Singapore's Workplace Fairness Legislation to cover ethnic, religious grounds: reports

Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam has revealed that Singapore's upcoming Workplace Fairness Legislation will also cover ethnic and religious grounds.

The minister made mention of it when talking about the upcoming legislation in a speech at the Institute of Policy Studies - Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Forum on Non-Violent Ethnic Hostilities, Channel News Asia reported.

"It requires employers not to discriminate against employees based on a set of protected characteristics, which include race, religion, and language, and we plan to introduce this in Parliament later this year," he said as quoted by CNA.

According to Shanmugam, the Workplace Fairness Legislation is an "important" law and warned consequences for employers who will breach it.

Singapore's Workplace Fairness Legislation

The minister's remarks expand on what employers can expect in Singapore's upcoming Workplace Fairness Legislation (WFL), which is already expected to address the "most common forms of discrimination" in the state.

Manpower Minister Tan See Leng previously said the legislation marks a "significant step in Singapore employment law.

"The WFL will prohibit these common forms of discrimination – including age, sex, family status, race, nationality, and mental health," Tan said.

He added that it aims to "preserve harmonious workplaces, better protect workers, and support business growth in Singapore."

"Our approach places emphasis on giving redress to the worker who experienced discrimination while preserving workplace harmony and relationships."