Retirement and Re-employment Act 1993

Retirement and Re-employment
Act 1993

2020 REVISED EDITION

This revised edition incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 December 2021 and comes into operation on 31 December 2021

An Act to provide for a minimum retirement age for employees, for the re‑employment of employees and for matters connected therewith.

[1 July 1993]

PART 1

PRELIMINARY

Short title

1. This Act is the Retirement and Re-employment Act 1993.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“agreed date” means a date specified for the purposes of section 7C(2)(a) in a consent form mentioned in section 7C(7);

“approved mediator” and “claim referral certificate” have the meanings given by section 2(1) of the Employment Claims Act 2016;

“collective agreement” has the meaning given by the Industrial Relations Act 1960;

“Commissioner” means the Commissioner for Labour appointed under section 3(1) of the Employment Act 1968;

“contract of service” means any agreement, whether in writing or oral, express or implied, whereby one person agrees to employ another as an employee and that other agrees to serve his or her employer as an employee;

“eligible employee” means an employee who satisfies the re‑employment eligibility criteria set out in section 7(1);

“employee” means a person who has entered into or works under a contract of service with an employer;

“employer” means a person who employs another person under a contract of service and includes —

(a)	the Government;
(b)	any statutory authority;
(c)	any duly authorised agent or manager of any employer; and
(d)	any person who owns or is carrying on, or for the time being responsible for the management or control of a profession, business, trade or work in which any employee is engaged;

“employment assistance payment” means such sum of money which is payable by an employer to an eligible employee under section 7C(1);

“Employment Claims Tribunal” means an Employment Claims Tribunal constituted under section 4 of the State Courts Act 1970;

“investigating officer” means any person appointed as an investigating officer under section 3;

“mediation request” has the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Employment Claims Act 2016;

“prescribed minimum retirement age”, in relation to an employee, means the prescribed minimum retirement age specified under section 4(1) that is applicable to the employee;

[Act 38 of 2021 wef 01/07/2022]

“prescribed re-employment age”, in relation to an employee, means the prescribed re-employment age specified under section 7A(11) that is applicable to the employee;

[Act 38 of 2021 wef 01/07/2022]

“re-employment” means the employment of an employee by the same employer on or after the date the employee attains the employee’s specified age;

[Act 38 of 2021 wef 01/07/2022]

“re‑employment contract” means a contract of service entered into between an eligible employee and an employer to re‑employ the eligible employee for the purposes of section 7A(1) or (3)(a)(i);

“re‑employment obligations” means an employer’s obligations to re‑employ an eligible employee in accordance with section 7A, failing which, to offer the eligible employee employment assistance payment in accordance with section 7C(1)(a);

“salary” has the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Employment Act 1968;

“specified age”, in relation to an employee, means the higher of the following ages applicable to the employee:

(a)	the employee’s prescribed minimum retirement age;
(b)	the retirement age stipulated in the employee’s contract of service; [Act 38 of 2021 wef 01/07/2022]

“tripartite guidelines” means the guidelines relating to re‑employment issued by the Minister under section 11B.

[21/2016; 5/2017]

(2) For the purposes of this Act, an employee is treated as dismissed by his or her employer if —

(a)	the contract under which the employee is employed by the employer is terminated by the employer, whether it is so terminated by notice or without notice; or
(b)	the employer retires the employee, or requires or causes that employee to retire or resign on the ground of age.

(3) In this Act, a person is regarded as attaining or having attained N years of age (where N is a positive integer) or other higher age on or after the Nth or other anniversary (as the case may be) of the date of his or her birth.

Officers

3.—(1) The Commissioner for Labour is the officer in charge of the general administration of this Act.

(2) Any Deputy Commissioner for Labour, Principal Assistant Commissioner for Labour or Assistant Commissioner for Labour appointed under the Employment Act 1968 may, subject to such limitations as may be prescribed, perform all duties imposed and exercise all powers conferred on the Commissioner by this Act, and every duty so performed and power so exercised is deemed to have been duly performed and exercised by the Commissioner for the purpose of this Act.

(3) The Minister may appoint such number of investigating officers and other officers as the Minister considers necessary or expedient for the purpose of this Act.

[21/2016]

(4) The Minister may make rules for the conduct of the duties of officers under this Act.

PART 2

PRESCRIBED MINIMUM RETIREMENT AGE

[Act 38 of 2021 wef 01/07/2022]

Prescribed minimum retirement age

4.—(1) The Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, specify the prescribed minimum retirement age applicable to any class of employees, which must be at least 62 years but not more than 65 years.

[Act 38 of 2021 wef 01/07/2022]

(2) Despite any other written law, contract of service or collective agreement, an employer must not dismiss an employee on the ground of age before that employee attains the employee’s prescribed minimum retirement age.

[Act 38 of 2021 wef 01/07/2022]

(3) An employer who contravenes subsection (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

[Act 38 of 2021 wef 01/07/2022]

5. [Repealed by Act 5 of 2017]

Invalidity of term of contract of service

6. Any term of a contract of service or collective agreement made before, on or after 1 July 1993 which provides for a retirement age which is below the employee’s prescribed minimum retirement age is void to the extent that it is so less favourable.

[Act 38 of 2021 wef 01/07/2022]

PART 3

RE-EMPLOYMENT OF ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES

Re-employment eligibility criteria

7.—(1) For the purposes of this Act, an employee is eligible for re‑employment in accordance with section 7A if —

(a)

the employee is born on or after 1 July 1952; and

(b)

the employer assesses the employee as —

(i)	having at least satisfactory work performance; and
(ii)	being medically fit to continue working. [5/2017]

(2) For the purpose of subsection (1)(b)(ii), an employee is presumed to be medically fit to continue working, unless the employer of the employee proves, on a balance of probabilities, that the employee is not medically fit.

(3) Where an employer does not intend to re‑employ an employee because the employee does not meet the criteria in subsection (1)(b), then as far as it is reasonably practicable, the employer must give the employee written notice of that intention within a reasonable period before terminating the employee’s employment.

[5/2017]

Employer to re-employ eligible employee

7A.—(1) Subject to section 7C, an employer must, before an employee of the employer (being an eligible employee) attains the specified age, offer re‑employment to that employee and the employer’s obligation to re‑employ that employee begins from the time that employee attains the specified age, until that employee attains the employee’s prescribed re-employment age.

[5/2017]

[Act 38 of 2021 wef 01/07/2022]

(2) Where —

(a)

an employee mentioned in section 7(1)(a) continues, after attaining the specified age, to work for his or her employer; and

(b)

the employer does not, upon that employee attaining the specified age —

(i)	re-employ that employee; or
(ii)	terminate the employment of that employee,

then any right, privilege, obligation or liability acquired, accrued or incurred by the employee under the contract of service between the employee and his or her employer before the employee attains the specified age is not affected.

[5/2017]

(3) Where subsection (2) applies, the employer referred to in that subsection —

(a)

may, at any time after the employee referred to in that subsection has attained the specified age —

(i)	re-employ the employee; or
(ii)	terminate the employment of the employee if the employee does not satisfy the eligibility criteria set out in section 7(1)(b); and

(b)

is deemed to have complied with the requirement under subsection (1) for the period between —

(i)	the time the employee attains the specified age; and
(ii)	the time the employer re-employs the employee or terminates the employment of the employee under paragraph (a). [5/2017]

(4) For the purposes of re-employment under subsection (1) or (3)(a)(i), a re‑employment contract must be entered into by the employee and his or her employer, in which the job scope and the terms and conditions may vary from those in the previous contract of service between them.

[5/2017]

(5) Any variation referred to in subsection (4) must be based on reasonable factors such as, but not limited to, the employee’s productivity, performance, duties and responsibilities, and the wage system such as the seniority system applicable to the employee.

(6) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties to a re‑employment contract, the period of employment stipulated in the contract must not be less than one year at any one time.

[5/2017]

(7) Despite subsection (6), where the period between —

(a)	the start of re‑employment under a re‑employment contract for an employee; and
(b)	the date on which the employee attains the employee’s prescribed re-employment age,

is less than one year, the period of employment under the re‑employment contract may be for that shorter period.

[5/2017]

[Act 38 of 2021 wef 01/07/2022]

(8) [Deleted by Act 5 of 2017]

(9) Despite any of the provisions of this Act, an eligible employee may retire or be retired, if he or she does not wish to be employed by his or her employer on or after the date the employee attains the specified age.

(10) An eligible employee who intends to retire must, insofar as is reasonably practicable, give written notice to his or her employer, within a reasonable period before the employee retires, stating his or her intention to do so.

(11) The Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, specify the prescribed re-employment age applicable to any class of employees, which must be at least 67 years but not more than 70 years.

[Act 38 of 2021 wef 01/07/2022]

Period of service under previous contract of service and under re-employment contract

7B.—(1) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties to a contract of service, and subject to subsections (2) and (3), when a re‑employment contract is entered into between an employer and an employee of the employer pursuant to section 7A(4), then for the purposes of determining any right, privilege, obligation or liability to be acquired, accrued or incurred by the employee under the employee’s re‑employment contract, any period for which the employee has served under his or her employer under the previous contract of service before the employee commences his or her service under the re‑employment contract is disregarded.

[5/2017]

(2) Any period for which an employee has served under his or her employer before the employee commences his or her service under the re‑employment contract entered into pursuant to section 7A(4) is to be reckoned for the purposes of —

(a)	computing the minimum period of 3 months for entitlement to annual leave under section 88A(1) of the Employment Act 1968; and
(b)	determining the period of service of an employee for entitlement to paid sick leave under section 89(1) and (2) of the Employment Act 1968. [5/2017; 55/2018]

(3) An employee’s continuity of employment under re‑employment is not broken if his or her employer re‑employs or renews the re‑employment of the employee in accordance with section 7A(4).

[5/2017]

Employment assistance payment or alternative employment

7C.—(1) Section 7A does not apply if an employer (called in this section E1) is unable to re‑employ an eligible employee in accordance with section 7A because E1 is unable to find a vacancy in E1’s establishment that is suitable for the eligible employee, despite making reasonable attempts to do so in accordance with the tripartite guidelines, and —

(a)

E1 offers an employment assistance payment to the eligible employee; or

(b)

during the eligible employee’s employment with E1 —

(i)	another employer (called in this section E2) offers to employ the eligible employee in lieu of E1; and
(ii)	the eligible employee accepts the offer. [5/2017]

(2) Subject to any modifications as may be prescribed, where subsection (1)(b) applies —

(a)	E1’s re‑employment obligations to the eligible employee are discharged immediately before the agreed date;
(b)	any reference to an employer in section 7A or 7B(3), or to E1 in subsection (1), includes a reference to E2 from that agreed date; and
(c)	E1’s re‑employment obligations towards the eligible employee survive any unlawful dismissal by E1 of the eligible employee before the agreed date, but to the extent provided in paragraphs (a) and (b). [5/2017]

(3) Despite subsection (1)(a), an employer is not required to offer any employment assistance payment to an eligible employee who informs his or her employer of the employee’s decision not to continue to be employed by that employer on or after the date the employee attains the specified age.

[5/2017]

(4) Subject to subsection (5), the employment assistance payment is —

(a)	a single lump sum payment paid by an employer by the last day of employment of the eligible employee; or
(b)	other mutually agreed arrangements.

(5) In determining the amount of employment assistance payment to be paid under this section, an employer must take into account the tripartite guidelines.

(6) Without affecting section 7B, where E2 enters into a contract of service with an eligible employee in lieu of E1, any period for which the eligible employee has served under E1 before he or she commences his or her service with E2 is to be reckoned only for the purposes of —

(a)	computing the minimum period of 3 months for entitlement to annual leave under section 88A(1) of the Employment Act 1968; and
(b)	determining the period of service of an employee for entitlement to paid sick leave under section 89(1) and (2) of the Employment Act 1968. [5/2017; 55/2018]

(7) A consent form signified by E1, E2 and the eligible employee in the prescribed form and manner is prima facie proof of the matters mentioned in subsection (1)(b).

[5/2017]

(8) To avoid doubt, the references to an eligible employee’s employer in Parts 4 and 5 include references to E2, where applicable.

[5/2017]

PART 4

REMEDIES

Remedies for unlawful dismissal on ground of age

8.—(1) Where any employee below the specified age considers that he or she has been unlawfully dismissed on the ground of age, he or she may, within one month of the dismissal, make representations in writing to the Minister to be reinstated in his or her former employment.

(2) The Minister may, before making a decision on any such representations, direct the Commissioner in writing to inquire and report whether in the Commissioner’s opinion the employee has been unlawfully dismissed on the ground of age.

(3) If, after considering any report made by the Commissioner under subsection (2), the Minister is satisfied that the employee has been unlawfully dismissed by his or her employer on the ground of age, the Minister may, despite any rule of law or agreement to the contrary —

(a)	direct the employer to reinstate the employee in the employee’s former employment and to pay the employee an amount that is equivalent to the salary that the employee would have earned had he or she not been unlawfully dismissed by the employer; or
(b)	direct the employer to pay such amount of salary as compensation as the Minister may consider just and equitable having regard to all the circumstances of the case,

and the employer must comply with the direction of the Minister.

(4) In determining the amount of compensation to be awarded under subsection (3), the Minister must, in particular, have regard to —

(a)	the loss sustained by the employee in consequence of the unlawful dismissal;
(b)	the employee’s prospects in obtaining alternative employment;
(c)	the steps taken by the employee to mitigate his or her loss;
(d)	the period the employee has served with the employer; and
(e)	the employee’s age.

(5) The decision of the Minister on any representation made under this section is final.

(6) Any direction of the Minister under subsection (3) operates as a bar to any action for damages by the employee in any court in respect of the unlawful dismissal on the ground of age.

(7) An employer who fails to comply with the direction of the Minister under subsection (3) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.

(8) Where any amount to be paid by an employer under subsection (3) is not paid in accordance with the direction of the Minister and the employer has been convicted of an offence under subsection (7), the amount or so much thereof as remains unpaid is recoverable by the court as if it were a fine and the amount so recovered is to be paid to the employee entitled to payment under the direction of the Minister.

(9) The Minister may, by writing under the hand of the Minister, delegate all or any of the Minister’s powers under this section (except this power of delegation) to any public officer.

(10) A delegation under subsection (9) is revocable at will and no delegation prevents the exercise of any power by the Minister.

(11) A power so delegated, when exercised by the delegate, is for the purposes of this section deemed to have been exercised by the Minister.

Conciliation, etc.

8A.—(1) An employee who has a re-employment dispute with his or her employer which relates to any matter referred to in subsection (4)(a) or (b) must, before making any representation to the Minister under section 8B, first notify the Commissioner in writing of the re‑employment dispute no later than one month after the last day of the employee’s employment with his or her employer.

[21/2016]

(2) An employee (being an employee who attains the specified age on or after 1 January 2012) who considers that he or she has been dismissed without just cause or excuse by his or her employer on or after the date the employee attains the specified age must, before making any representation to the Minister under section 8B, first notify the Commissioner in writing of the dismissal no later than one month after the last day of the employee’s employment with the employer.

(3) An employee who has a re‑employment dispute with his or her employer which relates to any matter referred to in subsection (4)(c) or (d) must, before lodging a claim against the employer under section 13 of the Employment Claims Act 2016, submit to the Commissioner, under section 3(1) of that Act, not later than 6 months after the last day of the employee’s employment with the employer, a mediation request for the mediation under Part 2 of that Act of the re‑employment dispute.

[21/2016]

(4) For the purposes of this Part, a re‑employment dispute means a dispute over any of the following matters:

(a)	the denial of re‑employment to an employee on the ground that the employee does not satisfy the eligibility criteria set out in section 7(1);
(b)	the denial of re‑employment, in accordance with section 7C(1), to an employee on the ground that the employer is unable to find a vacancy in the employer’s establishment which is suitable for the employee;
(c)	the reasonableness of the terms and conditions of any re‑employment offer made pursuant to section 7A(1) or (3)(a)(i) by an employer;
(d)	the reasonableness of the amount of any employment assistance payment offered to an employee pursuant to section 7C(1)(a). [5/2017]

(5) Upon receipt of the notice referred to in subsection (1) or (2), the Commissioner may consult, or direct an approved mediator to consult, the employer and employee concerned in an endeavour to assist them to reach an agreement through conciliation.

[21/2016]

Remedies relating to unreasonable denial of re-employment and dismissal without just cause or excuse

8B.—(1) An employee who has a re‑employment dispute with his or her employer which relates to any matter referred to in section 8A(4)(a) or (b), or an employee (being an employee who attains the specified age on or after 1 January 2012) who considers that he or she has been dismissed without just cause or excuse by his or her employer on or after the date the employee attains the specified age, may at any time after any conciliation conducted pursuant to section 8A(5), make representations in writing to the Minister to be re‑employed.

(2) Any representations to the Minister under subsection (1) must be made no later than one month after the conclusion of any conciliation conducted pursuant to section 8A(5).

(3) Where an employee who is dismissed by his or her employer makes any representations to the Minister in accordance with subsection (1) to be re‑employed, such representations made operate as a bar to —

(a)	the lodging of any claim under section 8C(1) in relation to the matter referred to in section 8A(4)(d), by that employee in respect of that dismissal; and
(b)	the making of any representations to the Minister in respect of that dismissal under section 35(3) of the Industrial Relations Act 1960. [55/2018]

(4) Where an employee who is dismissed by his or her employer makes any representations to the Minister in respect of that dismissal under section 35(3) of the Industrial Relations Act 1960, such representations made operate as a bar to —

(a)	the lodging of any claim under section 8C(1) in relation to the matter referred to in section 8A(4)(d), by that employee in respect of that dismissal; and
(b)	the making of any representations to the Minister in respect of that dismissal under subsection (1). [55/2018]

(5) The Minister may, before making a decision on any such representations made under subsection (1), direct the Commissioner to inquire and report whether in the Commissioner’s opinion the employee has been unreasonably denied of re‑employment by his or her employer, or has been dismissed without just cause or excuse by his or her employer, as the case may be.

(6) If, after considering any report made by the Commissioner under subsection (5), the Minister is satisfied that the employee has been unreasonably denied of re‑employment by his or her employer, or dismissed by his or her employer without just cause or excuse (as the case may be) the Minister may, despite any rule of law or agreement to the contrary —

(a)	direct the employer to re-employ the employee; or
(b)	direct the employer to pay such amount of compensation as the Minister may consider just and equitable having regard to all the circumstances of the case,

and the employer must comply with the direction of the Minister.

(7) Despite any other provision in this section, the Minister may allow the employee to submit to the Commissioner, under section 3(1) of the Employment Claims Act 2016, a mediation request for the mediation under Part 2 of that Act of the re‑employment dispute and, if a claim referral certificate is issued in respect of that dispute, to lodge a claim for employment assistance payment under section 13 of that Act, where the Minister —

(a)	has considered any report made by the Commissioner under subsection (5); and
(b)	is satisfied, in the case of a re‑employment dispute over the matter referred to in section 8A(4)(b), that the employer has made reasonable attempts to find a vacancy in the employer’s establishment which is suitable for the employee. [21/2016]

(8) Where subsection (7) applies, the employee must submit the mediation request to the Commissioner within such time as the Minister may determine.

[21/2016]

(9) Section 8C(3) applies in relation to any claim lodged by an employee pursuant to subsection (7).

[21/2016]

(10) In determining the amount of compensation to be awarded under subsection (6), the Minister may, in particular, have regard to —

(a)	the tripartite guidelines; and
(b)	the steps taken by the employer to re‑employ the employee.

(11) The decision of the Minister on any representation made under this section is final.

(12) Any direction of the Minister under subsection (6) operates as a bar to any action for damages by the employee in any court in respect of the unreasonable denial of re‑employment, or the dismissal of the employee without just cause or excuse, as the case may be.

(13) An employer who fails to comply with the direction of the Minister under subsection (6) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.

(14) Where any amount of compensation to be paid by an employer under subsection (6) is not paid in accordance with the direction of the Minister and the employer has been convicted of an offence under subsection (13), the amount or part thereof that remains unpaid is recoverable by the court as if it were a fine and the amount so recovered is to be paid to the employee entitled to payment under the direction of the Minister.

(15) The Minister may, by writing under the hand of the Minister, delegate all or any of the Minister’s powers under this section (except the power of delegation conferred by this section) to any public officer.

(16) A delegation under subsection (15) is revocable at will and no delegation prevents the exercise of any power under this section by the Minister.

(17) A power so delegated, when exercised by the delegate, is for the purposes of this section deemed to have been exercised by the Minister.

Remedies relating to unreasonable terms and conditions of re‑employment contract and employment assistance payment

8C.—(1) An employee who has a re‑employment dispute with his or her employer which relates to any matter referred to in section 8A(4)(c) or (d) may, if a claim referral certificate is issued in respect of that dispute, lodge a claim for employment assistance payment with an Employment Claims Tribunal under section 13 of the Employment Claims Act 2016.

[21/2016]

(2) Where an employee who is dismissed by his or her employer lodges any claim with an Employment Claims Tribunal in relation to the matter referred to in section 8A(4)(d), such claim operates as a bar to —

(a)	the making of any representations under section 8B(1) by that employee in respect of that dismissal; and
(b)	the making of any representations to the Minister in respect of that dismissal under section 35(3) of the Industrial Relations Act 1960. [21/2016; 55/2018]

(3) In making a decision on any claim in relation to the employment assistance payment, the Employment Claims Tribunal —

(a)	may take into account the tripartite guidelines and any steps taken by the employer to re‑employ the employee; and
(b)	may, despite paragraph (a), make an order in the prescribed form for any amount of employment assistance payment to be paid by an employer to an employee as the Employment Claims Tribunal considers just and equitable having regard to all the circumstances of the case. [21/2016]

8D. [Repealed by Act 21 of 2016]

8E. [Repealed by Act 21 of 2016]

8F. [Repealed by Act 21 of 2016]

PART 5

GENERAL

Powers of Commissioner and investigating officers

9.—(1) The Commissioner or any investigating officer has, for the purposes of this Act, power to do all or any of the following:

(a)	enter without previous notice at any reasonable time any place of employment for the purposes of conducting any audit which is deemed necessary by the Minister, or make such inquiry into the terms and conditions of employment of any employee as the Commissioner or investigating officer thinks fit;
(b)	examine orally any person supposed to be acquainted with the facts and circumstances relevant to the carrying out of the provisions of this Act, and reduce into writing the answer given or statement made by the person who is bound to state truly the facts and circumstances with which the person is acquainted, and the statement made by the person must be read over to him or her and must, after correction, be signed by the person;
(c)	require the employer to produce before the Commissioner or investigating officer any other employee employed by the employer together with any contract of service or other document concerning the employment;
(d)	make copies of any document required to be produced under paragraph (c);
(e)	take or remove for purposes of investigations any document;
(f)	take such photographs or audio or video recording, as the Commissioner or investigating officer thinks necessary, of the premises and persons reasonably believed to be acquainted with the facts and circumstances relevant to the carrying out of the provisions of this Act;
(g)	require any person to produce any article which is relevant to any investigation carried out under this Act and, if necessary, to take into custody any such article.

(2) Any person who hinders or obstructs an investigating officer in the exercise of the power under this section or makes to an investigating officer exercising the power under this section a statement either orally or in writing which is false in any material particular shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

Investigations of complaints and offences

9A.—(1) Whenever —

(a)	the Minister, the Commissioner or an investigating officer has reasonable grounds for believing that an offence under this Act has been committed;
(b)	the Minister, the Commissioner or an investigating officer wishes to inquire into any matter for which provision is made by this Act or any dispute as to such matter, or any matter connected with an investigation; or
(c)	any person complains of any breach of any provision of this Act,

the Minister, the Commissioner or the investigating officer (as the case may be) may summon any person whom he or she has reason to believe can give information regarding the subject matter of the inquiry or complaint, and the person so summoned is legally bound to attend at the time and place specified in the summons to furnish information or documents, produce any article or give statements, and to answer truthfully all questions which the Minister, the Commissioner or the investigating officer (as the case may be) may put to the person.

(2) Any person who in any way wilfully obstructs the service of or obedience to such summons, and any person summoned who neglects to attend as required in such summons, shall be guilty of an offence.

(3) The Commissioner or investigating officer has the power to report any failure by such person to attend as required by the summons under subsection (2) to a Magistrate, who may thereupon issue a warrant to secure the attendance of that person as required by the summons.

Obstructing employee, etc.

9B.—(1) An employer or other person who in any way obstructs any employee in appearing before the Commissioner pursuant to any summons issued under this Act shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

(2) A person who wilfully obstructs or impedes any entry, inquiry or investigation made under this Act for which no penalty is expressly provided shall be guilty of an offence.

Penalties

9C. A person who is guilty of any breach or any offence under this Act for which no penalty is otherwise provided shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both, and for a subsequent offence under the same section to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.

Composition of offences

10.—(1) An investigating officer, with the approval of the Commissioner, may compound any offence under this Act that is prescribed as a compoundable offence by collecting from a person reasonably suspected of having committed the offence a sum not exceeding the lower of the following:

(a)	one half of the amount of the maximum fine that is prescribed for the offence;
(b)	$1,000.

(2) On payment of the sum of money, no further proceedings are to be taken against that person in respect of the offence.

(3) The Minister may make regulations to prescribe the offences that may be compounded.

Exemption

11.—(1) The Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, exempt with or without conditions any person or class of persons from all or any of the provisions of this Act.

(2) The Minister may at any time revoke any such exemption, vary or revoke any existing conditions or impose new conditions.

Restriction on contracting out

11A. Any term of a contract of service or collective agreement is void insofar as it purports —

(a)	to exclude or limit the operation of any provision of this Act; or
(b)	to preclude any person from making a representation, a claim or an application under this Act.

Power to issue tripartite guidelines

11B. The Minister may issue guidelines relating to the re‑employment of eligible employees and the terms and conditions of re‑employment of eligible employees, in the form of tripartite guidelines, and upon the publication of such guidelines in the Gazette, regard may be had to the guidelines for the purposes of Part 3 and sections 8A, 8B and 8C of this Act and section 34 of the Industrial Relations Act 1960.

[21/2016]

Regulations

12.—(1) The Minister may make regulations for any purpose for which regulations may be made under this Act and for prescribing anything which may be prescribed and generally for the purpose of carrying this Act into effect.

(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the Minister may make regulations with respect to any of the following matters or for any of the following purposes:

(a)

for prescribing the procedure in respect of any proceedings under this Act;

(b)

for any incidental matters for which the Minister thinks it expedient to provide with a view to securing compliance of this Act;

(c)

for prescribing the form of the orders to be made under this Act;

(d)

for any provision of this Act that is applicable to the re‑employment of an employee to apply, with such modifications as may be specified in the regulations, to —

(i)	the renewal of a re‑employment contract; or
(ii)	the employment of an eligible employee by another employer as mentioned in section 7C(1)(b). [21/2016; 5/2017]

Saving of other written law

13. Nothing in this Act operates to relieve any employer of any duty or liability imposed upon the employer by the provisions of any other written law for the time being in force.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

Retirement and Re-employment Act 1993

This Legislative History is a service provided by the Law Revision Commission on a best-efforts basis. It is not part of the Act.

Act 14 of 1993—Retirement Age Act 1993

Bill

8/1993

First Reading

26 February 1993

Second and Third Readings

12 April 1993

Commencement

1 July 1993

1994 Revised Edition—Retirement Age Act (Chapter 274A)

Operation

15 March 1994

Act 49 of 1998—Retirement Age (Amendment) Act 1998

Bill

47/1998

First Reading

12 October 1998

Second and Third Readings

26 November 1998

Commencement

1 January 1999

2000 Revised Edition—Retirement Age Act (Chapter 274A)

Operation

1 July 2000

Act 4 of 2011—Retirement Age (Amendment) Act 2011

Bill

36/2010

First Reading

22 November 2010

Second and Third Readings

11 January 2011

Commencement

1 January 2012

Note:

The Retirement Age Act was renamed as the Retirement and Re‑employment Act by this Act.

2012 Revised Edition—Retirement and Re-employment Act (Chapter 274A)

Operation

30 September 2012

Act 1 of 2015—Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2015

(Amendments made by section 16(1) of the above Act)

Bill

41/2014

First Reading

3 November 2014

Second and Third Readings

19 January 2015

Commencement

1 April 2015 (section 16(1))

Act 21 of 2016—Employment Claims Act 2016

(Amendments made by section 41 of the above Act)

Bill

20/2016

First Reading

11 July 2016

Second and Third Readings

16 August 2016

Commencement

1 April 2017 (section 41)

Act 5 of 2017—Retirement and Re-employment (Amendment) Act 2017

Bill

36/2016

First Reading

7 November 2016

Second and Third Readings

9 January 2017

Commencement

1 July 2017

10.

Act 55 of 2018—Employment (Amendment) Act 2018

(Amendments made by section 28 of the above Act)

Bill

47/2018

First Reading

2 October 2018

Second Readings

20 November 2018

Notice of Amendments

20 November 2018

Third Reading

20 November 2018

Commencement

1 April 2019 (section 28)

11.

2020 Revised Edition—Retirement and Re-employment
Act 1993

Operation

31 December 2021

12.

Act 38 of 2021—Retirement and Re-employment (Amendment) Act 2021

Bill

35/2021

First Reading

4 October 2021

Second and Third Readings

2 November 2021

Commencement

1 July 2022

Abbreviations

(updated on 29 August 2022)

G.N.

Gazette Notification

G.N. Sp.

Gazette Notification (Special Supplement)

L.A.

Legislative Assembly

L.N.

Legal Notification (Federal/Malaysian)

Malaya/Malaysia (including Federated Malay States, Malayan Union, Federation of Malaya and Federation of Malaysia)

Parl.

Parliament

Subsidiary Legislation

S.I.

Statutory Instrument (United Kingdom)

S (N.S.)

Subsidiary Legislation (New Series)

S.S.G.G.

Straits Settlements Government Gazette

S.S.G.G. (E)

Straits Settlements Government Gazette (Extraordinary)

COMPARATIVE TABLE

Retirement and Re-employment Act 1993

This Act has undergone renumbering in the 2020 Revised Edition. This Comparative Table is provided to help readers locate the corresponding provisions in the last Revised Edition.

2020 Ed.

2012 Ed.

7C—(2)

7C—(1A)

(3)

(2)

(4)

(3)

(5)

(4)

(6)

(5)

(7)

(6)

(8)

(7)

8B—(8)

8B—(7A)

(9)

(8)

(10)

(9)

(11)

(10)

(12)

(11)

(13)

(12)

(14)

(13)

(15)

(14)

(16)

(15)

(17)

(16)

—

8C—(2) [Deleted by Act 21 of 2016]

8C—(2)

(3)

(4)

—

9—(2) [Deleted by Act 4 of 2011]

9—(2)

(3)

10—(2)

10—(1A)

(3)

(2)

13—(1)

—

(2) [Deleted by Act 5 of 2017]

—

(3) [Deleted by Act 5 of 2017]

[Omitted as having had effect]

(4)