The Work Injury Compensation Act provides a no-fault route for employees injured at work to claim compensation, avoiding the need to litigate negligence. Employers must hold insurance covering their liability.
Who must be insured
Insurance is compulsory for employees doing manual work regardless of salary, and for non-manual employees earning below a salary threshold. Many employers insure their whole workforce rather than track the boundary, which is generally the simpler position. Coverage extends to foreign employees on work passes.
- Compensation covers medical expenses, wages during medical leave, and lump sums for permanent incapacity or death
- Claims follow a defined process through the Ministry of Manpower
- Employees may pursue a common law claim instead, but not both
- Employers must report accidents within prescribed timeframes
Why it matters when hiring internationally
This is a compulsory insurance obligation that sits outside payroll, so it does not surface through ordinary salary processing and is easy to overlook when setting up a Singapore team. It also applies to remote and office-based staff within the covered categories, not only to obviously hazardous work.