Practical Law: Pre-employment Screening and Data Protection Law Requirements, and Employee Monitoring - Singapore (2025)

6 November 2025

Allen & Gledhill Partner Alexander Yap contributed the 2025 update to the following Singapore practice notes on employee privacy and workplace monitoring for Practical Law:

• Pre-employment Screening and Data Protection Law Requirements: This practice note provides guidance on pre-employment screening and data protection law requirements under Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Act 2012 (“PDPA”). The practice note discusses employers’ obligations when conducting pre-employment screening and candidates’ rights to notice, to object to pre-employment screening, and to access their personal data contained in the employer’s records. The practice note also discusses permitted types of pre-employment screening, prohibitions on screening, and sanctions for conducting unlawful pre-employment screening.
• Employee Monitoring: This practice note provides guidance on data protection rules and issues related to employee monitoring in Singapore under the PDPA. The practice note discusses the laws applicable to employee monitoring, implementation requirements, and employees’ rights to notice, to object to monitoring, and to access their personal data contained in the employer’s monitoring records. The practice note also addresses prohibiting and monitoring personal communications sent using an employer’s systems, issues when monitoring employee-owned devices, using closed-circuit television monitoring in the workplace, monitoring employees’ off-duty conduct, collective bargaining and labour relations considerations, and potential sanctions for illegal monitoring.