Taking employers to task over discrimination: how easy is the legal process?

Workplace fairness laws can be cumbersome and legal recourse for employees difficult.

- Sugidha Nithiananthan and Caitlin C. Fernandez

2025 has been a transformative year for workplace fairness in Singapore. But more can be done, the writers say.

(LIANHE ZAOBAO)

A TikTok video showing a young man's experience navigating the Employment Claims Tribunal (ECT) has been viewed more than 120,000 times, prompting comments about how daunting the process can be for employees.

The man talks about the lack of information on the ECT process, how tedious preparing for it was, and the length of time the process took.

The video has struck a chord at a time when Singapore has passed new laws aimed at strengthening workplace fairness - laws that now provide avenues for employment discrimination disputes to be resolved through the ECT.

2025 has been a transformative year for workplace fairness in Singapore. Parliament passed the Workplace Fairness Act in January and the Workplace Fairness (Dispute Resolution) Act (WFDRA) in November, extending legal protection against discrimination and channelling such disputes to the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) for mediation and to the ECT for adjudication by a judge, where mediation fails.

Claims of discrimination will be heard by the ECT, designed as a low-cost and expedited alternative to court proceedings. The WFDRA expands its jurisdiction to claims of up to $250,000 and bars external lawyers, ostensibly to level the playing field for employees.

But while these new laws are a big step forward, there is still some way to go to protect all employees and cover all forms of discrimination in the workplace. In addition, how these laws are implemented matters. If the process is too complex for the people it aims to protect, the law risks falling short of its promise.