Essential Vocabulary for Adults | Employment Contracts, Payslips, Leave & Workplace Rights

Workplace vocabulary matters most when a person is signing, being paid, taking leave or leaving a job.

An employee can understand every ordinary word in a contract and still miss the clause that controls notice, overtime, salary deductions or leave. This page teaches one hundred practical employment terms as adult-life literacy, not professional HR language.

This article is educational, not legal advice. Employment rules differ by worker category and can change. Singapore-specific examples should be checked against current Ministry of Manpower, CPF Board and TADM guidance.

Diagnosis Before the Vocabulary

• Contract failure: the employee knows the job title but not the written key terms.
• Payslip failure: gross salary, allowances, deductions and net salary are being blurred.
• Leave failure: entitlement, eligibility, approval and notice are being treated as the same thing.
• Exit failure: resignation, dismissal, termination and notice are being used loosely.
• Evidence failure: a dispute exists but records, payslips, messages or written notices are missing.

1–10 · Employment Relationship

1. Employer — the person or organisation that employs a worker.
2. Employee — a person working under a contract of service.
3. Contract of service — the agreement creating an employer–employee relationship.
4. Independent contractor — a self-employed service provider rather than an employee; legal classification depends on the actual relationship.
5. Permanent employee — an employee without a fixed end date, subject to contract terms.
6. Fixed-term employee — an employee whose contract is set to end on a specified date or event.
7. Part-time employee — an employee working fewer hours than the applicable full-time benchmark under the relevant rules.
8. Probation — an initial employment period used to assess suitability, subject to contract and law.
9. Job scope — the main duties and responsibilities attached to the role.
10. Place of work — the location or locations where work is expected to be performed.

11–20 · Key Employment Terms

11. Key Employment Terms (KETs) — written core employment information required for covered employees under Singapore rules.
12. Start date — the date employment begins.
13. Duration of employment — the period of a fixed-term arrangement.
14. Working hours — the agreed or regulated hours during which work is performed.
15. Working days — the days an employee is scheduled to work.
16. Rest day — a designated day without ordinary work under applicable rules.
17. Salary period — the period for which salary is calculated.
18. Basic salary — the core salary before allowances, overtime and other additional payments.
19. Allowance — an additional payment for a stated purpose or condition.
20. Deduction — an amount subtracted from salary for a permitted reason.

21–30 · Payslip and Salary Terms

21. Itemised payslip — a payslip showing required salary components, deductions and net salary.
22. Gross salary — salary before specified deductions.
23. Net salary — salary remaining after deductions.
24. Salary payment date — the date wages are paid.
25. Fixed allowance — a recurring allowance paid at a regular amount.
26. Ad-hoc allowance — an occasional or one-off allowance.
27. Bonus — an additional payment beyond basic salary, subject to contract or employer policy.
28. Incentive — payment linked to performance, output or another defined condition.
29. Overtime pay — payment for qualifying overtime under applicable rules and contract terms.
30. Salary deduction — subtraction from wages that must have a lawful or permitted basis.

31–40 · CPF and Wage Classification

31. CPF contribution — the employer and employee contributions paid to CPF Board under applicable rules.
32. Employer CPF contribution — the employer’s share of CPF contributions.
33. Employee CPF contribution — the employee’s share deducted from wages and paid to CPF Board.
34. Ordinary Wages (OW) — wages classified as ordinary wages under CPF rules, generally tied to employment in the month and payable by the specified deadline.
35. Additional Wages (AW) — wages that do not fall within the OW definition, such as many bonuses.
36. Ordinary Wage ceiling — the monthly wage cap on which OW CPF contributions are calculated.
37. Additional Wage ceiling — the annual cap governing CPF contributions on AW.
38. CPF contribution rate — the percentage of wages contributed, varying by age and status under current rules.
39. CPF allocation — distribution of contributions among CPF accounts under current rules.
40. CPF contribution statement — records showing contributions credited to the member’s CPF accounts.

41–50 · Leave and Time Away

41. Annual leave — paid leave for rest or personal time when eligibility conditions are met.
42. Sick leave — leave for illness under applicable medical-certification and eligibility rules.
43. Hospitalisation leave — leave for hospitalisation or qualifying medical circumstances under applicable rules.
44. Maternity leave — protected leave relating to childbirth under applicable legislation.
45. Paternity leave — leave for eligible fathers under current rules.
46. Shared parental leave — leave shared between eligible parents under the current statutory framework.
47. Childcare leave — leave for eligible parents caring for children under current rules.
48. No-pay leave — approved leave during which salary is not paid.
49. Leave entitlement — the amount of leave an employee is legally or contractually entitled to.
50. Leave approval — employer approval of when leave may be taken; entitlement and scheduling are not always the same issue.

51–60 · Working Time and Overtime

51. Normal hours of work — the ordinary scheduled hours stated by contract and applicable law.
52. Overtime — work performed beyond qualifying normal hours under applicable rules.
53. Overtime rate — the rate used to calculate qualifying overtime pay.
54. Overtime period — the period to which overtime work and payment relate.
55. Shift work — work organised into scheduled shifts across different time periods.
56. Break — a period during which the employee is not performing ordinary work.
57. Public holiday — a legally recognised holiday with employment consequences under applicable rules.
58. Rest-day pay — payment due when qualifying work is performed on a rest day.
59. Time-off — authorised time away from work, paid or unpaid depending on policy and law.
60. Flexible work arrangement — an approved variation in hours, location or pattern of work under employer and current tripartite arrangements.

61–70 · Performance and Conduct

61. Performance review — formal assessment of work performance.
62. Performance improvement plan — a structured plan setting out performance concerns, expectations and review points.
63. Misconduct — improper behaviour serious enough to trigger disciplinary processes under applicable rules and policy.
64. Inquiry — an investigation or hearing used to establish facts before disciplinary action where required.
65. Warning — formal notice of a performance or conduct concern.
66. Disciplinary action — formal action taken in response to misconduct or rule breaches.
67. Grievance — a complaint raised about workplace treatment, policy or conditions.
68. Harassment — unwanted conduct that may violate workplace rules or law.
69. Discrimination — unequal treatment on an improper or protected basis under the applicable framework.
70. Retaliation — adverse treatment because someone raised a concern, exercised a right or participated in a process.

71–80 · Resignation and Termination

71. Resignation — an employee’s decision to end the employment relationship.
72. Termination — ending the contract of service by either employer or employee.
73. Dismissal — termination initiated by the employer.
74. Notice period — the required period between written notice and the last day of employment.
75. Termination letter — written notice documenting the end of employment.
76. Last day of employment — the final day the employment relationship remains in force.
77. Salary in lieu of notice — payment equivalent to salary for the notice period not served.
78. Waiver of notice — mutual agreement to reduce or remove the requirement to serve notice.
79. Garden leave — a contractual arrangement where an employee remains employed but is not required to perform ordinary duties during part of the notice period.
80. Final salary — salary and applicable amounts due when employment ends.

81–90 · Disputes and Claims

81. Salary claim — a claim seeking unpaid or underpaid salary.
82. Wrongful dismissal — dismissal that is wrongful under the applicable legal framework.
83. TADM — the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management, which provides advisory and mediation services for employment disputes.
84. Mediation — a structured process in which a neutral mediator helps parties seek settlement.
85. Employment Claims Tribunals (ECT) — tribunals that adjudicate eligible employment claims after required processes.
86. Evidence — records used to establish salary, work, communication or disputed facts.
87. Recordkeeping — preserving payslips, contracts, messages, timesheets and other employment records.
88. Limitation period — the deadline within which a claim must be filed.
89. Settlement — an agreement resolving a dispute.
90. Adjudication — formal decision by a tribunal or authorised decision-maker.

91–100 · Everyday Rights and Responsibilities

91. Employment Act — Singapore’s main statute governing many employment rights and obligations.
92. Statutory entitlement — a right provided by law rather than only by employer policy.
93. Contractual entitlement — a right created by the employment contract.
94. Company policy — internal rules set by the employer, subject to applicable law and contract.
95. Workplace safety — duties and practices intended to protect people from work-related harm.
96. Reasonable instruction — a lawful work instruction within the employment relationship.
97. Confidentiality — duty to protect specified business or personal information.
98. Conflict of interest — a situation where personal interests may interfere with work duties.
99. Handover — transfer of responsibilities, information and work before departure or reassignment.
100. Acknowledgement — written confirmation that a notice, document or instruction was received.

Five Distinctions That Prevent Workplace Misreading

• Basic salary ≠ net salary: the payslip can include allowances, additional payments and deductions.
• Leave entitlement ≠ automatic approval of any date: the right to leave and the scheduling process are separate questions.
• Resignation ≠ employer permission: MOM states that an employer cannot reject a resignation where the employee follows the applicable notice rules.
• Notice period ≠ salary in lieu of notice: one is time served; the other is payment for time not served.
• Contract of service ≠ contract for service: employee status and independent contracting create different legal relationships.

Singapore Examples

MOM requires written Key Employment Terms for employees who meet the statutory conditions, including information such as job scope, working arrangements, salary, allowances, deductions, leave and notice period. Employers covered by the itemised-payslip requirements must show salary components, deductions, overtime information where applicable and net salary.

CPF Board currently distinguishes Ordinary Wages from Additional Wages and, from 1 January 2026, the CPF Ordinary Wage ceiling is $8,000. Current rates and ceilings should always be checked because they can change. MOM also distinguishes termination with notice from termination without notice and explains when salary in lieu of notice applies.

Connections eduKateAI Can Learn

Contract ↔ payslip: written salary terms should be traceable into actual payment records.

Wage type ↔ CPF treatment: ordinary and additional wages can attract different ceiling calculations.

Leave ↔ eligibility ↔ scheduling: entitlement exists within conditions and approval processes rather than as an isolated word.

Termination ↔ notice ↔ final salary: the end of employment connects timing, written notice, pay and recordkeeping.

Dispute ↔ evidence: a claim becomes easier to assess when documents preserve dates, amounts and communications.

Research & Reference Basis

• MOM: Key Employment Terms
• MOM: Itemised Payslips
• MOM: Termination with Notice
• MOM: Wrongful Dismissal
• CPF Board: Payments That Attract CPF Contributions
• CPF Board: CPF Contribution Rates

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