Singapore has created history with its Parliament recently passing of the Workplace Fairness Bill. While the bill is aimed at protecting employees from being discriminated at work—on the basis of age, nationality, gender, race, religion, language, disability and mental-health conditions and so on—relevant concerns have been raised regarding implementation.
For instance, Ministry of Manpower believes the Bill will protect workers with disabilities. However, ‘disability’, as per the bill includes physical disabilities, sensory disabilities and autism. What happens to employees who suffer from attention deficit hypersensitivity disorder (ADHD), cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis or dyslexia? During discussions, it has been suggested that the definition of ‘disability’ be widened to include a wider range of disabilities and protect more mental-health conditions.
Concerns have also been raised regarding the protection that the bill will be able to offer when there is so much stigma attached to mental-health conditions. Not all employees at the workplace would be willing to open up about their problems or seek counselling or help from experts, while the Bill will only protect those who actually see a psychiatrist or receive treatment. What happens to the ones that suffer silently? How can a bill protect them unless there is more awareness and sensitivity towards the whole issue? The stigma related to mental health issues has to be addressed first.
Another point that was reportedly raised was how evidence of discrimination or bias at work would be recorded or documented. Some members of parliament also wished to know how indirect discrimination will be handled and whether the effects that ageism will have (economically) had been taken into account.
The legislation is expected to be put into practice effective 2026 or 2027. It remains to be seen how effectively it will eliminate discrimination against employees when it comes to hiring, performance reviews, training, promotions, terminations and other employment-related decisions by employers. In the long run, it is hoped that the bill will result in higher retention and employee-engagement rates.
