Proceedings conducted in private unless tribunal orders otherwise
18.—(1) Subject to subsections (2), (3), (4) and (5), all proceedings before a tribunal are to be conducted in private.[55/2018]
(2) A tribunal may, on its own initiative or on the application of any party to the proceedings, and in the manner prescribed by Rules of Court made under section 33, do either or both of the following:(a)
allow one or more individuals to assist in resolving the claim amicably through mediation or conciliation;
(b)
allow one or more individuals of skill and experience in the matter to which the proceedings relate to sit with the tribunal and act as assessors.
(3) A tribunal may permit an officer appointed under section 3(2) of the Employment Act 1968 to participate in any proceedings before a tribunal by doing one or more of the following:(a)
giving evidence in the proceedings;
(b)
producing any document, record or thing that is relevant to the proceedings;
(c)
making submissions in the proceedings.[55/2018]
(4) A tribunal may permit one or more of the following to observe the hearing of a claim:(a)
any prescribed individual;
(b)
any individual belonging to a prescribed class of individuals;
(c)
any other individual that the tribunal deems fit.
(5) Regulations made under section 34 may prescribe different individuals or classes of individuals for different categories of claims for the purposes of subsection (4).
(6) To avoid doubt, subsection (1) does not prevent a tribunal from hearing 2 or more claims together, if it appears to the tribunal that doing so is convenient and does not prejudice any party to any of those claims.
Representation before tribunal
19.—(1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (3), a party to proceedings before a tribunal —(a)
must act in person;
(b)
cannot be represented by an advocate and solicitor; and
(c)
cannot be represented by an agent, whether paid or otherwise.
(2) A party other than an individual may be represented —(a)
if the party is the Government, by a public officer;
(b)
if the party is a body corporate, by an officer, or a full‑time employee, of the body corporate;
(c)
if the party is a partnership, by a partner, or a full‑time employee, of the partnership;
(d)
if the party is an unincorporated association, by a member of the governing body, or a full‑time employee, of the unincorporated association; or
(e)
by any other individual prescribed by regulations made under section 34.
(3) A party who is an individual may be represented by any other individual by regulations made under section 34.
(4) For the purposes of subsections (2)(e) and (3), the regulations made under section 34 may prescribe different individuals for different parties and different circumstances.
(5) In this section —“body corporate” includes a limited liability partnership as defined in section 2(1) of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005;
“officer”, in relation to a body corporate, means a director, partner, member of the committee of management, chief executive, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate.
Hearing to be informal, etc.
20.—(1) Proceedings before a tribunal are to be conducted in an informal manner.
(2) A tribunal, when dealing with any claim, is to adopt a judge‑led approach, that is to say, the tribunal —(a)
is to identify the relevant issues in the claim; and
(b)
is to ensure that the relevant evidence is adduced by the parties to the proceedings before the tribunal.
(3) In adopting a judge‑led approach, a tribunal may, at any time, on its own initiative or on the application of any party to the proceedings before the tribunal, direct any party or parties to those proceedings to appear before the tribunal, for the tribunal to make such order or give such direction as the tribunal thinks fit, for the just, expeditious and economical disposal of the claim.
(4) A tribunal may, on its own initiative or at the request of any party, summon any person to do either or both of the following:(a)
give evidence in any proceedings before a tribunal;
(b)
produce any document, record or thing which is relevant in any proceedings before a tribunal.
(5) A tribunal may inquire into any matter which the tribunal considers relevant to a claim, whether or not the matter is raised by a party to the claim.
(6) When deciding any claim for employment assistance payment, or calculating the amount of an employment assistance payment, a tribunal may take into account the tripartite guidelines on re‑employment.[55/2018]
(7) When deciding any claim involving a wrongful dismissal dispute, a tribunal —(a)
is to have regard to the tripartite guidelines on wrongful dismissal; and
(b)
if any compensation is claimed, is to calculate the amount of that compensation in accordance with any regulations made under section 34(1).[55/2018]
(8) To avoid doubt, if any party to any proceedings before a tribunal, without reasonable excuse, fails to attend those proceedings, a tribunal may hear the claim and make its decision in the absence of that party, even if the interests of that party may be prejudicially affected by the decision of the tribunal.
Evidence
21.—(1) A tribunal —(a)
is not bound by the rules of evidence in the conduct of any proceedings; and
(b)
may inform itself on any matter in any manner that the tribunal thinks fit.
(2) A tribunal may draw any inferences that the tribunal thinks fit from a party’s failure to comply with any obligation of that party under any written law specified in the Fourth Schedule, including (but not limited to) an inference that any evidence that is not available on account of that party’s failure to comply with that obligation would, if produced, have been unfavourable to that party.[55/2018]
(3) Subject to subsection (4), evidence tendered to a tribunal need not be given on oath or affirmation.
(4) A tribunal may —(a)
require the whole or any part of any evidence tendered to a tribunal, whether orally or in writing, to be given on oath or affirmation; and
(b)
for that purpose, administer an oath or affirmation.
(5) A tribunal may, on its own initiative, seek such other evidence, and make such other investigations and inquiries, as the tribunal thinks fit.
(6) All evidence and information obtained by a tribunal under subsection (5) for any proceedings must be disclosed to every party to those proceedings.
(7) A tribunal may require any written evidence given in proceedings before a tribunal to be verified by statutory declaration.
(8) A tribunal need not keep a record of the evidence given in any proceedings before the tribunal, but must make —(a)
a summary of the facts and issues in dispute, as determined by the tribunal; and
(b)
notes of the proceedings.
Orders of tribunal
22.—(1) A tribunal may determine a claim within the tribunal’s jurisdiction by making one or more of the following orders:(a)
an order requiring a party to pay money to another party;
(b)
an order dismissing the whole or any part of the claim;
(c)
an order requiring a party to pay costs to another party;
(d)
an order requiring an employer to reinstate an employee in the employee’s former employment.[55/2018]
(2) In deciding whether to make an order under subsection (1)(c), a tribunal may take into account any of the following matters:(a)
whether the claim was frivolous or vexatious;
(b)
whether a party without reasonable excuse failed to attend a mediation under Part 2, or a tripartite mediation (conducted by an approved mediator), of a specified employment dispute for which the claim is lodged;
(c)
whether any party without reasonable excuse failed to attend any proceedings before the tribunal which that party was required to attend.
(3) A tribunal’s order under subsection (1) is subject to any conditions that the tribunal thinks fit to impose.
(4) The total amount of money that a tribunal orders to be paid to a party under subsection (1)(a), in respect of every specified contractual dispute (if any) and every specified statutory dispute (if any) for which a claim is lodged, must not exceed the prescribed claim limit in section 12(7)(a) that is applicable to the party.[55/2018]
(5) The total amount of money that a tribunal orders to be paid to a party under subsection (1)(a), in respect of every wrongful dismissal dispute (if any) for which a claim is lodged, must not exceed the prescribed claim limit in section 12(7)(b) that is applicable to the party.[55/2018]
(6) To avoid doubt —(a)
any amount of money that a tribunal orders to be paid under subsection (1)(a) does not include any costs that a tribunal orders to be paid under subsection (1)(c); and
(b)
where a tribunal orders a party to pay an amount of money under subsection (1)(a) and costs under subsection (1)(c), any money paid by the party is to be applied first to the payment of the amount under subsection (1)(a), and then to the payment of the costs under subsection (1)(c).
(7) Where a tribunal does not have jurisdiction to determine a claim or any part of a claim, that claim or part (as the case may be) must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
(8) A tribunal may, instead of determining a claim by making an order under subsection (1), refer any specified employment dispute for which the claim is lodged for mediation under Part 2 (if the claim arose from a mediation under Part 2) or for tripartite mediation to be conducted by an approved mediator (if the claim arose from a tripartite mediation conducted by an approved mediator), with or without the consent of the parties.
(9) A tribunal may, when making a referral under subsection (8), order all or any of the parties to personally attend the mediation under Part 2 or the tripartite mediation (as the case may be).
(10) A tribunal may correct an order made by the tribunal within 14 days after the date on which the order is made, or correct a statement of the tribunal’s grounds for making the order within 14 days after the date on which the statement is issued by the tribunal, to the extent necessary to rectify any of the following things:(a)
a clerical mistake;
(b)
an error arising from an accidental slip or omission;
(c)
a material miscalculation of figures, or a material mistake in the description of any person, thing or matter, referred to in the order or statement (as the case may be);
(d)
a defect of form.
(11) The tribunal may make the correction in subsection (10) on its own initiative or on the application of a party to the proceedings before the tribunal.
(12) Every order made by a tribunal under subsection (1) may be enforced in the same manner as a judgment given or an order made by a District Court.
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
