Seek Help on Workplace Harassment
(Affected Individuals)

What to do if it happens to you.

Why Seeking Help on Workplace Harassment Is Important

Workplace harassment poses a risk to your health and safety, and may affect your ability to work. Seeking help means taking charge of your personal safety, health and wellbeing at the workplace, contributing to a safe and conducive environment for all to carry out their work without fear of being harassed.

Contact TAFEP for advice and assistance

If you have experienced harassment at the workplace, contact the TAFEP Workplace Harassment Resource and Recourse Centre and talk to us.

We are here to listen and advise you on possible actions that you can take. This could include tapping on your organisation’s internal grievance handling and workplace harassment management procedures, and seeking emotional support or counselling through other avenues. All cases are treated with strict confidentiality.

Where you would like TAFEP’s help to seek recourse, we will contact your employer to ask that they carry out an investigation (e.g. interviews with affected parties and witnesses, review of documented evidence) in a sensitive way with due regard to the confidentiality of the matter, and address your concerns. TAFEP will also require your employer to put in place policies and procedures to prevent future incidents of workplace harassment. 

If you are a self-employed person and have experienced harassment while working for your client, you can also approach TAFEP for advice and assistance.

Harassment within or outside the workplace may also be an offence under the Protection from Harassment Act (POHA).

Note: Enacted in 2014, the POHA protects people from harassment and related anti-social behaviours, whether committed in the physical world or online. It also provides a range of civil remedies and criminal sanctions for the victim.

What You Can Do

Seek Help Immediately

If you encountered workplace harassment, you should immediately:

  • File a report with TAFEP, or call 6838 0969 for advice. We will assist you and provide advice on the appropriate actions you can take and the avenues for support.
  • Make an online police report for possible violations under the Protection from Harassment Act (POHA). Alternatively, you may visit a police station to make your police report.
  • Make an appeal to the Ministry of Manpower if you were dismissed or your employment was terminated due to the harassment or your reporting of harassment to the management or authority. With effect from 1 April 2019, you can also file a wrongful dismissal claim at the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) .


Protect Yourself

Consider these tips to avoid harassment:

  • Keep your distance from anyone who exhibits unacceptable social behaviour. If this is not possible, stay alert and look for escape routes if need be.
  • Show confidence in your body language so you do not appear vulnerable.
  • Adopt a buddy system in situations where personal safety may be compromised.
  • Be familiar with workplace harassment-related policy and procedures in your organisation.
  • Call for help using pre-arranged distress signals or a personal duress system (safety alarm) if your safety is compromised.
  • Report potential cases to your management immediately.

If you are unable to leave and your harasser continues his or her actions:

 
  • Tell the harasser assertively to stop his or her unreasonable behaviour.
  • Warn the harasser that you will report the event to a higher authority or to the organisation's management.
  • Summon help from anyone, especially security or management personnel who is around.
  • Keep evidence of wrongdoing in any format (e.g. photographs, screenshots, messages, or recordings).


Seek Help From Your Organisation

If you are a victim of workplace harassment, report the incident immediately to your supervisor, HR personnel or someone on the management team, so that they can intervene promptly to ensure your well-being.

If your organisation has an in-company peer support programme or engaged a service provider for employees, you can seek emotional support from them.


Seek Help From NTUC (Union Members)

If you are a union member, you may approach NTUC for assistance and related resources via:

NTUC Workplace Advisory
An online service offering members advice and help on workplace and employment-related issues
U PME Centre
A one-stop workplace advisory centre for professionals, managers and executives (PMEs) who are NTUC union members


Seek Civil Remedies

You may seek civil remedies from your harasser by:

Find out about the types of cases the PHC can hear and check if your case is eligible.

For non-sexual harassment harassment cases, you may approach the Community Mediation Centre (CMC) if you would like to resolve the issue with your harasser through mediation.

Seek Legal Advice

If you decide to seek civil remedies or criminal sanctions, you may seek legal advice from the following sources:

Where to go Services provided
Community Justice Centre (CJC)
  • One-time 20-minute free legal guidance.
  • Basic legal services geared towards settlement based on a fixed fee. See Primary Justice Project (PDF) for more information.
  • If you need to attend court trials, a volunteer to provide confidence, information on basic court processes, practical guidance on non-legal issues and emotional support. See Friends of Litigant-in-Person (FLiP) for more information.
Community Legal Clinics Free basic legal advice including a one-to-one 20-minute consultation with a lawyer. The service is only for qualifying Singaporeans and Permanent Residents who cannot afford or do not have access to a lawyer.
LegalHelp A free legal forum where anyone may pose questions to a network of supporting lawyers or other members of the public on the forum for guidance.

 

Seek Social and Emotional Support

If you experience distress or anxiety due to harassment, you may consider counselling services for social and emotional support.

Where Contact information
Family Services Centre (FSCs) Use the e-locator to find the nearest FSC.
Health Promotion Board (HPB) Healthline
 Tel: 1800 223 1313
SOS Singapore 

Tel:1-767
Email: pat@sos.org.sg
Text Messaging: m.me/SamaritansofSingapore
IMH Mental Health Helpline 
 Tel: 6389 2222
Sexual Assault Care Centre (SACC) at AWARE

 Tel: 6779 0282
Email: sacc@aware.org.sg

 

What to Do If You Witness Harassment

Without compromising your own safety, try to stop the harassment by:

  • Approaching the victim to provide support.
  • Distracting the harasser or seeking help from others.
  • Calling out the undesirable behaviour.
  • Alerting and seeking help from management or security personnel.

If the incident has already happened, you may:

  • Accompany the victim to inform the management, or alert the management personally of the incident.
  • Advise the victim to lodge a police report.
  • Share evidence such as documents, photographs and video recordings if available.

If your organisation does not have a policy to manage harassment, you may:

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