Written Answer to PQ on MRN enforcement and penalties

NOTICE PAPER NO. 694 OF 2026 FOR SITTING ON 7 APR 2026
QUESTION NO. 1918 FOR ORAL ANSWER

MP: Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan

To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider raising and actively enforcing penalties for companies that contravene the Mandatory Retrenchment Notification requirement under the Employment Act 1968.

Answer:

1. Companies with 10 or more employees are required to submit a Mandatory Retrenchment Notification (MRN) to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) within 5 working days of informing any employee of their retrenchment. The penalty for non-compliance is an administrative penalty of $1,000 for the first contravention and $2,000 for subsequent contraventions.

2. The majority of employers comply with the MRN requirement. In 2025, 81% of MRNs were submitted within the 5 working day deadline, which is an improvement from 67% in 2024. Late submissions were often due to administrative oversight. Companies who submit MRN late are issued with caution letters, and most have been remorseful and compliant thereafter. For recalcitrant employers, we will impose administrative penalties.

3. As the MRN compliance rate has been high, we do not see a need to raise the penalties at this time. We will continue to monitor employers’ compliance with MRN requirements and review our enforcement framework from time to time.