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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.
Many Singapore employment disputes are not one clean issue. An employee may be dismissed suddenly, receive no final salary, dispute notice pay, and also believe the dismissal was wrongful. A salesperson may add unpaid commission. A manager may add bonus, expenses, or garden leave. The mistake is to merge all of this into one accusation. The better approach is to split the dispute into salary-related claims, notice and final-pay calculations, and wrongful dismissal issues, then sequence them through the official TADM and ECT framework where eligible.
MOM salary guidance and TADM salary-related claim materials should main reference point the pay side. MOM and TADM wrongful dismissal materials should main reference point the dismissal side. The Employment Claims Tribunals may be relevant after TADM where the claim is eligible and unresolved. Each route has its own procedural controls, so the employee should not assume that every workplace grievance can be decided together in the same way.
Separate the money from the reason
Unpaid salary is usually a calculation problem before it is a motive problem. Identify the wage period, amount contractually due, amount paid, and shortfall. Final salary may involve basic wages, overtime, allowances, annual leave encashment, reimbursement, CPF issues, and lawful or disputed deductions. Notice pay requires the notice clause, termination date, and whether salary in lieu was paid or withheld.
Wrongful dismissal is different. It asks whether the dismissal reason or manner was wrongful under Singapore's employment framework. The employer may say poor performance, misconduct, redundancy, probation failure, or resignation. The employee may say the real reason was retaliation, discrimination, avoidance of commission, pregnancy, medical leave, or an attempt to deprive benefits. That argument needs a timeline and evidence, not only a belief that the timing was suspicious.
Combined claim checklist
Employment terms: contract, key employment terms, job title, salary, commission, notice, probation, bonus, and handbook.
Salary proof: payslips, CPF records, bank statements, rosters, leave records, and expense claims.
Commission proof: plan, targets, invoices, collections, approvals, clawback terms, and prior payment pattern.
Dismissal proof: termination letter, meeting notes, warnings, performance records, complaints, and messages.
Calculation table: item, period, amount due, amount paid, balance, and document reference.
Route record: TADM filing or enquiry, mediation documents, unresolved items, and ECT documents if applicable.
Suggested sequencing
First, preserve documents and make the calculation table. Second, send a neutral request for the final-pay breakdown if it has not been provided. Third, identify whether the salary-related items and dismissal-related issue should be raised together at TADM or kept distinct in the summary. Fourth, prepare for mediation with a realistic range: what is clearly unpaid, what is disputed but documented, and what is more difficult to prove.
Fifth, if mediation does not resolve the matter, check the current ECT requirements and file only claims the tribunal can handle.
This sequencing helps avoid two common problems. The first is underclaiming: an employee focuses only on wrongful dismissal and forgets a clear commission or notice-pay shortfall. The second is overclaiming: an employee adds every frustration, including insults or poor management, and buries the payable items under emotion. A mediator or tribunal needs numbers, dates, and documents.
Simplified Chinese salary request
For employees who searched in Chinese, a factual request can be useful before escalation:
请提供我的最后工资明细，包括基本工资、代通知金、未付佣金、未休年假折算、报销及任何扣款。
请列明每一项的计算期间、合同或公司政策依据、已支付金额及付款日期。
此信息请求仅用于核对工资和离职款项，本人保留所有权利。
Keep the message factual and non-defamatory. Do not accuse the employer of crime, fraud, or bad faith in a first calculation request unless a Caira has reviewed the language. The goal is to create a record that asks for numbers and documents.
When to escalate
Escalation is sensible where wages remain unpaid, the employer refuses to explain deductions, commission is substantial, the dismissal reason appears inconsistent, or immigration, professional licensing, whistleblowing, discrimination, pregnancy, or medical issues are involved. legal information and document review is especially useful if the employee held a senior role, had access to confidential information, or is considering public allegations.
A combined claim does not become stronger by sounding larger. It becomes stronger when each component can stand on its own: salary owed, notice owed, commission owed, and dismissal facts. Prepare the file so each issue has a document trail and a requested outcome, while accepting that the official process may resolve some issues and leave others for advice.
Sources
MOM: Key Employment Terms
MOM: Salary
Tripartite Alliance / Employment Claims route
This article is general information, not legal, financial, medical or tax advice.
