The overall incidence of employment claims and appeals in Singapore increased in 2023 compared to 2022 but were below pre-Covid levels, according to the Ministry of Manpower.

Ministry data showed that it rose from 1.97 in 2022 to 2.53 per 1,000 employees in 2023 but remained lower than the pre-Covid period (2019: 3.04 per 1,000 employees). 

Similar to 2022, 90% of salary claims were concluded at the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management within two months. Employees and employers continued to resolve employment disputes amicably, with 88% of salary claims resolved at TADM, higher than 86% in 2022. The remaining 12% were referred to the Employment Claims Tribunals (ECT) for adjudication. 

In 2023, TADM and ECT assisted 94% of the employees to recover their salaries in full, slightly higher than 93% in 2022. Less than 1% of the salary claims lodged in 2023 involved wilful employers. Who did not make full payment despite having the means to do so. The Ministry investigated these employers for potential Employment Act offences.

While the overall incidence of wrongful dismissal claims increased slightly from 0.26 in 2022 to 0.32 per 1,000 employees in 2023, most cases (70%) continued to be resolved amicably at TADM. This is similar to 2022, where 69% were resolved at the TADM, with the remaining referred to ECT. 

Meanwhile, most of the wrongful dismissal claims (79%) were resolvedat the TADM within two months. This was lower than 86% in 2022, due to the higher volume of cases, and mismatched expectations between employees and employers.