Payday came and went, and then "next week" did too. The money home is late because yours is, and someone has told you that complaining will cost you the job.
Singapore built a door for this: a TADM salary claim, filed by you, for a small fee, with no promise of the result.
What TADM is, and who can file
The Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) is where a salary or wrongful dismissal claim starts. Set up in 2017 by the Ministry of Manpower, the National Trades Union Congress and the Singapore National Employers Federation, it gives advice and mediation, MOM says.
The Employment Act covers foreign as well as local employees, apart from the groups named below; the passes themselves are in how Filipinos come to work in Singapore. TADM takes a salary-related employment claim or a wrongful dismissal claim from any employee except seafarers, domestic workers, statutory board employees and civil servants. Union members should ask their union or NTUC's Workplace Advisory Service.
Domestic workers, a different door. If you are a domestic worker, TADM and the Courts point you to MOM's helpline, 1800 339 5505 (weekdays only). Only certain statutory claims, such as maternity benefits, still go to TADM.
When late pay becomes a dispute
Under the Employment Act, salary must be paid at least once a month and within 7 days after the salary period ends, and MOM states that non-payment is an offence. MOM's first advice: raise it with your employer.
Leaving your job? MOM notes that employers must hold a foreign employee's monies for tax clearance for up to 30 days after notifying the tax authority.
TADM requires written documents to back a claim. If we could hand you one habit, it is keeping your contract, payslips and messages: the folder that proves what you are owed also carries you to your next contract.
How to file a TADM salary claim, step by step
You file a claim yourself, online, with Singpass; TADM says it can be done within 20 minutes with your documents ready.
- Singpass. Its registration guide lists Foreign Identification Number (FIN) holders aged 15 and over.
- Documents. Your contract or key employment terms, salary payment records, CPF statements where available, time records, and messages with your employer.
- The form. On the eService, you file the employment claim with your employer's company details, your work dates and pay.
- The fee. As listed in October 2026: S$10 per claim if the amount is $10,000 or less, $20 above that, inclusive of GST and non-refundable. Pay within 3 days, online by card or eNETS or at a service-centre kiosk, never in cash, or the filing is purged.
- Next. An email follows within 3 working days of payment, and your employer is notified.
Making an appointment
To make an appointment with TADM, use the Ask TADM chatbot: visits are by appointment only; walk-ins are given another day, unless your deadline is under a week away, when an exception may be made. The centre at MOM's Services Centre, 1500 Bendemeer Road, lists stay and work-pass-related services for work pass holders.
The time limits and the claim limit
As published in October 2026:
- A salary claim: within 1 year after the dispute arose if you are still employed, or within 6 months of your last day if you have left. Either way, only the year before you file counts.
- A wrongful dismissal claim: within 1 month of your last day.
- Up to $20,000 per claim, or $30,000 if your union files.
- A salary claim and a wrongful dismissal claim together: up to $40,000, or $60,000 through a union, each within its own limit.
Above the limit, you give up the excess to settle or to reach the ECT. MOM's advice: file early, before the amount builds.
What happens at TADM mediation
Most cases start with e-Negotiation, about a week online. If that fails, a mediator holds online or in-person sessions of up to 3 hours, sometimes more than one; TADM estimates the process at about 8 weeks.
Only the employee, employer and mediator take part: no lawyers, family or friends. Miss your session and the case is discontinued; if the employer misses theirs, you may go to the Tribunals.
If you agree, a settlement agreement may be issued, which you can register with the ECT as a binding order within 4 weeks, for $10 (October 2026). If payment does not come, you can apply to enforce it, and MOM may act against employers who fail to pay.
When mediation fails: the Employment Claims Tribunals
The Employment Claims Tribunals (ECT) of the State Courts hear a case only after TADM mediation and a claim referral certificate from the mediator. File each employment claim separately within 4 weeks of the certificate, online through the Courts' CJTS: $30 per claim up to $10,000 and $60 above (October 2026).
Lawyers cannot represent either side; the tribunal will try to arrange an interpreter in a language you choose.
If you were dismissed
A wrongful dismissal claim is for dismissal without just or sufficient cause, such as discrimination or punishment for seeking help from TADM. It excludes dismissal for misconduct, poor performance or redundancy where contractual notice was served or paid in lieu. If you accept the dismissal but were never paid notice, file for salary in lieu of notice instead.
Protecting yourself, and help from home
TADM will never ask for bank log-in details or a money transfer over the phone; if in doubt, call ScamShield on 1799. Every fee here goes to TADM or the Courts, and you file under your own Singpass, so be wary of anyone who wants paying to file for you.
If a Philippine agency is part of the problem, the DMW complaint is a separate road. The Philippine Embassy in Singapore announced in 2023 that from 1 July that year, the Migrant Workers Office there assists OFWs in distress, including in legal cases.
Before You File: A Checklist
- Singpass working
- Contract, payslips, CPF statements and messages in one folder
- Your dates: first payday missed, last day of work
- The amount, checked against the limit
- The fee ready to pay within 3 days
The Questions Filipinos Ask Us Most
Is there a TADM contact number?
TADM's contact page points to its chatbot, an online form and appointments.
What if my salary is delayed in the Philippines?
This process is for work in Singapore; a job in the Philippines falls under Philippine labour rules instead.
Sources
Read 5 October 2026:
- TADM, filing a claim: https://www.tal.sg/tadm/eservices/employees-file-employment-claim
- TADM, mediation guide: https://www.tal.sg/tadm/mediation-guide-3
- TADM, contact us: https://www.tal.sg/tadm/contact-us
- Ministry of Manpower, employment disputes: https://www.mom.gov.sg/employment-practices/managing-employment-disputes
- Ministry of Manpower, paying salary: https://www.mom.gov.sg/employment-practices/salary/paying-salary
- Ministry of Manpower, Employment Act: https://www.mom.gov.sg/employment-practices/employment-act/who-is-covered
- Singapore Courts, employment claims: https://www.judiciary.gov.sg/civil/file-employment-claim
- Singapore Courts, filing and serving: https://www.judiciary.gov.sg/civil/how-to-file-serve-employment-claim
- Singpass registration guide: https://portal.singpass.gov.sg/home/ui/assets/pdf/Singpass_Registration_Guide.pdf
- Philippine Embassy in Singapore, AD-029-2023: https://www.philippine-embassy.org.sg/turnover-of-assistance-to-nationals-functions-to-the-migrant-workers-office/