Employment
Nature of dispute
Individuals may face issues in the course of their employment. Disputes could arise over paid leave, overtime pay, medical benefits and bonuses, or issues over employment rights and terms of employment such as unfair dismissal, maternity or age-related dismissal, denial of re-employment and other workplace grievances.
How can we help
Mediation
Mediation is a voluntary process where a neutral third-party, the mediator, facilitates the disputants’ negotiation process for a private and amicable settlement.
SMC works in collaboration with the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) to offer voluntary mediation services to settle employment disputes under the Employment Dispute Management Service (EDMS).
Applying for EDMS
TADM administers all EDMS cases. For more information, including fees and eligibility for mediation under the service, please refer to the TADM website here. You may also make an appointment to meet with a TADM officer here.
Commercial and Small Case Commercial Mediation Scheme
For cases that are not eligible under EDMS, parties can mediate under SMC’s Commercial Mediation Scheme (for claims above $60,000) or the Small Case Commercial Mediation Scheme (for claims less than or equal to $60,000).
Fees
Parties pay the mediation fees below for the Commercial Mediation Scheme and Small Case Commercial Mediation Scheme.
| COMMERCIAL MEDIATION SCHEME FEE (For disputes above $60,000) |
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| A non-refundable filing fee of $267.50 is to be borne by each party, applicable to all mediations administered by the Singapore Mediation Centre. | |
| Sum in dispute | Mediation fees |
| Above $60,000 and up to $100,000 | $963 per party per day |
| Above $100,000 and up to $250,000 | $1,284 per party per day |
| Above $250,000 and up to $500,000 | $2,942.50 per party per day |
| Above $500,000 and up to $1,000,000 | $3,477.50 per party per day |
| Above $1,000,000 and up to $2,500,000 | $4,547.50 per party per day |
| Above $2,500,000 and up to $5,000,000 | $5,617.50 per party per day |
| Above $5,000,000 and up to $10,000,000 | $6,901.50 per party per day |
| Above $10,000,000 and up to $20,000,000 | $8,292.50 per party per day |
| Above $20,000,000 and up to $50,000,000 | $9,897.50 per party per day |
| Above $50,000,000 | $12,037.50 per party per day |
| * The figures above are in Singapore dollars and inclusive of GST. | |
| SMALL CASE COMMERCIAL MEDIATION SCHEME FEE (FOR DISPUTES UP TO $60,000) |
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| Each party shall be required to pay a non-refundable filing fee of $26.75. The filing fee will be set-off from the mediation fee upon confirmation of the mediation. | |
| Sum in dispute | Mediation fees |
| Up to $20,000 | $214 (hourly rate of $53.50) |
| Above $20,000 and up to $40,000 | $299.60 (hourly rate of $74.90) |
| Above $40,000 and up to $60,000 | $385.20 (hourly rate of $96.30) |
| * The figures above are in Singapore dollars and inclusive of GST.
** Each party will be charged a mediation fee for up to 4 hours of mediation. When the mediation extends beyond the 4 hours, each party will be charged at the applicable hourly rate as indicated above for each additional hour (or part thereof). |
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Please note that if parties choose their own mediator(s), the selected mediator(s) may charge his/her commercial rates and the above mediation fee will not be applicable.
For more information, please refer to the respective mediation procedures and fees on the Documents & Forms page:
- Commercial Mediation Scheme mediation procedure
- Commercial Mediation Scheme fees
- Small Case Commercial Mediation Scheme mediation procedure
- Small Case Mediation Scheme fees
Neutral evaluation
Alternatively, SMC also offers neutral evaluation where an unbiased third party hears your case either through written briefs and/or oral presentations.
SMC works with a distinguished panel of neutral evaluators comprising former Supreme Court judges, judicial commissioners and senior counsel with extensive experience and knowledge in deciding legal issues.
This adjudicatory process, where the neutral evaluator considers the merits of your case, such as technical evaluations or points of law, allows contending parties to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of their case.
Parties can choose whether to have a binding opinion or not and opt for a documents-only evaluation or an evaluation with hearing(s). Where parties choose to have a binding opinion, neutral evaluation allows parties to have a speedy and cost-effective ruling, avoiding hefty litigation or arbitration bills. The process is entirely private and confidential.
Fees
Parties will have to pay SMC’s administrative fee, which is dependent on the sum of the dispute set out below.
| SMC’S ADMINISTRATIVE FEE | |
| Sum in dispute | Mediation fees |
| Up to $500,000 | $749 |
| $500,001 to $1,000,000 | $1,070 |
| $1,000,001 to $5,000,000 | $1,605 |
| Above $5,000,000 | $2,140 |
| * The figures above are in Singapore dollars and inclusive of GST. | |
In addition, they will have to pay the neutral evaluator whose rate may range from $500 –$1,200 per hour depending on their experience. The cost of the neutral evaluation will depend on the total number of hours spent by the neutral evaluator, which in turn is dependent on the nature and complexity of the dispute.
Other optional expenses include charges for venue and refreshments.
For more information, please refer to the neutral evaluation rules and fees on the Documents & Forms page:
Nature of dispute
Running your own freelance business comes with a lot of perks. For starters, you don’t have to deal with time-sapping commutes or dress up formally to go to work. You can choose your own hours and adopt a flexible schedule.
However, being your own boss also comes with several challenges. For freelancers in the media industry, a common pain point is late payment or non-payment for completed services from clients. Other possible causes of disputes could include dissatisfaction with the final product, misunderstandings in communication and other financial issues.
How we can help
Mediation is a voluntary process where a neutral third-party, the mediator, facilitates the disputants’ negotiation process for a private and amicable settlement.
The Info-Communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) has partnered SMC to offer subsidies to media freelancers to help them settle their disputes through mediation at reduced rates.
The service applies to disagreements between:
- Two or more eligible media freelancers, or
- Eligible media freelancers and Singapore-registered companies.
Fees
Two tiers of fees apply depending on the quantum of the dispute.
| INFO-COMM MEDIA DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY SUBSIDISED MEDIATION SERVICE | ||
| Scheme | Subsidy | Fees |
| Small Case Commercial Mediation Scheme (disputes less than or equal to $60,000) | IMDA may subsidise up to 90% of the cost of mediation fee (excluding GST) at SMC for both the media freelancer(s) and Singapore-registered company.
IMDA’s subsidy is capped at $2,500 per party. |
Filing fee: $4.25 (after subsidy). The filing fee will be set-off from the mediation fee. Fees are based on SMC’s Small Case Commercial Mediation Scheme. |
| Commercial Mediation Scheme (disputes above $60,000) | Filing fee: $42.50 (after subsidy). Fees are based on SMC’s Commercial Mediation Scheme. | |
| * The figures above are in Singapore dollars and excludes GST. | ||
For more information on fees, please refer to the document under the Documents & Forms page:
For more information on eligibility requirements for Info-Communications Media Development Authority’s subsidies, please refer to the list of FAQs here.