Singapore MOM Overtime Pay Rules: 2026 Employer's Guide
Who is covered by Part IV?
Part IV of Singapore's Employment Act sets out rest days, hours of work, and overtime. It covers:
- Workmen (mainly manual labour) earning a basic monthly salary of up to S$4,500.
- Non-workmen (other employees covered by the Act) earning a basic monthly salary of up to S$2,600.
Managers and executives, and employees earning above these thresholds, are not covered by the overtime provisions — employers may still choose to offer overtime contractually.
The overtime rate
Overtime work must be paid at at least 1.5 times the hourly basic rate of pay. This applies to work beyond the normal daily hours on a working day.
How to calculate hourly basic pay
For a monthly-rated employee on a 44-hour week, a widely used formula is:
Overtime pay per hour = 1.5 × hourly basic rate
Example: an employee with S$2,400 basic on a 44-hour week has an hourly basic rate of (12 × 2,400) ÷ (52 × 44) ≈ S$12.59, so each overtime hour is about S$18.88.
The salary-cap nuance for overtime
When an employee's basic salary sits near the cap, overtime is computed on the capped salary, not the full salary. This is a frequent source of payroll disputes and is one reason employers move to software that encodes the MOM rules and thresholds as configurable parameters.
Overtime limits and rest days
- An employee can generally work up to 72 hours of overtime a month.
- Work on a rest day or public holiday is paid under separate rules, not the ordinary 1.5× overtime rate.
Overtime the MOM way, without the spreadsheets — MeritHRMS
MeritHRMS is built for Singapore's Employment Act. It encodes Part IV as configurable settings — the workman and non-workman thresholds, the 1.5x rate, and the hourly-basic formula — with five overtime modes to match how you actually pay. It computes overtime per employee, splits cross-month items by calendar month, and links approved leave to deductions, then produces payslips and CPF files ready to submit. When MOM revises a threshold, you change a setting, not your payroll logic. Book a demo to see it on your own numbers.
Frequently asked questions
Who is entitled to overtime pay in Singapore?
Under the Employment Act Part IV, overtime applies to non-workmen earning up to S$2,600 basic monthly salary and workmen earning up to S$4,500. Above these caps, overtime is not legally required.
What is the overtime pay rate?
Overtime must be paid at at least 1.5 times the employee's hourly basic rate of pay.
How do you calculate the hourly basic rate?
A common formula is (12 × monthly basic salary) ÷ (52 × 44) for a 44-hour work week, giving the hourly basic rate used for overtime.
Is there a limit on overtime hours?
An employee can generally work up to 72 hours of overtime in a month.
How does MeritHRMS handle overtime calculations?
MeritHRMS ships five configurable overtime modes mapped to Employment Act Part IV, with the S$2,600 and S$4,500 thresholds as settings. It derives the hourly basic rate and 1.5x overtime automatically, splits cross-month overtime by calendar month, and — when MOM updates a threshold — you change a setting rather than your payroll formulas.
This article is general information for Singapore employers, not legal, tax, or accounting advice. Rules and rates can change — verify against CPF Board, IRAS, and MOM, or speak to a professional. MeritHRMS is compliance tooling that helps you apply these rules, not a substitute for advice.