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Of these, enforcement was taken in 122 cases between January 2025 and September 2026.
The Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (TAFEP) received 166 complaints relating to age discrimination in job advertisements and hiring practices between January 2025 and September 2026, according to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
Of these, 162 were referred to MOM for further investigation, with enforcement action taken in 122 cases.
In a written parliamentary reply on 4 November 2026, Jasmin Lau, Acting Minister for Manpower responded to a question from Member of Parliament (MP) Alex Yeo on the number of age discrimination complaints involving jobseekers aged 50 and above, the actions taken against employers, and whether the complaints reflect the prevalence of age discrimination among older jobseekers.
TAFEP does not track the complaints according to the age of jobseekers, as some complainants do not disclose their age.
In the 122 cases where enforcement action was taken, measures included suspending employers' access to foreign workers. Employers were also directed to rectify lapses in their human resource processes.
MOM said it does not rely solely on complaints to assess the prevalence of age discrimination. Its assessment also draws on surveys on fair employment practices, proactive audits of job advertisements on MyCareersFuture, and feedback from stakeholders.
These findings, MOM noted, indicate that age discrimination is one of the more common issues faced by jobseekers.
Workplace Fairness Act to strengthen protections
The Workplace Fairness Act, which is expected to come into force in end-2027, will further strengthen protections against workplace discrimination. Under the Act, employers will be prohibited from making adverse employment decisions based on protected characteristics, including age.
New flexi-load programme to cover Rank-and-File and PME roles
Separately, the Government has accepted all six recommendations made by the Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment (TWG-SE), released on 26 October 2026.
One of the recommendations is to scale up flexible roles for seniors through a new Flexi-Load Programme (FLP).
In a separate written parliamentary reply to MP Patrick Tay Teck Guan, MOM was asked whether the Government would incentivise a balance of Rank-and-File and Professional, Managerial and Executive (PME) roles under the programme, given that the supply of the latter may be comparatively limited.
In response, MOM said the FLP will support employers in creating more flexi-load opportunities for senior workers and jobseekers aged 50 and above across both Rank-and-File and PME roles.
However, the Government does not intend to prescribe a specific balance of opportunities across the different job types.
The developments come as Singapore prepares to introduce stronger legislative protections against workplace discrimination, alongside measures to support older workers in accessing more flexible employment opportunities.
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