No plans to raise late retrenchment notification penalties: MOM

Compliance rose to 80% last year, up from 70% in 2024.

The government currently sees no need to raise penalties for late mandatory retrenchment notifications (MRN) as compliance rates remain high, according to Minister for Manpower (MOM) Tan See Leng.

“In 2025, 80% of the MRNs were submitted within the five working day deadline, and this is an improvement from the 70% in 2024,“ Tan told Parliament on 5 May.

Meanwhile, about 77% of MRNs last year were submitted at least seven days before employees’ last working day, whilst 73% were submitted at least two weeks ahead.

Under current rules, companies with 10 or more employees must submit a notification to MOM within five working days of notifying employees of their retrenchment.

Non-compliance results in an administrative penalty of $1,000 for a first offence, and $2,000 for subsequent contraventions.

Tan said most late submissions were due to administrative oversight, with companies typically complying after receiving caution letters. “For recalcitrant employers, we will impose administrative penalties.“

The remarks come as tripartite partners continue discussions under an ongoing review of the Employment Act on encouraging earlier retrenchment notifications to both employees and the government.

“Nevertheless, we will review our enforcement approach and our penalties regularly, and we will work closely with our tripartite partners,“ Tan added.