Fair Recruitment Practices for Employers in Singapore: Preparing for the Workplace Fairness Act

Singapore’s Workplace Fairness Act (WFA), expected to take effect by the end of 2027, will prohibit employers from making adverse employment decisions based on protected characteristics, for example, age, sex and marital status across all stages of employment. These include pre-employment decisions (e.g. hiring, such as making job offers or inviting candidates for interviews), in-employment decisions (e.g. performance appraisals and promotions), and end-employment decisions (e.g. dismissals).

Recruitment is the first stage where bias or unfairness can arise, sometimes unintentionally – for instance, through the phrasing of job advertisements or inconsistencies in the hiring process. It is therefore a key focus area for employers preparing for the WFA.

While end-2027 may seem distant, organisations should act early to adopt or strengthen fair recruitment practices. Reviewing policies, implementing consistent processes, and training those involved in hiring take time and sustained effort. Starting early not only reduces the risk of discriminatory decisions but also enhances employers’ ability to attract a wider talent pool.

Under the WFA, discrimination may arise where an employer:

• Makes employment decisions that adversely affect an individual based on a protected characteristic.
• Issues or communicates discriminatory instructions or policies relating to employment decisions based on a protected characteristic (e.g. a policy directing hiring managers to hire only men). 
• Publishes a job advertisement or description mentioning a protected characteristic as a requirement, advantage, disadvantage or disqualification for employment.

Employers do not need to start from scratch. For many employers, preparation may involve reviewing and refining existing practices to ensure hiring decisions are made consistently and based on objective, job-related criteria.

This article outlines practical steps employers can take across key stages of recruitment to strengthen practices in preparation for the WFA.

Defining Job Roles to Support Fair Recruitment Practices 

Recruitment decisions are more likely to become inconsistent or subjective when job roles and requirements are not clearly defined. This can make hiring decisions difficult to justify if challenged.

Conducting a job analysis helps employers develop a clear understanding of the role and its requirements. It also helps ensure that job advertisements and selection criteria are merit-based and support objective and transparent assessment of candidates.

Actions to take:

• Involve managers, supervisors and, where appropriate, employees familiar with the role to develop a clear understanding of the role and its requirements.
• Use a structured job analysis template to define tasks, qualifications, and other job requirements consistently across roles.

Reviewing Job Advertisements for Fair Hiring

Once the role duties and requirements are clearly defined, employers can use the details from the job analysis process to draft job advertisements that accurately reflect the role.

Clear and fair job advertisements are an important part of bias-free recruitment and help ensure candidates are assessed based on skills and job-related criteria.

Job advertisements should focus on job-related requirements and avoid words or phrases that may be discriminatory or unintentionally exclude suitable applicants. Common examples of potentially discriminatory phrases include specifying age requirements such as “Age 25 to 30 years old”, or requiring language proficiency such as “Proficiency in both written and spoken Chinese and English” without a clear job-related reason.

Actions to take: 

• Put in place a clear vetting and approval process before publishing job advertisements.
• Review all advertisements to remove non-job related or potentially discriminatory criteria, in line with the WFA and Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP). Protected characteristics should only be included where they are a genuine requirement of the job or where they are necessary to support national objectives.
• Ensure advertisements meet the requirements of the Fair Consideration Framework, including advertising on MyCareersFuture. 

Standardising Candidate Shortlisting and Assessment Processes 

Consistency is central to fair hiring. Applying the same job-related criteria throughout the hiring process helps ensure candidates are assessed consistently and objectively.

Actions to take:

• Review and update job application forms to collect only information relevant to assessing suitability for the role (e.g. skills, experience, and any legal or regulatory requirements for the role or industry). Personal details such as NRIC number and date of birth should generally be omitted and collected only at the point of the job offer.  
• When tests are used, administer them consistently to all candidates for the same role, and review them regularly to ensure they remain relevant and are not biased in content or scoring. Pre-placement tests or assessments that assess criteria unrelated to the role may unfairly screen out otherwise suitable candidates. For example, requiring candidates for an administrative role to complete a physically demanding fitness test that is unrelated to the job requirements. 
• Use an objective and consistent list of interview questions that are directly related to the selection criteria for the job (e.g. skills, knowledge, experience, etc.). 
• Provide interviewers with training on fair hiring, including TGFEP and WFA obligations, and use evaluation forms to support consistent and objective assessment. Where possible, consider using an interview panel with a mix of age, gender and experience to provide multiple perspectives and reduce bias in the interview process.

Why Is Keeping Recruitment Records Important?

Employers may face difficulty substantiating how hiring decisions were made if proper recruitment records are not maintained, particularly where decisions are challenged or reviewed.

Clear documentation helps employers demonstrate that hiring decisions are merit-based and not influenced by non-job related factors. It also enables employers to review whether shortlisting criteria have been applied consistently across candidates.

Actions to take:

• Maintain records of interviews, assessment results, and hiring decisions for each recruitment exercise for at least one year.
• Store records securely to support transparency, audit needs and compliance with relevant guidelines and laws. 

How Can Employers Ensure Fairness at the Job Offer Stage?

Fair recruitment extends to the job offer stage. Employers should prepare clear and comprehensive job offers that set out key employment terms such as salary, benefits, responsibilities and start date. 

Clear employment terms help set expectations, reduce misunderstandings and allow candidates to clarify any concerns, increasing the likelihood of acceptance.

Actions to take:

• Ensure that employment terms and conditions comply with the Employment Act and other relevant employment-related requirements.
• Base salary offers and employment terms on clear and consistent frameworks to support equity. 
• Provide candidates with sufficient time and opportunity to clarify and consider the terms and conditions of the offer before acceptance.
• Conduct periodic reviews and benchmarking to help maintain fairness and consistency across the organisation.

Fair recruitment is a key priority for employers preparing for the WFA. By taking deliberate steps across each stage of recruitment and putting clear hiring policies in place, organisations can establish fair, consistent and defensible recruitment practices while strengthening overall readiness for the WFA. 

For more resources on fair recruitment in preparation for the WFA, employers may refer to the ‘Fair Recruitment and Selection Handbook’ , the ‘Introduction to Fair Hiring’ e-learning course, and other resources on TAFEP’s one-stop resource page on workplace fairness at tafep.sg.