Hiring in Singapore gives your business access to top-tier talent in one of Asia’s leading economic hubs. To successfully attract and retain these professionals, however, you need an employee benefits package that meets both Singapore’s mandatory legal requirements and competitive market standards.
Getting this balance right is crucial for building a motivated team, ensuring compliance, and supporting your long-term business goals in the region.
This guide provides an overview for employers, covering the essential statutory benefits, common supplementary perks, and effective strategies for managing your Singapore employee benefits program.
Overview of Employee Benefits in Singapore
When hiring in Singapore, you need to consider two main categories of benefits:
- Statutory Benefits: These are legally required and generally fall under the Employment Act. This act covers most employees, though some specifics can depend on roles and salaries. Key statutory benefits include paid annual leave, public holidays, Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions for Singapore citizens and permanent residents. For foreign workers, this includes medical insurance and levies, depending on their work pass type.
- Supplementary Benefits: While not legally required, these are crucial for staying competitive in Singapore’s talent market. They help attract and engage employees and often include things like extra insurance, flexible work, and wellness programs.
Mandatory Employee Benefits in Singapore
Compliance with these mandatory benefits is essential:
1. Central Provident Fund (CPF) Contributions
CPF is Singapore’s national social security and retirement savings system.
- Who it applies to: You must contribute for employees who are Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents (PRs). It does not apply to foreign employees on work passes.
- Contribution Rates: Employer contributions range from 7.5% to 17%, based on the employee’s age.
- Salary Cap: Contributions apply to monthly wages up to SGD 6,800.
2. Leave Entitlements
Under the Employment Act, employees who have worked for you for at least three months are entitled to various types of paid leave:
- Annual Leave: Starts at a minimum of 7 days, increasing with years of service to a maximum of 14 days.
- Sick Leave: 14 days for outpatient needs, and up to 60 days for hospitalisation (inclusive of the 14 days).
- Maternity Leave: 16 weeks for eligible mothers of Singapore Citizen children.
- Paternity Leave: 2 weeks for eligible fathers of Singapore Citizen children.
- Childcare Leave: 6 days per year for children under 7; 2 days for children aged 7-12.
- Adoption Leave: 12 weeks for eligible adoptive mothers.
- Public Holidays: 11 official public holidays. Employees working on these days must be compensated with an extra day’s pay or an additional day off.
3. Work Hours, Rest Days, and Overtime
For employees covered under Part IV of the Employment Act (typically workmen and those earning up to SGD 4,500), specific rules apply:
- A maximum of 44 working hours per week.
- One rest day per week.
- Overtime pay at 1.5 times the hourly rate for work beyond contractual hours (capped at 72 overtime hours per month).
Common Supplementary Benefits in Singapore
Meeting the legal minimums is crucial, but attracting top talent in Singapore usually requires offering more. Supplementary benefits show employees you value them.
Here are the most common types of supplementary benefits companies in Singapore are offering:
- Additional Leave: More annual leave than the minimum, plus bereavement leave, marriage leave, and study/exam leave.
- Healthcare & Wellness: Comprehensive private medical and hospitalisation insurance (often topping up mandatory requirements), dental coverage, health screenings, and mental health support (like EAPs or therapy subsidies).
- Financial Incentives: The Annual Wage Supplement (AWS or 13th-month bonus), performance bonuses, sign-on/retention bonuses, and sometimes stock options.
- Work-Life & Lifestyle: Flexible work schedules, allowances for gym memberships or transport, company social events, and team-building activities.
- Learning & Development: Sponsorship for courses, access to learning platforms, and structured career development programs.
Employee Benefits for Foreign Workers in Singapore
If you are hiring foreign talent in Singapore, their benefits package will look a little different from what you will offer to your local employees. Foreign workers are not entitled to certain statutory benefits like CPF contributions, but they have other key benefits that must be met, along with additional competitive perks to make your company more attractive.
- CPF Alternative: Since foreigners don’t get CPF, many employers offer private retirement savings schemes or end-of-contract gratuities to remain competitive.
- Mandatory Medical Insurance: For Work Permit and S Pass holders, employers must provide medical insurance covering at least SGD 15,000 per year for inpatient care and day surgery. Many companies offer enhanced plans.
- Housing & Relocation: Often includes housing allowances, temporary accommodation, flights, and settling-in assistance.
- Repatriation: Employers are generally expected to cover the cost of returning an employee home at the end of their contract, including airfare and sometimes shipping allowances.
Offering Employee Benefits Through An Employer of Record (EOR)
Managing benefits across different countries, especially with varying rules for locals and foreigners, can be complex. Recruitgo’s Employer of Record in Singapore (EOR) provides a practical solution. It allows you to hire in Singapore quickly and legally, without needing to establish a local company.
RecruitGo acts as the legal employer and handles all compliance, payroll, and statutory benefits for your team in Singapore. Our experts help design competitive, localized packages, ensuring you meet legal standards while attracting the talent you need.
Fill out the form below, and let RecruitGo help you build a compliant and competitive team in Singapore.
Frequently asked questions
The 13th-month bonus, also known as the Annual Wage Supplement (AWS), is common in Singapore but not mandatory by law. It is usually paid at the end of the year and is often included in employment contracts, especially in larger companies and MNCs. If it is written in the contract or collective agreement, then it is contractually required. Employers can choose whether to provide AWS unless otherwise agreed.
Flexi-benefits schemes give employees a set budget or credits to spend on a menu of eligible items, which may include health, education, family support, travel, and more. Employees can customize their benefits according to their needs, and the specifics depend on the employer’s scheme structure.
Outpatient sick leave is capped at 14 days per year, while hospitalization leave can extend up to 60 days, inclusive of the 14 days of outpatient, with a medical certificate from a government-recognised doctor.
