Oral Answer to PQ on MRN discussions and international comparison

NOTICE PAPER NO. 773 OF 2026 FOR THE SITTING ON 5 MAY 2026
QUESTION NO. 2029 FOR ORAL ANSWER

MP: Ms Gho Sze Kee

To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry can provide an update on tripartite discussions on advance Mandatory Retrenchment Notification (MRN); and (b) how does Singapore’s MRN framework compare with international peers.

Answer:

At present, firms with 10 or more employees are required to submit a mandatory retrenchment notification (MRN) to MOM within 5 working days of notifying employees of their retrenchment.

2. Not all jurisdictions require employers to notify their governments when conducting retrenchments. Among those that do, practices vary.

3. Some countries, like Singapore, adopt a regime where notification to the government is made within a specified period after the employees are informed.

4. In many other countries, employers must notify the Government a fixed number of days before the employee’s last working day. So the starting point is different. Nevertheless, we have been able to achieve comparable outcomes. That is because employers here notify the Government shortly after informing their employees – and employees are typically informed well in advance of their last working day. In 2025, 77% of MRNs were submitted at least 7 days ahead of the employee’s last working day and 73% of MRNs were submitted at least 2 weeks ahead.

5. As part of an ongoing review of the Employment Act, tripartite partners are studying how to encourage earlier notification by employers – both to affected employees and to the government. In particular, we would like to see notification to the government happening before or by the employee’s last working day as far as possible. This will enable timely employment facilitation support and outplacement services for the affected employees. We will provide an update on the tripartite discussions in due course.