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• Check the dismissal date, deadline, contract, warnings, pay records and messages first.

• For SGD 2 million of salary, bonus or severance, a careful chronology can change the negotiation.

• Preserve lawful evidence, but avoid taking confidential files you should not access.

• Use Caira to build a timeline and draft a response checklist.

Key Employment Terms, usually shortened to KETs, are the basic written terms that help an employee understand the job before problems begin. In Singapore, the Ministry of Manpower materials treat KETs as part of the contract-of-service framework, so the first mistake is using the checklist for the wrong relationship. If you are an employee, KETs can be a useful main reference point for salary, hours, leave, notice, and benefits. If you are a freelancer, platform worker, consultant, or vendor, do not assume the same template or dispute route applies without checking your actual arrangement.

Who this guide is for

This article is for employees and new hires in Singapore who have been given an offer letter, employment contract, staff handbook, or KET document and want to check it before signing or starting work. It is also useful if your employer gave only a short WhatsApp message or verbal promise and you want to ask for clearer written terms. It is not a full employment-law opinion, and it does not decide whether every person called a contractor is legally an employee. Start by checking the MOM contract-of-service guidance and your own facts.

Mistake 1: treating the job title as enough

A title such as operations executive, sales associate, designer, or admin assistant is not enough by itself. Good KETs should make the role understandable: job title, main duties, work location or work arrangement, start date, and whether there is a probation period. A vague job scope is risky because later disputes often turn on whether the task was part of the role, whether targets were agreed, or whether a transfer to another outlet or site was expected.

Mistake 2: not separating basic salary from allowances

Look for the salary period, basic salary, fixed allowances, fixed deductions, overtime arrangement where relevant, and when salary is paid. A total package number can hide important details. For example, S$3,000 per month may include a transport allowance, meal allowance, commission estimate, or attendance incentive. Those items may behave differently from basic salary in a dispute. Ask for the breakdown before you sign, especially if the offer mentions CPF, commission, variable bonus, deductions, or unpaid training.

Mistake 3: leaving working hours loose

Working arrangements should be concrete enough for a normal person to plan their life. Check daily or weekly hours, rest days, shift patterns, break arrangements, overtime expectations, and whether weekend or public-holiday work is required. If the employer says hours are flexible, ask what that means in practice: who sets the roster, how much notice is given, whether remote work is allowed, and how urgent after-hours messages are handled. Flexible should not mean impossible to verify.

Mistake 4: ignoring leave and medical benefits

Leave and medical benefits are not just nice extras. They affect whether the written terms match what you were promised. Check annual leave, sick leave, medical consultation benefits, hospitalisation leave references where relevant, public holidays, childcare or other leave if applicable, and whether unused leave is handled in the contract or handbook. If the KET document points to a staff handbook, keep a dated copy of the handbook too.

A link that changes later is harder to prove than a saved PDF or email attachment.

Mistake 5: signing without notice and probation details

Probation clauses can be a quiet source of conflict. Check how long probation lasts, whether it can be extended, whether salary or benefits change after confirmation, and what notice period applies during and after probation. If the contract says either party can terminate with notice, note the exact period and whether payment in lieu is mentioned. Avoid relying on a verbal assurance that confirmation is automatic if the written document says something more conditional.

Mistake 6: mixing KETs with itemised payslips

KETs and itemised payslips are connected, but they are not the same document. KETs describe the employment terms. Payslips record what was paid for a salary period. If a future salary dispute arises, you usually want both: the KETs or contract to show what should have been paid, and payslips, bank records, rosters, commission records, and messages to show what actually happened. Do not accept a payslip as a substitute for basic written terms before the job begins.

A short request message

Use a calm wording before signing: Hi [HR/Manager], thank you for the offer. Before I sign, please send the written Key Employment Terms or contract terms covering my job title and duties, start date, salary breakdown, working hours, rest day, leave, medical benefits, probation, and notice period. I would like to keep a complete copy for my records. Regards, [Name].

If a brief Chinese label helps when comparing documents, use these field labels only as support: 主要雇佣条件 for Key Employment Terms, 雇佣合约 for employment contract, 基本工资 for basic salary, 工作时间 for working hours, 通知期 for notice period, and 试用期 for probation.

Where Unwildered fits

Upload the offer letter, KETs, contract, handbook extract, roster, and any HR messages. Unwildered can help you turn scattered terms into a checklist of unclear clauses and practical questions before you sign or raise the issue with MOM, TADM, or an adviser.

Free copyable template: This guide includes a free draft you can copy into Microsoft Word, adapt to your facts, and compare against your documents before uploading the file to Caira.

Copyable Singapore key employment terms template

Copy the wording below into Microsoft Word or Google Docs, then replace every square-bracketed section. To make a Word version, copy from the first line of the template to the signature block, paste it into Microsoft Word, then save or download it as a .docx file. Keep the surrounding explanation in this article as guidance, but use the template text as the part to copy.

KEY EMPLOYMENT TERMS

Employer: [company name and UEN]
Employee: [full name and ID/passport]
Job title: [title]
Start date: [date]
Work location: [location or hybrid arrangement]

1. Duties
The employee will perform [main duties] and any reasonable related duties assigned by the employer.

2. Salary and Payment
Basic salary: SGD [amount] per [month/hour].
Payment date: [date each month].
Overtime/commission/bonus: [state clearly or write not applicable].

3. Working Hours and Rest Days
Normal working hours are [hours]. Rest day is [day]. Public holidays and leave follow the applicable statutory and contractual terms.

4. Leave
Annual leave: [days].
Medical leave: [terms].
Other leave: [terms].

5. Probation and Notice
Probation period: [duration].
Notice during probation: [period].
Notice after probation: [period].

6. Confidentiality and Property
The employee must protect confidential information and return company property when employment ends.

Employer signature: __________ Date: ______
Employee signature: __________ Date: ______

Example filled-in Singapore KET Template

This is a realistic example only. Do not copy the facts unless they match your situation.

KEY EMPLOYMENT TERMS - EXAMPLE

Employer: Orchard Data Pte Ltd, UEN 202612345A.
Employee: Daniel Tan, NRIC S1234567B.
Job title: Product Operations Manager.
Start date: 1 July 2026.
Work location: Singapore, hybrid three days per week in office.

Basic salary: SGD 8,500 per month, paid on the 25th of each month. Annual leave: 18 days. Medical leave follows statutory entitlement and company policy. Probation period: three months. Notice during probation: one week. Notice after probation: one month.

Bonus: discretionary, based on company and individual performance.

Employer signature: ______ Employee signature: ______

Sources

• MOM: Key Employment Terms

• MOM: Salary

• Tripartite Alliance / Employment Claims route

This article is general information, not legal, financial, medical or tax advice.