Section 12(1) of the Workplace Safety and Health Act 2006 ("WSHA") states that it is the duty of every employer to take, so far as is reasonably practicable, such measures as are necessary to ensure the safety and health of the employer's employees at work. While there is no case law that defines the word "health" for the purposes of the WSHA, the likely position is that it covers mental health. 

Apart from statutes, the MOM also issues tripartite guidelines and advisories to supplement the law and outline best practices for employers to adopt. While they generally do not have force of law, they nonetheless provide useful guidance. The Tripartite Advisory on Mental Health and Well-Being at Workplaces ("TAMHWW") provides that the employer shoud do the following s at the organisation level:

1. First, the employer should review the state of employees' mental well-being regularly as part of the risk assessment for workplace health. This includes surveys (like iWorkHealth) and focus group discussions to understand the general state of mental well-being of employees and work stressors. The employer should implement measures to address work stressors and track their effectiveness in improving the mental well-being of employees through periodic surveys and administrative data as proxy indicators. 

2. Second, the employer should appoint workplace mental well-being champions to: (i) rally senior management to implement policies and support employees' mental well-being; (ii) organise and curate activities, programmes and resources to enhance employees' mental well-being; and (iii) establish a system to refer persons in distress to professional help. 

3. Third, the employer should review HR and workplace policies with a view to supporting employee mental well-being and employees with mental health conditions. The employer can ensure workplace practices and performance management systems are non-discriminatory and merit-based in nature, and develop flexible work arrangement policies.

4. Fourth, the employer can establish an after-hours work communication policy. This includes reasonable expectations for work-related communication after hours and communicating them to the employees, including expectations when employees are on leave. The employer should discuss these expectations with unions if they are unionised.

5. Fifth, the employer should establish return-to-work policies to support employees who are recovering from mental health conditions.  This allows employees who are recovering from mental health condition to gradually transit back to work while still providing time for treatments

There are is no separate category of "mental health leave" for employees under Singapore law. However, s 89 of the Employment Act provides that an employee who has served an employer for a period of not less than 6 months is entited to paid sick leave (of 14 days if no hospitalisation is necessary), so long as it is certified by a medical practitioner. In the event that hospitalisation is necessary, an employee is entitled to the lesser of the following: (a) 60 days in each year; (b) the aggregate of 14 days plus the number of days on which the employee is hospitalised.

Alternatively, an employee can choose to apply for unpaid leave if he has used up all his paid sick / hospitalisation leave. However, unpaid leave is subject to approval from the employer (MOM Website, https://www.mom.gov.sg/employment-practices/leave/annual-leave/special-situations). 

Generally, there are no statutory provisions allowing the employer to require an employee with suspected mental health issues to leave the workplace or take time off.

The Mental Health Toolkit for Employers (a guide issued by the National Council of Social Services) encourages employers to give employees with mental health conditions time off work to fully recover, should they require it. This involves open discussions with the employee about his current health conditions, and his concerns about resuming employment. At the same time, the employer may determine if workplace adjustments are required to aid in recovery. 

For selected industries such as the oil, petrochemical and chemical industries, the Tripartite Guide for Process and Terminal Operations Shift Personnel in the Oil, Petrochemical and Chemical Industries provides that employers implement a Fitness for Work Programme to ensure that an individual can perform and complete a task safely without unacceptable risk to themselves or others. The Programme includes an initial assessment of functional capacity evaluation and / or trade testing. Individuals who show a likelihood towards a higher risk may be selected for further tests or examinations. For assessment outcomes that do not meet the criteria, employers should consider job redesign or accomodations, such as physical modifications to the workplace or adjustments to the work schedule. In some cases, employers could make arrangements to relieve the employee of some duties for a short period of time. A re-assessment is then administered after the restriction or recovery period and adjustments made to facilitate the person's return to work. While this does not have force of law, it is intended to provide general guiding principles for the oil, petrochemical and chemical industries in the management of fitness for work for process and terminal operations shift personnel. 

Further, the employer's ability to do so would also depend on whether it is contractually provided for in the employment contract / company policies.

Generally, there are no statutory provisions or  guidelines that give employers the power to compel an employee to undergo medical examination merely because the employer suspects mental health issues. Whether an employer may require an employee suspected of having mental issues to undergo a medical examination is also subject to any terms in the employment contract. 

However, for selected industries such as the oil, petrochemical and chemical industries, the Tripartite Guide for Process and Terminal Operations Shift Personnel in the Oil, Petrochemical and Chemical Industries states that employers have to implement the Fitness for Work Programme, which consists medical examinations. Based on the initial assessment outcomes, employees who show a likelihood towards a higher risk may be selected for further tests or examinations.

Further, the Workplace Safety and Health (Medical Examinations) Regulations 2011 states that for persons employed in certain a hazardous occupations, the employer has the duty to ensure that the person undergo a pre-placement medical examination by a designated workplace doctor and be certified fit to work in such occupation. There should also be periodic medical examinations by the designated workplace doctor. 

Generally, there is no statutory requirement for insurance or employer-provided benefits to cover treatment costs for mental health conditions. However, the Employment of Foreign Manpower (Work Passes) Regulations 2012 state that the employer must purchase and maintain medical insurance that covers all of the costs of in-patient care, and treatment, services and items received by the foreign employee as an out-patient for the foreign employee's specified employment period.

Yes. The Workplace Injury Compensation Act 2019 ("WICA") allows for claims relating to mental disorders if the following three criteria are met: (a) the injury is a clinically diagnosed mental disorder; (b) second, the mental disorder is caused by an accident; (c) the accident arose out of and in the course of work. 

From 2020 to 2024, there has been 23 total WICA claims for mental disorders, of which 12 were successful. 

While Singapore law does not provide disability benefits due to mental health conditions, the upcoming Workplace Fairness Act 2025 ("WFA") prescribes "mental health condition" as a protected characteristic under s 8(k). Pursuant to s 17(1) of WFA, it is discrimination for an employer to make an employment decision that adversely affects an individual on the ground of a protected characteristic.  The WFA is due to come into force end 2027. 

The starting point is that an employer can terminate the employee by serving a notice to terminate pursuant to the contractual terms. However, the MOM  has advised that employers should treat sick employees with compassion and should not terminate employment just for taking sick leave. 

While employers are allowed to terminate the employee by serving notice, this is not without risks as the employee may assert wrongful dismissal on the basis of  discrimination. The Tripartite Guidelines on Wrongful Dismissal states that dismissing an employee because of discrimination or disability is wrongful. 

Pursuant to s 17(1) of WFA, it is discrimination for an employer to dismiss an employee on the ground of a mental health condition, unless any of the exceptions in ss 20 to 24 applies in relation to that employer and individual. 

In a recent ECT decision, the Tribunal has also held that while dismissal on the ground of an employee’s medical condition and needs may certainly constitute “just cause or excuse” under s14(2) of the Employment Act, whether such threshold is satisfied would ultimately depend on the facts. Employers are generally expected to undertake a reasonable inquiry into the relevant considerations, before any decision is made. These considerations would include, the actual state of the employee’s medical condition and its likely duration, the effect of that condition on the employee’s ability to perform his/her role, the employer’s operational requirements, the availability of alternative roles or arrangements suited to the employee’s condition, and whether adjustments or accommodations can reasonably be made. For such inquiry to be meaningful, the employee should also be consulted for his/her views.

The obligations under the Personal Data Protection Act 2012 ("PDPA") applies if the employee's mental health information and medical records fall within the definition of "personal data" under the PDPA. According to s 2(1) of the PDPA, personal data means data, whether true or not, about an individual who can be identified from: (a) that data; or (b) that data and other information to which the organisation has or is likely to have access. It is likely that the mental health information and medical records constitute personal data for the purposes of the PDPA, given the wideness of the definition.

Under the PDPA,  the employer must not collect, use or disclose them, unless the employee gives or is deemed to have given his consent under the PDPA.

However, pursuant to s 17 of the PDPA, the employer may collect personal data about the employee without his consent if:

(a) it is reasonable for managing or terminating the employment relationship; 

(b) it is necessary for evaluative purposes; 

(c) the data is publicly available; 

(d) it is for investigation or proceedings; 

(e) it is included in a document produced in the course of employment, and is collected, used and disclosed for purposes consistent with the purpose for which the document was used. 

Pursuant to s 24 of the PDPA, an organisation must protect personal data in its possession or under its control by making reasonable security arrangements to prevent unauthorised access, collection, use, disclosure, copying or similar risks, or the loss of any storage medium or device on which personal data is stored. 

Pursuant to s 25, an organisation must cease to retain its documents containing personal data as soon as it is reasonable to assume that: 

(a) The purpose for which that data was collected is no longer being served by retention; and

(b) Retention is no longer necessary for legal or business purposes. 

In a recent ECT decision, JJH v JJI [2026] SGECT 10, the ECT held that there was an implied duty on the employer to take reasonable care with regards to the employee’s health and safety, including to investigate, consider, and respond to matters of health and safety drawn to the employer’s attention. In particular, the employer was obliged to consider risks arising from the employee’s own medical condition and vulnerabilities and such duty varies with the circumstances of the individual employee, and is not uniform in its practical content. 

As stated at "Disability Protections" above, mental health condition is a "protected characteristic" under the upcoming WFA.  Broadly, the WFA prohibits the employer from engaging in the following discriminatory conduct: (a) dismissing an employee on the ground of a mental health condition; (b) issuing, communicating or publishing any disriminatory direction, instruction or policy, in writing; and (c) publishing in Singapore, or cause to be published in Singapore, an advertisement or description relating to possible employment in Singapore by the employer that mentions (expressly or by implication) mental health condition (or lack thereof) as a condition, criterion, requirement, advantage, disadvantage or disqualification for employment. 

However, it is not discrimination if the protected characteristic (i.e., mental health condition) is a genuine requirement of a job. A protected characteristic is a genuine requirement of a job if having regard to the nature of the job, the job cannot be reasonably performed by an individual.