§ 47 — Priority of retirement benefits, etc.

47.—(1) Where a collective agreement or an award contains a provision for the payment of a gratuity or other sum of money to an employee on his or her retirement or on the termination of his or her services under such circumstances as may be provided for in the collective agreement or award, the gratuity or other sum of money which is due and owing to the employee is to be included among —(a)

the debts which, under section 203 of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018, are to be paid in priority to all other unsecured debts in the winding up of a company and that gratuity or sum of money ranks after the preferential debts referred to in that section;[S 26/2022 wef 13/01/2022]

(b)

the debts which, under section 352 of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018, are to be paid in priority to all other debts in the distribution of the property of a bankrupt or of a person dying insolvent;[40/2018]

[S 26/20222 wef 13/01/2022]

(c)

the debts which, under the repealed section 328 of the Companies Act 1967 (as applied by section 130 of the VCC Act as in force before the operative date), are to be paid in priority to all other unsecured debts in the winding up of a VCC and that gratuity or sum of money ranks after the preferential debts mentioned in that section;[S 26/2022 wef 13/01/2022]

(d)

the debts which, under section 203 of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (as applied by section 130 of the VCC Act as in force on the operative date), are to be paid in priority to all other unsecured debts in the winding up of a VCC, and that gratuity or sum of money ranks after the preferential debts mentioned in that section;[S 26/2022 wef 13/01/2022]

(e)

the debts which, under the repealed section 328 of the Companies Act 1967 (as applied by section 33(2) of the VCC Act read with the First Schedule to the VCC Act as in force before the operative date) are to be paid in priority to all other unsecured debts in the winding up of a sub-fund of an umbrella VCC, and that gratuity or sum of money ranks after the preferential debts mentioned in that section; or[S 26/2022 wef 13/01/2022]

(f)

the debts which, under section 203 of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (as applied by section 33(2) of the VCC Act read with the First Schedule to the VCC Act as in force on the operative date), are to be paid in priority to all other unsecured debts in the winding up of a sub-fund of an umbrella VCC, and that gratuity or sum of money ranks after the preferential debts mentioned in that section.[S 26/2022 wef 13/01/2022]

(2) Where a collective agreement or an award contains a provision for the payment of a gratuity or other sum of money to an employee on his or her retirement and no provision is made for the payment of a gratuity or other sum of money on the termination of the employee’s services by reason of his or her employer ceasing to carry on business for whatever reason, or by reason of the employer transferring the whole or part of the employer’s undertaking or property (as the case may be), every such collective agreement or award is deemed, despite anything contained in any written law or rule of law or collective agreement or award to the contrary, to contain a provision that in the event of the employer ceasing to carry on business for whatever reason or transferring the whole or part of the employer’s undertaking or property (as the case may be), an employee who ceases to be employed by the employer by reason of the happening of such a contingency must be paid such sum of money as the employee would have been entitled to receive under the terms of the collective agreement or award if the employee had retired from the service of the employer on the day the employer ceases to carry on business or transfers the whole or part of the employer’s undertaking or property, as the case may be.

(3) Subsection (2) does not apply where an employer has set up a fund under a scheme for the payment of pensions, gratuities, provident fund or other superannuation benefits to the employer’s employees on their retirement from the service of the employer whereby under the scheme the employees’ benefits are safeguarded in the event of an employer’s bankruptcy or, if the employer is a company or VCC, on the winding up of the company or VCC or in the event of the employer ceasing to carry on business for any other reason or transferring the whole or part of the employer’s undertaking or property, as the case may be.[S 26/2022 wef 13/01/2022]

(4) Any sum of money payable under subsection (2) is deemed, for the purposes of subsection (1), to be a payment to an employee on his or her retirement and is to be included among the debts referred to in subsection (1)(a) or (b).

(5) In this section —“award” means an award made by the Industrial Arbitration Court under the provisions of the Industrial Relations Act 1960;

“collective agreement” means a collective agreement, a memorandum of which has been certified by the Industrial Arbitration Court in accordance with the provisions of the Industrial Relations Act 1960;[S 26/2022 wef 13/01/2022]

“company” has the meaning given by section 4(1) of the Companies Act 1967;[S 26/2022 wef 13/01/2022]

“operative date” means the date of commencement of sections 29, 48 and 62 of the Variable Capital Companies (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2019;[S 26/2022 wef 13/01/2022]

“sub-fund”, “umbrella VCC” and “VCC” have the meanings given by section 2(1) of the VCC Act;[S 26/2022 wef 13/01/2022]

“VCC Act” means the Variable Capital Companies Act 2018.[S 26/2022 wef 13/01/2022]

—(1) Where a collective agreement or an award contains a provision for the payment of a gratuity or other sum of money to an employee on his or her retirement or on the termination of his or her services under such circumstances as may be provided for in the collective agreement or award, the gratuity or other sum of money which is due and owing to the employee is to be included among —(a)

the debts which, under section 203 of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018, are to be paid in priority to all other unsecured debts in the winding up of a company and that gratuity or sum of money ranks after the preferential debts referred to in that section;[S 26/2022 wef 13/01/2022]

(b)

the debts which, under section 352 of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018, are to be paid in priority to all other debts in the distribution of the property of a bankrupt or of a person dying insolvent;[40/2018]

[S 26/20222 wef 13/01/2022]

(c)

the debts which, under the repealed section 328 of the Companies Act 1967 (as applied by section 130 of the VCC Act as in force before the operative date), are to be paid in priority to all other unsecured debts in the winding up of a VCC and that gratuity or sum of money ranks after the preferential debts mentioned in that section;[S 26/2022 wef 13/01/2022]

(d)

the debts which, under section 203 of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (as applied by section 130 of the VCC Act as in force on the operative date), are to be paid in priority to all other unsecured debts in the winding up of a VCC, and that gratuity or sum of money ranks after the preferential debts mentioned in that section;[S 26/2022 wef 13/01/2022]

(e)

the debts which, under the repealed section 328 of the Companies Act 1967 (as applied by section 33(2) of the VCC Act read with the First Schedule to the VCC Act as in force before the operative date) are to be paid in priority to all other unsecured debts in the winding up of a sub-fund of an umbrella VCC, and that gratuity or sum of money ranks after the preferential debts mentioned in that section; or[S 26/2022 wef 13/01/2022]

(f)

the debts which, under section 203 of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (as applied by section 33(2) of the VCC Act read with the First Schedule to the VCC Act as in force on the operative date), are to be paid in priority to all other unsecured debts in the winding up of a sub-fund of an umbrella VCC, and that gratuity or sum of money ranks after the preferential debts mentioned in that section.[S 26/2022 wef 13/01/2022]

(2) Where a collective agreement or an award contains a provision for the payment of a gratuity or other sum of money to an employee on his or her retirement and no provision is made for the payment of a gratuity or other sum of money on the termination of the employee’s services by reason of his or her employer ceasing to carry on business for whatever reason, or by reason of the employer transferring the whole or part of the employer’s undertaking or property (as the case may be), every such collective agreement or award is deemed, despite anything contained in any written law or rule of law or collective agreement or award to the contrary, to contain a provision that in the event of the employer ceasing to carry on business for whatever reason or transferring the whole or part of the employer’s undertaking or property (as the case may be), an employee who ceases to be employed by the employer by reason of the happening of such a contingency must be paid such sum of money as the employee would have been entitled to receive under the terms of the collective agreement or award if the employee had retired from the service of the employer on the day the employer ceases to carry on business or transfers the whole or part of the employer’s undertaking or property, as the case may be.

(3) Subsection (2) does not apply where an employer has set up a fund under a scheme for the payment of pensions, gratuities, provident fund or other superannuation benefits to the employer’s employees on their retirement from the service of the employer whereby under the scheme the employees’ benefits are safeguarded in the event of an employer’s bankruptcy or, if the employer is a company or VCC, on the winding up of the company or VCC or in the event of the employer ceasing to carry on business for any other reason or transferring the whole or part of the employer’s undertaking or property, as the case may be.[S 26/2022 wef 13/01/2022]

(4) Any sum of money payable under subsection (2) is deemed, for the purposes of subsection (1), to be a payment to an employee on his or her retirement and is to be included among the debts referred to in subsection (1)(a) or (b).

(5) In this section —“award” means an award made by the Industrial Arbitration Court under the provisions of the Industrial Relations Act 1960;

“collective agreement” means a collective agreement, a memorandum of which has been certified by the Industrial Arbitration Court in accordance with the provisions of the Industrial Relations Act 1960;[S 26/2022 wef 13/01/2022]

“company” has the meaning given by section 4(1) of the Companies Act 1967;[S 26/2022 wef 13/01/2022]

“operative date” means the date of commencement of sections 29, 48 and 62 of the Variable Capital Companies (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2019;[S 26/2022 wef 13/01/2022]

“sub-fund”, “umbrella VCC” and “VCC” have the meanings given by section 2(1) of the VCC Act;[S 26/2022 wef 13/01/2022]

“VCC Act” means the Variable Capital Companies Act 2018.[S 26/2022 wef 13/01/2022]