MOM, TADM, TAFEP, or a lawyer: who to contact for an employment dispute in Singapore
Singapore runs employment matters through several different bodies, and it is genuinely easy to contact the wrong one first. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM), the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM), the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP), and a private law firm all have a role, but they are not interchangeable, and each one only handles part of the picture. This page is about telling them apart, not about how to run a claim once you know where it belongs; for the claim process itself, see the employment dispute process and what happens at a TADM mediation session.
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Quick answer: where to start
If you already know roughly what your problem is, this table is the fast route. Each row reflects how MOM, TADM and TAFEP describe their own remit on their own websites, not a distinction we have drawn ourselves.
| Your situation | Start here |
|---|---|
| Unpaid salary or wrongful dismissal | TADM |
| Discrimination or harassment at work | TAFEP |
| Rules on notice or retrenchment norms | MOM |
| A dispute not covered by employment law | TADM |
Filing a claim at TADM carries a fee: $10 or $20 per claim depending on your claim amount, or $40 or $60 for a dispute not covered by employment law. Where a lawyer fits in is covered further down.
MOM: the rules, not the referee
MOM is the government ministry, and its own pages are where the Employment Act rules themselves live: notice periods, salary computation, retrenchment benefit norms, and the rest of the framework the other bodies apply. MOM also runs Employment Act advisory services, described on its own site as being for "employers and employees who need scenario-based advice on applying the Employment Act or other related employment laws for specific situations."
What MOM is not, in practice, is where you take an active dispute. MOM's own guidance is direct about this: TADM handles salary and wrongful dismissal claims, and MOM redirects requests for assistance on those issues to TADM so the case moves faster. If you already have a dispute rather than a question about the rules, TADM, not MOM, is the right first call.
TADM: the first stop for a claim
The Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management is where a salary claim or a wrongful dismissal claim actually gets filed and mediated. It is jointly run by the tripartite partners, not a part of MOM, and mediation there is compulsory before a case can reach the Employment Claims Tribunals (ECT). For what a mediation session itself involves, who can attend, and how it ends, see what happens at a TADM mediation session; for the full three-step journey including deadlines and the ECT's claim limits, see the employment dispute process.
TADM's own remit goes slightly wider than salary and dismissal. MOM's guidance says employees can contact TADM for assistance even if their dispute is not covered under employment laws, which makes TADM the more general first call for a workplace dispute rather than a narrow one.
TAFEP: fairness and workplace practices, not claims
The Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices is a different agency again. It was set up in 2006 by the same three tripartite partners, MOM, the National Trades Union Congress, and the Singapore National Employers Federation, but its job is to promote fair, responsible and progressive employment practices, not to mediate salary or dismissal claims. TAFEP is one of three agencies under the Tripartite Alliance Limited, alongside TADM and the Workplace Safety and Health Council, which is exactly why the two get confused: they sit under the same parent body but do different jobs.
TAFEP's own site is explicit about who it is for: employees or individuals who encounter workplace discrimination or harassment can seek assistance and advice from TAFEP, and employers can approach TAFEP for tools and resources to implement fair and progressive practices at their own workplaces. If your issue is unpaid salary or a dismissal you think was wrongful, TAFEP is the wrong door; that is TADM's job.
When to bring in a lawyer
A law firm is the one option here that is not a government or tripartite body, and it works differently: it cannot sit in the room for you. Lawyers are not allowed to represent any party in TADM mediation, and the Singapore Courts state plainly that lawyers are not allowed to represent parties for Employment Claims Tribunals matters either. At both the mediation session and the ECT hearing itself, you present your own case.
That does not make a lawyer useless, it just changes when they are useful. The value sits either side of those two moments: working out whether you actually have a claim worth bringing, preparing the documents and evidence TADM and the ECT expect, and reviewing a Settlement Agreement or an ECT order before you act on it. A lawyer is also the right call for anything genuinely outside MOM, TADM and TAFEP's remit, such as a contract dispute that turns on a clause none of the three bodies interprets for you.
If you want that kind of advice, an employment lawyer in Singapore can review your situation before you contact TADM, or after mediation if it does not settle.
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Frequently asked questions
Is TADM part of MOM?
No, not directly. TADM (the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management) is one of three agencies under the Tripartite Alliance Limited (TAL), alongside TAFEP and the Workplace Safety and Health Council. TADM was jointly established by the same three tripartite partners behind TAFEP too, the Ministry of Manpower, the National Trades Union Congress, and the Singapore National Employers Federation, but it operates as its own body, not as a department inside MOM.
I want to complain to MOM about unpaid salary. Will MOM handle it?
MOM will point you to TADM. MOM's own guidance says TADM handles salary and wrongful dismissal claims, and that requests for assistance on those issues are redirected to TADM, so you get a faster result filing there directly rather than starting with MOM.
What's the difference between TADM and TAFEP?
TADM handles individual salary and wrongful dismissal claims through mediation, the kind of dispute that can end in a Settlement Agreement or a Claim Referral Certificate to the Employment Claims Tribunals. TAFEP is different: it exists to promote fair and progressive employment practices, and employees who encounter workplace discrimination or harassment can seek assistance and advice there. TAFEP is not where you file a salary or dismissal claim.
Can a lawyer deal with TADM or the Employment Claims Tribunals for me?
Not at the session or hearing itself. Lawyers are not allowed to represent any party in TADM mediation, and the Singapore Courts state that lawyers are not allowed to represent parties for Employment Claims Tribunals matters either. Where a lawyer helps is everything around those two moments: working out if you have a claim, preparing your evidence, and advising you on a Settlement Agreement or an ECT order.
My dispute is not about salary or dismissal. Who do I contact?
Start with TADM anyway. MOM's guidance says employees can contact TADM for assistance if they have a dispute that is not covered under employment laws, so it is still the right first call even outside the two claim types TADM is best known for.
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