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Work Injury Compensation in Singapore: What an Injured Filipino Worker Can Claim, and How the Claim Works

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By iStart Editorial Team·Published October 30, 2026

Work Injury Compensation in Singapore: What an Injured Filipino Worker Can Claim, and How the Claim Works

A fall from a platform, a back that will not straighten after a lift. Then come the questions: will I still be paid, who pays the hospital, will they send me home?

Singapore's Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA) lets an injured employee claim for a work-related injury or disease without suing in court, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) says.

Who WICA Covers, and Who It Does Not

WICA covers any local or foreign employee on a contract of service or apprenticeship, regardless of salary, age or citizenship, MOM says. It excludes independent contractors, the self-employed, domestic workers and the uniformed services. You stay eligible if you leave the employer or your work pass is cancelled, and a deceased worker's family can claim.

For domestic workers, MOM instead requires their employers to buy personal accident insurance of at least $60,000 a year for death or permanent disability, plus medical insurance, at the employer's cost, never the worker's.

What Counts as a Work Accident

In MOM's words, WICA covers accidents "arising out of and in the course of employment" and occupational diseases, including disease from exposure to chemical or biological agents. A traffic accident in company transport between home and work is covered; the same trip by your own car, a friend's car or public transport is not, nor is an injury under the influence of alcohol.

What to Do Right After an Accident at Work

Get medical treatment and tell your employer or supervisor as soon as possible. Delay gives them room to dispute whether the injury is work-related, MOM warns.

Give your employer the original MC and medical bills, and keep photocopies. Your employer pays the hospital or clinic directly, or repays you within 14 days of receiving the bills if you paid first. Medical leave wages are due by your next pay day.

Your employer must file an incident report with MOM if you got any leave or light duty, within 10 days of first hearing of a non-fatal accident. If you think that has not happened, you can file one yourself, and alert MOM if bills or medical leave wages go unpaid. On light duty, report for it or take leave, as absence without leave is not paid; if none is suitable, tell your doctor.

What You Can Claim, and the Limits

WICA provides three kinds of compensation. These are MOM's figures for accidents from 1 November 2025; earlier accidents use lower ones.

  • Medical leave wages: working days on MC, hospitalisation leave or light duty from a Singapore-registered doctor or dentist, within a year of the accident: hospitalisation at full average monthly earnings (AME) for 60 days, then two-thirds; outpatient MC or light duty at full AME for 14 days, then two-thirds (light duty: actual wages whenever higher); rest days and public holidays excluded.
  • Medical expenses: hospital bills, medicine, ambulance charges and physiotherapy prescribed and billed by a Singapore-registered doctor or dentist, up to $53,000 or one year from the accident, whichever comes first.
  • Lump sum: your AME times an age factor times the percentage of permanent incapacity a doctor assesses once you stabilise, within $116,000 to $346,000 multiplied by that percentage, with 25% added at 100%; for a death, $91,000 to $269,000, paid to the family.

AME is based on your earnings in the 12 months before the accident, usually including overtime and bonuses but not transport allowances.

How the Claim Works, Step by Step

For accidents from 1 September 2020, you file nothing with MOM: the claim counts as made once your employer knows.

  1. A letter arrives by post with your case reference number; use it to check your claim status.
  2. A claim processing form asks you to confirm your AME and the injury; return it to the designated insurer (insurers handle policies from 1 January 2021; MOM, older ones).
  3. Attend every medical appointment; missing one may get your case suspended.
  4. Once you stabilise, the doctor assesses any permanent incapacity; a notice of assessment or computation gives the amount, paid within 21 days if no one objects.

If your case is processed only for temporary incapacity, apply for permanent incapacity with the designated insurer's form and a doctor's memo within one year of the accident. You can object within 14 days of the notice. Most cases finish within eight months, MOM says.

WICA or Common Law: You Choose One

You can claim under WICA or sue under common law, "but not both." WICA pays by formula with set limits, and you need not prove anyone was at fault. Common law means court, a lawyer, and proof that your employer or a third party was at fault, with no cap. You have one year from the accident to decide; to sue, withdraw the claim before the notice or within 14 days of it (28 if anyone objects). Once the notice is accepted and paid, a court case is closed to you.

WICA or common law, you choose one, as Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM) describes them: a claim under the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA) is paid by formula with set limits, needs no proof of fault and no court, and a lawyer is optional; suing under common law has no cap but means court, a lawyer and proof that your employer or a third party was at fault. Once the notice is accepted and paid, a court case is closed to you. Domestic workers are not covered by WICA.

Your Work Permit and Your Stay During a Claim

A Work Permit holder whose employer does not provide housing or food, or tries to send them home before the claim is settled, should seek MOM's help. Workers cannot be sent home against their wishes while they have an outstanding claim under the Work Injury Compensation Act, MOM's employer guidance says. If a doctor certifies you fit to travel, you may leave before settlement, but must tell MOM first; a Special Pass is issued only when your presence is needed to resolve the case. The work passes are explained in how Filipinos come to work in Singapore.

If the problem is unpaid salary instead, that is a different door. The Philippine Embassy's advisory says the Migrant Workers Office in Singapore has handled assistance to OFWs in distress, including legal or medical cases, since 1 July 2023: what the Philippine post can do.

An injury is a pause in a working life, not the end of it. Doing recovery properly is part of the job. A career abroad is built over years; the paper trail below helps protect it.

A Filipina worker with her wrist in a splint places her medical certificate face down on a photocopier, keeping a copy before she hands in the original.

Your Paper Trail After a Work Accident

  • Tell your employer or supervisor the same day.
  • Photocopy every MC and bill before handing over originals.
  • Keep MOM's letter with your case reference number.
  • Go to every medical appointment.
  • Note the 14-day objection date when the notice arrives.
  • Tell MOM before leaving Singapore with a claim open.

The Questions Filipinos Ask Us Most

Do I need a lawyer to claim work injury compensation in Singapore? No. A lawyer is optional under WICA; MOM or the designated insurer guides the process, though MOM says that guidance is not legal advice.

What if my employer is waiting for its insurer? Your employer must still pay your medical leave wages and medical expenses first, and claim them back from its insurer later, MOM says.

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