dispute which the Commissioner may put to him.

In hearing claims or conducting proceedings under this section, the Commissioner —

In proceedings before the Commissioner, a party —

Any summons issued under subsection (1)(b) or (d) or section 9A(1), may be served on any person in the same manner as the service of a summons under section 116 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 68).

Any summons sent by registered post to any person in accordance with subsection (6) shall be deemed to be duly served on the person at the time when the summons would in the ordinary course of post be delivered and, in proving service of the summons, it shall be sufficient to prove that the envelope containing the summons was properly addressed, stamped and posted by registered post.

No fees other than a registration fee in accordance with the prescribed rate of fees shall be charged by the Commissioner in respect of processes issued by him under this section and all orders made by the Commissioner shall, notwithstanding that they may in respect of the amount or value be in excess of the ordinary jurisdiction of the court, be enforced by a District Court in the same manner as a judgment of that Court and all necessary processes may be served by the Court on behalf of the Commissioner.

No sale of immovable property shall for the purposes of the enforcement be ordered except by the High Court.

Nothing in this section shall limit or affect the jurisdiction of any court.

In proceedings under section 8D where it appears to the Commissioner that there is more than one employee having a common claim or similar claims against the same employer or person liable, it shall not be necessary for each of them to make a separate claim under that section, but the Commissioner may, if he thinks fit, permit one or more of them to lodge a claim and to attend and act on behalf of and generally to represent the others, and the Commissioner may proceed to adjudicate on the several or joint claim of each and every such employee.

Where the Commissioner is of the opinion that the interest of the employer is or is likely to be prejudiced by the non-attendance of any employee, the Commissioner shall require the personal attendance of the employee.

Where any person interested is dissatisfied with the decision or order of the Commissioner, he may, within 14 days after the decision or order, appeal to the High Court.

The procedure governing any such appeal to the High Court shall be provided for in the Rules of Court.

No appeal shall lie against any decision or order of the Commissioner unless a substantial question of law is involved in the appeal.

In determining any appeal under subsection (1), the High Court may have regard to the tripartite guidelines.