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File a wrongful dismissal claim

If you feel you have been wrongfully dismissed by your employer, you can file a wrongful dismissal claim with the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM).

If you are facing an employment dispute, you should get advice from TADM through the "Ask TADM" chatbot advisory service and make an appointment to speak to a TADM advisory officer. You can also file your claims through the TADM eServices, or approach your union if you are a member. Find out more about managing employment disputes.

What is a dismissal

Dismissal means that an employer has terminated an employee’s contract of service. It may be with or without notice, and on grounds of misconduct or not.

It also includes situations where an employee resigns involuntarily.

Valid reasons for dismissal include:

  • Misconduct, for example, an employer establishes that an employee was engaged in dishonest or disorderly conduct at work
  • Poor performance whereby an employee did not perform his or her job according to the required standards
  • Redundancy such as an employee’s job scope being changed and the old job scope is no longer needed
Employers retrenching employees must do so responsibly and fairly. Please refer to the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment for more information.

What is a wrongful dismissal

Wrongful dismissal happens when an employee was dismissed without just or sufficient cause.

Wrongful dismissals include:

  • Dismissal on discriminatory grounds based on age, race, gender, religion, marital status and family responsibilities or disability.
  • Dismissal to deprive an employee of benefits or entitlements, for example, to deprive an employee of her maternity benefits.
  • Dismissal to punish an employee for exercising an employment right, such as dismissing employee after employee submitted a mediation request to TADM for salary-related claims.

Employers and employees should refer to the Tripartite Guidelines on Wrongful Dismissal for more information on what is a wrongful dismissal.

When to file a claim

You should file a wrongful dismissal claim at TADM within one month from the last day of your employment if you feel that your dismissal was wrongful.

For dismissals without notice, your employer must show proof that the dismissal was not wrongful.

For dismissals with notice or salary in lieu of notice, you must show proof that your dismissal was wrongful.

If your wrongful dismissal claims cannot be resolved at TADM, it will be referred to the Employment Claims Tribunals (ECT). If the ECT judges that a dismissal is wrongful, your employer may be ordered to do one of the following:

  • Reinstate you to your former job and pay you for any income loss due to the wrongful dismissal.
  • Pay you a sum of money as compensation.

For managers and executives who were dismissed with notice or salary in lieu of notice, you can only file a wrongful dismissal claim if you have served your employer for at least 6 months.

You can submit an appeal to MOM within one month after your last day of employment if you feel that you have been wrongfully dismissed due to your age or have been denied re-employment.