How to Solve Problems in Singapore | Work Injury, WICA Compensation and Medical Leave Pay

If you are injured while working in Singapore, get appropriate medical treatment and inform your employer or supervisor as soon as possible. Tell the treating doctor how the incident happened and that it occurred during work. Keep your medical certificates, medical bills, incident records and any messages reporting the injury. Under Singapore’s Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA), eligible employees may receive medical leave wages, payment of work-injury medical expenses and, where appropriate, lump-sum compensation for permanent incapacity.

Do not assume that ordinary paid sick leave, a work injury claim and a civil lawsuit are the same process. MOM says WICA offers a generally lower-cost alternative to a common-law compensation lawsuit, and a claimant ordinarily cannot recover for the same injury through both routes. For accidents since September 2020, the employer’s notification normally starts the WICA claims process rather than requiring every injured employee to submit a fresh conventional application independently.

This guide explains what to do immediately, when employers must report the incident, how medical leave wages differ from ordinary salary, which workers are covered, what to do if payment is withheld and how to challenge a work injury assessment within the relevant deadline. It is intended to help workers and families navigate the procedure—not to diagnose an injury or predict the result of a claim.

Quick answer: eight steps after a workplace injury

Protect health first. Obtain medical attention, and call the appropriate emergency service for severe injury, danger or life-threatening symptoms.
Tell your supervisor or employer promptly. Give the date, location, task and an accurate account of how the incident happened.
Tell the doctor it happened at work. Explain the mechanism and all relevant symptoms, without exaggerating or hiding any condition.
Keep the records. Preserve medical certificates (MCs), bills, reports, photographs, witness details and written employer correspondence.
Check the employer’s incident report. For an accident causing medical leave or light duties, the employer generally has a reporting duty to MOM.
Claim the appropriate WICA benefits. These can include medical leave wages, work-injury medical expenses and, for qualifying cases, lump-sum compensation.
Alert MOM if the employer refuses required payment or reporting. Do not assume an insurer’s delay excuses the employer from its immediate obligations.
Read any Notice of Assessment or Notice of Computation carefully. MOM generally allows only 14 days to object.

Start with MOM — How Employees Claim Work Injury Compensation.

Step 1 — Separate an immediate medical emergency from claim administration

A workplace incident can involve falls, machinery, road traffic, chemical exposure, lifting injuries or other hazards. Someone who is seriously injured needs clinical attention before paperwork, compensation calculations or conversations about fault.

Stop unsafe activity and seek appropriate first aid or medical assistance. In a serious emergency, call 995 and follow the emergency responder’s instructions. Do not move a person with a suspected serious injury unnecessarily or attempt a hazardous rescue without training.

After immediate care is arranged, inform the employer through a retrievable channel. A prompt factual report protects the record, but it should never delay emergency treatment.

If a doctor prescribes medical leave or light duty, follow that advice and keep the supporting document. Do not return to hazardous work simply because the supervisor wants the claim to disappear.

Step 2 — Tell the employer what actually happened

A useful report contains the incident date and time, place, work task, equipment or activity, description of the injury, witnesses and medical attention received. The aim is an accurate record, not a long argument about who should be blamed.

For example: “At approximately 10.20 am I slipped while moving equipment in the loading area and injured my left ankle. I informed [supervisor] and attended [clinic]. The doctor issued three days of medical leave.” Add other relevant facts and supporting documentation where available.

If the incident involved another vehicle, keep appropriate information about the vehicle and any Police or insurer report. If the issue involves suspected workplace exposure to a chemical or biological agent, tell the clinician and employer the nature of that exposure.

Do not alter the date, describe an incident as work-related when it was wholly personal, or omit facts that matter to eligibility. Correct classification and medical documentation make the process more reliable.

Step 3 — Who is covered under WICA?

MOM says WICA covers most employees working under a contract of service or apprenticeship, regardless of age, citizenship or salary. It covers Singapore citizens, permanent residents and foreign employees who meet the applicable conditions.

MOM lists exclusions for independent contractors and self-employed persons, domestic workers and certain uniformed personnel. An employee’s occupation alone does not settle every issue; the legal employment relationship matters.

Separate WICA rules also provide coverage for eligible platform delivery and ride-hail workers for specified work-related activities from 1 January 2025. Platform-worker eligibility and earnings calculations differ from those for an ordinary employee, so use the correct MOM guidance for that arrangement.

See MOM — Who Is Covered Under WICA and MOM — Platform Worker Work Injury Compensation.

Step 4 — Understand what “work-related” actually means

WICA generally concerns an accident arising out of and in the course of employment. It can include certain business trips, approved work-from-home activities or journeys performed for work.

But not every accident while travelling to work is covered. MOM’s examples distinguish ordinary travel from home to work on public transport or in a personal vehicle from certain employer-provided transport and journeys undertaken during work for a work purpose.

Similarly, an injury while performing assigned duties at home may qualify under an approved flexible work arrangement, while a personal household chore during the same day may not.

The facts, timing and purpose of the activity matter. If you are unsure, report the actual incident and seek MOM guidance instead of assuming eligibility or non-eligibility based on location alone.

Official reference: MOM — Eligible Work Injury Claims and Examples.

Step 5 — When must the employer report the injury?

MOM states that employers must report work-related accidents involving an employee’s death or a work injury resulting in medical leave, hospitalisation leave or light duty. For qualifying non-fatal accidents, the employer generally submits an incident report within 10 days from the date the employer was first notified.

Employees should tell their employer about the injury and each subsequent medical certificate promptly. If the employer does not make the required report, MOM says employees may also provide information through the relevant incident-reporting service to help with disputes.

A worker does not have to prove the employer was careless before reporting an injury. WICA generally operates as a no-fault compensation system for eligible injuries, although the actual work-relatedness and statutory conditions must still be established.

Keep a copy of your notification so the timing and contents can be verified later.

Step 6 — What can you claim under WICA?

MOM identifies three broad categories of work injury compensation:

Medical leave wages for relevant working days when a medical professional grants medical leave, hospitalisation leave or qualifying light duties.
Medical expenses for treatment related to the work accident, within the applicable limits.
Lump-sum compensation where the accident causes qualifying permanent or current incapacity, or death.

Not every accident results in all three categories. A minor injury with temporary medical leave may involve wages and medical bills but no lump-sum incapacity compensation.

The amount and eligibility can depend on earnings, the dates of the injury and treatment, medical assessment and the type of claim. Do not use an arbitrary internet calculator as proof of what an insurer must pay.

See MOM — Types of Compensation Under WICA.

Step 7 — Understand medical leave wages

WICA medical leave wages are calculated with reference to average monthly earnings (AME), which may differ from an employee’s current basic salary. MOM says AME generally reflects earnings over the relevant preceding period, including some components such as overtime or bonuses, while excluding certain allowances or reimbursements.

MOM’s published framework provides full AME for qualifying outpatient medical leave or light duty up to the first 14 days. For qualifying hospitalisation leave, the full AME applies up to the first 60 days. Subsequent eligible medical leave or hospitalisation leave may generally be paid at two-thirds of AME, within the maximum period of one year after the accident.

These are statutory compensation calculations, not a guarantee that a person receives their ordinary full salary for an entire year. The treatment category, working-day rules, light-duty treatment and actual earnings record matter.

MOM says medical leave wages must be paid by the employer by the next salary payday.

Does work-injury leave reduce ordinary paid sick leave?

MOM distinguishes medical leave compensation under WICA from paid sick leave under the Employment Act. An employer should not simply deduct WICA-covered work-injury leave from the employee’s ordinary statutory sick-leave entitlement.

This is particularly important when a worker has already used some ordinary sick leave earlier in the year. The existence of a limited ordinary sick-leave balance does not automatically remove their WICA rights for a qualifying workplace injury.

A medical certificate for a personal, unrelated illness is a different matter. Keep records clear enough to distinguish the work injury from ordinary medical leave.

See MOM — Work Injury Leave and Ordinary Sick Leave.

Step 8 — Who pays the medical bills?

MOM explains that the employer is required to pay qualifying work-injury medical expenses under the applicable WICA limits. The employer should generally pay the clinic or hospital directly or reimburse an employee who has paid first, subject to the relevant requirements.

For accidents from 1 November 2025, MOM lists a maximum of S$53,000 in qualifying medical expenses or treatment received within one year from the accident, whichever limit is reached first. Earlier accidents can have different limits, including S$45,000 for accidents before that date under the preceding schedule.

The limit does not mean every expense on every invoice is payable. It applies to qualifying treatment related to the injury, subject to the statutory rules. A private service or unrelated treatment may require review.

Save original invoices, payment records, referrals, clinical reports and medical certificates. If the employer asks you to pay first, keep the records needed for prompt reimbursement.

Step 9 — What if the employer says the insurer has not paid?

This is a common source of confusion. MOM states that the employer must pay the employee’s qualifying medical leave wages and medical expenses first, even if it is still waiting for reimbursement or another payment from its insurer.

The employer’s insurance arrangement is not an automatic reason to postpone every employee payment indefinitely. Ask the employer for a written explanation of what is owed, the due date and what has already been submitted.

If the employer does not pay required wages or medical costs, MOM instructs the injured employee to alert the ministry. The claim status, insurer’s role and the employer’s immediate payment responsibility are related but distinct.

For a foreign worker who faces additional problems involving accommodation, food or pressure to leave Singapore with an outstanding claim, MOM publishes separate guidance and support avenues.

Step 10 — What if the employer did not report the accident?

Keep the facts and report history in writing. Ask the employer whether an iReport was filed, and retain the incident reference if supplied.

MOM says an injured employee may provide information using the incident-reporting service when the employer fails to report or a dispute arises about whether the incident was work-related. Use the official MOM reporting guidance and contact channels for the correct procedure.

Do not create a new incident with a changed date merely to overcome a reporting delay. An accurate explanation of when the employer was informed and what medical records exist is more useful.

If a supervisor discouraged reporting, preserve relevant messages and seek assistance through a legitimate official channel.

What if you have already left the employer?

MOM says a person may remain eligible under WICA even after leaving the employment or after cancellation of a work pass, subject to the statutory conditions and timing.

A work injury does not necessarily disappear as a claim merely because the employee was later retrenched, resigned or was terminated. The previous employer’s obligations may continue for compensation related to the earlier work accident.

However, medical leave wages can be affected by employment changes and whether the employee starts another job. MOM publishes specific rules for the treatment of leave and expenses after termination.

Do not rely on a general statement that “former employees have no rights” or that “the previous employer must keep paying my ordinary salary forever”. Read the actual compensation rules.

What if the injury happened while working from home?

MOM recognises that some accidents during employer-approved flexible work arrangements can be work-related. The deciding question is what activity the worker was performing when the accident occurred.

For example, an injury while carrying out agreed work duties at a home workstation may be treated differently from one that happens during personal cooking or cleaning unrelated to employment.

Record the work task, time, equipment and employer’s flexible work arrangement. Do not assume that being physically inside the home automatically excludes WICA or that every activity during work hours is covered.

Platform riders and drivers: a separate 2025 expansion

From 1 January 2025, qualifying platform delivery and ride-hail workers receive WICA protection for defined pick-up and delivery tasks. MOM’s guidance distinguishes time spent performing a platform assignment from waiting between tasks or undertaking personal errands.

Platform workers can claim eligible medical expenses, income loss compensation and lump-sum compensation, subject to the rules. Their earnings calculation uses average daily earnings and applicable expense deduction assumptions rather than the same ordinary employee payroll formula in every case.

If you were injured while performing a platform task, keep screenshots or records showing the job status, pick-up or drop-off location, timestamps and relevant operator. Notify the platform operator and follow its claim process.

Do not assume every traffic accident while logged into an app is covered; the precise task stage can matter.

Step 11 — What happens with permanent incapacity?

Where an injury has lasting effects, MOM or the designated insurer may arrange medical assessment of the relevant impairment. The claimant may receive a Notice of Assessment (NOA) or Notice of Computation (NOC) showing how the compensation is calculated.

A lump-sum amount depends on statutory factors such as average earnings, age and the assessed degree of incapacity, along with minimum and maximum limits. It is not automatically calculated by multiplying months of medical leave by salary.

Follow the medical assessment appointments and supply relevant documents. A worker who misses required follow-up or does not understand the notice should ask the insurer or MOM for a clear explanation promptly.

Step 12 — The 14-day objection deadline

MOM’s work injury dispute guide says the employee, employer or insurer may generally object within 14 days from the date of the NOA or NOC.

Objections can concern the medical assessment of permanent incapacity, whether the injury was work-related or whether the average monthly earnings figure was correct. The process and documents differ depending on what is contested.

Do not wait for a long informal discussion to finish before checking the statutory objection period. Note the date on the notice and use the official Management of Work Injury Compensation Claims service or other prescribed channel.

An objection may require medical review or supporting evidence, and it does not guarantee a higher compensation figure.

Step 13 — Understand WICA versus a civil lawsuit

WICA is intended to provide an alternative to a common-law damages claim for the same work injury. MOM says claimants must choose between the statutory WICA compensation route and a common-law claim; they cannot obtain double recovery for the same injury.

Common-law proceedings can involve separate questions of liability and damages, legal expenses, court procedure and proof. The statutory system has its own compensation formulas and limits.

Before withdrawing a WICA claim or starting another process, read MOM’s WICA versus Common Law comparison and seek appropriate legal advice where the financial or medical consequences are significant.

Do not sign a withdrawal or full-settlement document without understanding its implications for your rights and the insurer’s or employer’s obligations.

Step 14 — Make a practical evidence folder

A useful work-injury record should include:

Incident date, time, location and work task.
Supervisor or employer notification and any incident reference.
Names of witnesses and available photographs, where safe to obtain.
Medical certificates, consultation notes and discharge documents.
Medical bills, receipts and proof of reimbursements.
Payslips and earnings records relevant to AME calculations.
Written employer or insurer communications.
Claim status and medical assessment documents.
The date any NOA or NOC was received, together with objection instructions.

Keep copies securely. Do not upload sensitive health documents into public forums or send them to an unverified agent promising a guaranteed payout.

Worked example: an injured warehouse employee

Fictional worker Daniel slips while moving stock and injures his wrist. He tells the supervisor, sees a doctor and receives medical leave. He keeps a photograph of the area, his MC and the clinic receipt.

The employer files the appropriate incident report and pays eligible medical leave wages and medical expenses under the WICA process. Daniel monitors the claim and attends any necessary follow-up.

He does not have to prove that a manager deliberately caused the fall before beginning the statutory claim. Whether the injury qualifies depends on the actual work-related facts.

Worked example: a delayed medical payment

Fictional employee Mei has paid for several work-injury clinic visits but her employer says reimbursement must wait for the insurance company. She keeps the receipts and asks payroll for a written response.

MOM’s guidance says employers must pay the qualifying expenses and medical leave wages first, then seek insurance reimbursement as applicable. Mei contacts MOM when the employer continues to refuse required payment.

Her case shows the difference between the injured worker’s entitlement and the employer’s arrangements with its insurer.

Worked example: a rider injured during a platform task

Fictional delivery rider Aisha is injured while travelling to the assigned pick-up location. She records the time and incident details, seeks medical attention and preserves the platform order record showing the task stage.

She notifies the operator and follows the platform-worker WICA process. The relevant insurer and authorities review whether the accident falls within the qualifying task period and what compensation is due.

The outcome is not determined merely by the fact that she used a delivery app; the specific work activity and evidence matter.

Worked example: an inaccurate assessment notice

Fictional employee Ravi receives an NOA that he believes omits an injury site documented by the doctor. He checks the notice date and the medical reports immediately.

MOM’s FAQ says a claimant who believes an injury part was omitted must raise an objection within 14 days and supply supporting documentation. Ravi uses the official process instead of sending repeated informal messages until the window expires.

This illustrates why the date of the final claim notice is as important as the accident date.

Mistakes that can harm a work injury claim

Delaying medical attention in a serious injury.
Failing to tell the employer when and how the injury occurred.
Losing medical certificates and original receipts without retaining copies.
Describing a personal errand as a work task or concealing relevant facts.
Allowing an employer to treat statutory work-injury medical leave as ordinary sick leave automatically.
Assuming the insurer must pay before the employer owes medical leave wages.
Ignoring the incident-reporting duty after an MC or light-duty order.
Assuming loss of employment cancels an existing injury entitlement.
Missing the 14-day objection window for an assessment or computation notice.
Pursuing WICA and common-law compensation without understanding the election rules.

Frequently asked questions

Who can claim WICA in Singapore?

Most local and foreign employees working under qualifying employment arrangements, with statutory exclusions. Eligible platform workers have a separate WICA regime.

Must my employer report every work injury?

MOM requires reporting for relevant incidents, including non-fatal work accidents resulting in medical leave, hospitalisation leave or light duty. The employer’s timing rules apply.

Do I need a lawyer to make a WICA claim?

MOM says a lawyer is not required to file a WICA claim. Individual legal advice may still be useful for complex disputes or considering common-law options.

Is WICA medical leave the same as ordinary sick leave?

No. WICA has separate compensation rules, and applicable work-injury leave should not simply reduce ordinary paid sick-leave entitlements.

How much of my wages are paid during work-injury medical leave?

MOM uses average monthly earnings and statutory categories. Full AME generally applies for the initial eligible outpatient or hospitalisation leave, with two-thirds rates for later qualifying periods.

Does the employer need to reimburse clinic bills?

For eligible work-injury medical expenses, yes, within WICA rules and limits. MOM says the employer must pay required expenses even while awaiting insurer reimbursement.

What is the medical-expense limit for a 2026 work accident?

MOM lists S$53,000 for qualifying medical expenses from accidents on or after 1 November 2025, or within the one-year treatment period, whichever limit is reached first.

Can I still claim if I was retrenched after the accident?

Potentially yes. MOM says employment ending or work pass cancellation does not automatically cancel WICA eligibility.

How long do I have to object to a WICA assessment?

MOM states that objections to a NOA or NOC generally must be lodged within 14 days of the notice.

Can I make a WICA claim and sue for the same injury?

MOM explains that the statutory and common-law routes are alternatives, and double recovery for the same injury is not permitted.