Disputes
14.—(1) Any question or dispute arising from or in connection with —(a)
the eligibility of a child for membership of the Scheme;
(b)
the payment of any moneys to an approved person;
(c)
the entitlement of a person to make a withdrawal of moneys under the Scheme;
(d)
the entitlement of a self-employed woman to any payment under section 9 or 12AB or the repealed section 10A or 12A;
(da)
the entitlement of a self-employed person to any payment under section 12B;
(db)
the entitlement of a person to any payment from the Government under section 9(5A) or (6B), section 12A(2) or (7), section 12DC(2) or (7) or section 12HA(2) or (6);[Act 46 of 2024 wef 01/04/2025]
(dc)
the entitlement of a self-employed man to any payment under section 12E or 12H or the repealed section 12K or 12KC;
(dd)
the entitlement of a self‑employed person to any payment under section 12DA;[Act 46 of 2024 wef 01/04/2025]
(de)
the refusal of a Director to accept any intended variation of any arrangement mentioned in section 12DD;[Act 46 of 2024 wef 01/04/2025]
(e)
the entitlement of an employer to reimbursement from the Government under section 10, 12AD, 12C, 12CA, 12DB, 12G, 12J, 12JA or 12N or the repealed section 10A, 12A, 12K or 12KB; or[Act 32 of 2023 wef 01/01/2024]
[Act 46 of 2024 wef 01/04/2025]
(f)
any other matter under Part 2 or 3 or the repealed section 10A, 12A, 12K, 12KA, 12KB or 12KC that the Minister may determine,
must be referred to the Minister for decision within one month from the date on which the question or dispute arises or such other later time as the Minister may allow.
[42/2004; 28/2008; 12/2013; 17/2016; 33/2016; 19/2021]
(2) The decision of the Minister under subsection (1) is final.
(3) In this section, any reference to the repealed section 10A, 12A, 12K, 12KA, 12KB or 12KC is a reference to the section concerned of this Act as in force immediately before 1 January 2017.[33/2016]
Notification of change of residence
15.—(1) Every parent of a member must notify the Minister of any change in his or her place of residence.
(2) Every parent who makes a report of the change of his or her place of residence under section 10 of the National Registration Act 1965 is deemed to have complied with subsection (1).
Powers to verify statement, document or information, etc.
15A.—(1) The powers under this section may be exercised only for the purposes of inquiring into or ascertaining the truth or correctness of any statement, document or information made or provided by any person to a Director or a person authorised by the Director (called an authorised person) in connection with —(a)
any membership of the Scheme, or any payment, withdrawal or transfer under the Scheme; or
(b)
a claim for any payment, reimbursement or lost income under this Act.[19/2021]
(2) A Director or an authorised person may, at any reasonable time, do any of the following, without involving any search of any property or person:(a)
enter any premises;
(b)
require any person to provide or give access to, without charge, any document (in whatever form) or information reasonably required for any purpose in subsection (1);
(c)
inspect and make copies of or take extracts from any such document;
(d)
take possession of any such document if, in the opinion of the Director or authorised person —(i)
the inspection or copying of or extraction from the document cannot reasonably be performed without taking possession;
(ii)
the document may be interfered with or destroyed unless possession is taken; or
(iii)
the document may be required as evidence in any proceedings instituted or commenced for any of the purposes of, or in connection with, this Act.[19/2021]
(3) The power to require a person to provide any document or information under subsection (2)(b) includes the power —(a)
to require the person, or any person who is or was an officer or employee of that person, to provide an explanation of the document or information;
(b)
if the document or information is not provided, to require the person to state, to the best of the person’s knowledge and belief, where it is; and
(c)
if the information is recorded otherwise than in legible form, to require the information to be made available to the Director or authorised person (as the case may be) in legible form.[19/2021]
(4) For the purposes of subsection (2), if any document is kept in electronic form, the power of a Director, or an authorised person who is a public officer, includes the following powers:(a)
the power to inspect the document includes the power to —(i)
access any computer or other equipment (including a mobile telephone) in which the document is stored; and
(ii)
require any person having charge of, or otherwise concerned with the operation of, the computer or other equipment to provide assistance in gaining such access;
(b)
the power to take possession of the document includes the power to —(i)
make copies of the document in legible or electronic form; and
(ii)
transfer the information from the document to a disk, tape or other storage device.[19/2021]
(5) If the Director or authorised person is unable to make copies of the document, or transfer the information from the document, under subsection (4)(b), the Director or an authorised person who is a public officer may —(a)
seize the computer or other equipment (including a mobile telephone) in which the document or material is stored, as evidence in proceedings for an offence under this Act; and
(b)
require any person having charge of, or otherwise concerned with the operation of, the computer or other equipment to disclose any password or access code for gaining access to the document stored in the computer or other equipment.[19/2021]
False or misleading statement
16.—(1) Any person who for any purpose connected with this Act —(a)
knowingly makes any false or misleading statement;
(b)
provides, or causes or knowingly allows to be provided, any document or information which the person knows to be false or misleading in a material particular; or
(c)
intentionally alters, suppresses or destroys any document which the person is required to provide under section 15A,
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.
[19/2021]
(2) Where a person has been convicted by the court of having made any false or misleading statement or having provided any document or information which is false or misleading in any material particular under subsection (1), the court may order that person to make restitution of any moneys paid out to that person by the Government in reliance of the false or misleading statement, document or information, as the case may be.[19/2021]
Offences and penalties
17.—(1) Any employer who —(a)
fails, without reasonable cause, to grant maternity leave, in accordance with sections 9 and 9A, to a female employee who is entitled to and requests for such leave;
(b)
fails to pay the female employee in accordance with sections 9 and 9A;
(c)
fails to pay the female employee in accordance with any provision of sections 77 to 80, 84(1) and 84A(1) of the Employment Act 1968 as made applicable by section 12;
(d)
acts in contravention of section 81 of the Employment Act 1968 as made applicable by section 12; or
(e)
acts in contravention of section 82 of the Employment Act 1968 as made applicable by section 12,
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.
[12/2013]
(1A) Where an employer who is convicted or found guilty of an offence under subsection (1)(a), (b), (c), (d) or (e) is a repeat offender, the employer shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.[12/2013]
(1AA) For the purposes of subsection (1A), a person is a repeat offender in relation to an offence under subsection (1)(a), (b), (c), (d) or (e) if the person who is convicted or found guilty of an offence under subsection (1)(a), (b), (c), (d) or (e) (called the current offence) has been convicted or found guilty of —(a)
an offence under subsection (1)(a), (b), (c), (d) or (e); or
(b)
an offence under section 82 or 87(1) of the Employment Act 1968 in force before, on or after 1 May 2013,
on at least one other occasion on or after 1 May 2013 and before the date on which the person is convicted or found guilty of the current offence.
[12/2013]
(2) Where an employer has been convicted of an offence under subsection (1)(b), (c) or (d), the court may order that employer to make restitution of any moneys paid out to that employer by the Government under section 10 which has not been paid to the female employee in accordance with the provisions of Part 3.[12/2013]
Holding out as approved person
18.—(1) Where any person holds himself, herself or itself out to be an approved person when the person is not an approved person, the person shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.
(2) [Deleted by Act 28 of 2008]
(3) Where the person mentioned in subsection (1) is a partnership, every partner, other than a partner who is proved to have been ignorant of or attempted to prevent the commission of the offence, shall be guilty of the offence under subsection (1) and liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
Offence by body corporate
18A. Where —(a)
an offence under this Act is committed by a body corporate; and
(b)
the offence is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any act or default on the part of —(i)
any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate; or
(ii)
any person purporting to act in any such capacity,
he or she, as well as the body corporate, shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
[28/2008]
Composition of offences
19.—(1) The Minister or any person authorised by the Minister may compound any offence under section 12N, 16 or 18 or any regulations made under this Act by collecting from the person reasonably suspected of having committed the offence a sum not exceeding $5,000.[42/2004; 28/2008; 19/2021]
(2) The Commissioner for Labour may compound any offence under section 12AA, 12B, 12D, 12DA, 12E, 12H or 17 by collecting from the person reasonably suspected of having committed the offence a sum not exceeding $1,000.[42/2004; 28/2008; 12/2013]
[Act 46 of 2024 wef 01/04/2025]
Regulations
20.—(1) The Minister may make regulations that are necessary or expedient for the purposes of this Act.
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the Minister may make regulations relating to —(aa)
the claims by any person for any payment, lost income or reimbursement under this Act, including making provision for the submission of a claim, and the requirements for a submission, on any website or using an electronic system, the time for making a claim or an adjustment to a claim, and the circumstances in which a claim may be refused;
(a)
the terms and conditions, manner and method of —(i)
any payment to any female or male employee or self‑employed man or woman under section 9, 12A, 12AA, 12AB, 12DA, 12DC, 12E, 12H or 12HA, as the case may be; and[Act 46 of 2024 wef 01/04/2025]
(ii)
any payment to any employee or self‑employed person under section 12B;
(b)
the manner of and method for determining —(i)
the income which a self-employed man or woman is entitled to claim from the Government under section 9, 12AB, 12DA, 12E or 12H, as the case may be;[Act 46 of 2024 wef 01/04/2025]
(ii)
the income which a self-employed person is entitled to claim from the Government under section 12B; and
(iii)
the amount which a person is entitled to claim from the Government under section 9(5A), 12A(2), 12DC(2) or 12HA(2);[Act 46 of 2024 wef 01/04/2025]
(c)
the manner of and method for determining the amount of reimbursement which an employer is entitled to claim under section 10, 12AD, 12C, 12CA, 12DB, 12G, 12J or 12JA and the terms and conditions subject to which the employer may be reimbursed;[Act 32 of 2023 wef 01/01/2024]
[Act 46 of 2024 wef 01/04/2025]
(d)
the assessment, determination and payment of —(i)
the income which a self-employed man or woman is entitled to claim under section 9, 12AB, 12DA, 12E or 12H, as the case may be;[Act 46 of 2024 wef 01/04/2025]
(ii)
the income which a self-employed person is entitled to claim under section 12B;
(iii)
the reimbursement which an employer is entitled to claim under section 10, 12AD, 12C, 12CA, 12DB, 12G, 12J or 12JA; and[Act 32 of 2023 wef 01/01/2024]
[Act 46 of 2024 wef 01/04/2025]
(iv)
any claim under section 9(5A), 12A(2), 12DC(2) or 12HA(2) or any other provision of this Act;[Act 46 of 2024 wef 01/04/2025]
(e)
the registers and records to be maintained for the purposes of Part 3 and the forms and contents thereof, or the records to be kept and maintained by any person for the purposes of a claim under this Act;[Act 46 of 2024 wef 01/04/2025]
(ea)
where an employee is employed concurrently by 2 or more employers, or is both an employee (whether employed by one employer, or by 2 or more employers) and a self‑employed person —(i)
the apportionment of the amounts of any reimbursement or payment, or the priority between any claims, or both, for the purposes of section 12MA; and
(ii)
the provision for a Director to determine the apportionment of the amounts of any reimbursement or payment in any particular case; and[Act 46 of 2024 wef 01/04/2025]
(f)
the prescribing of anything that may be prescribed under this Act.[42/2004; 28/2008; 12/2013; 17/2016; 33/2016; 19/2021]
(2A) Without limiting subsection (1), the Minister may make regulations to provide for Part 3 and any regulations made under this section to apply, with such modifications as may be specified, to any part‑time employee or class of part‑time employees.[28/2008]
(2B) Regulations made for the purposes of subsection (2) may —(a)
provide for a decision on the assessment, determination and payment of a claim under this Act to be made by a Director or another person acting under the direction of the Director, or a body of persons (each called a relevant authority), or by an electronic system for which operation a relevant authority is responsible;
(b)
provide that a decision made by the operation of the electronic system is taken to be a decision made by a relevant authority responsible for its operation; and
(c)
provide for the circumstances in which a relevant authority may review or substitute a decision taken to be made by the relevant authority under paragraph (b).[19/2021]
(3) Any regulations made under this section may provide that any act or omission in contravention of any regulation shall be an offence and may provide for the imposition of penalties for such offence not exceeding a fine of $20,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both.
Class exemption
21. The Minister may, by order in the Gazette, exempt any class of persons from complying with any provision of this Act or any regulations made under this Act, subject to any terms or conditions specified in the order.[12/2013]
Exemption on application
22.—(1) The Minister may, on the application of any person, exempt that person from complying with any requirement of this Act or any regulations made under this Act.[12/2013]
(2) An exemption under subsection (1) —(a)
may be granted subject to such terms or conditions as the Minister considers appropriate;
(b)
has effect for such period as the Minister considers appropriate;
(c)
must be in writing and sent by the Minister to the person to whom the exemption is granted; and
(d)
need not be published in the Gazette.[12/2013]
(3) An exemption under this section, unless previously revoked in accordance with the terms of the exemption, continues in force for such period as may be specified in the exemption.[12/2013]
(4) The Minister may, on the application of any person —(a)
extend the period for which an exemption granted under subsection (1) has effect;
(b)
vary or revoke any existing term or condition specified in an exemption granted under subsection (1);
(c)
revoke, whether wholly or partly, any exemption granted to a person under subsection (1); or
(d)
impose additional terms or conditions in an exemption granted under subsection (1).[12/2013]
(5) In this section, any reference to the Minister includes a reference to any of the following persons designated by the Minister to exercise the power to exempt under this section in place of the Minister:(a)
a Second Minister, Minister of State or Senior Minister of State for his or her Ministry;
(b)
a Parliamentary Secretary or Senior Parliamentary Secretary to his or her Ministry.[12/2013]
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
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