Platform Workers Act 2024 including amendments to the Industrial Relations Act, Trade Disputes Act, Central Provident Fund Act, and Income Tax Act between others

Section 5. 1. In this Act, “platform worker” means an individual who — (a) has an agreement (whether written or oral and whether express or implied) with a platform operator to provide a platform service in Singapore to service users for the platform operator; (b) is subject to the management control of the platform operator in respect of the individual’s provision of the platform service; (c) derives or will derive, under the agreement mentioned in paragraph (a), any payment or benefit in kind from the individual’s provision of the platform service for the platform operator; and (d) is in Singapore when providing the platform service, but excludes an individual who belongs to a prescribed class of individuals. 

2. In subsection (1), “agreement” does not include a contract of service within the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Employment Act 1968. 

Section 6. 1. For the purposes of this Act, a person (A) exercises management control in respect of the provision of a platform service by an individual (B) for A if all of the following are satisfied: (a) A uses, for any specified purpose, data relating to — (i) service users and persons who intend to use that platform service; and (ii) individuals (other than employees of A) who perform or intend to perform tasks in relation to the provision of that platform service for A; (b) A’s use of the data mentioned in paragraph (a) for the specified purpose does not involve human intervention on a regular or routine basis; (c) subject to subsection (3), A imposes on B, in relation to B’s provision of the platform service for A, any requirement, prohibition or restriction specified in the Second Schedule. 

2. In subsection (1), “specified purpose” means all or any of the following: (a) determining whether B is eligible to provide the platform service for A; (b) allocating one or more tasks to B to perform, or determining the task or tasks that B may choose to perform, in relation to B’s provision of the platform service for A; (c) determining the payment payable to B, or the benefit in kind to which B is entitled, in relation to the task or tasks B performed in relation to B’s provision of the platform service for A; (d) any other prescribed purpose. 

3. Subsection (1)(c) does not include any requirement, prohibition or restriction imposed by A on B under or in accordance or in compliance with any written law. 

4. Without affecting subsection (1), A is presumed, unless proven otherwise, to exercise management control in respect of B’s provision of a platform service for A if — (a) B provides the platform service for A under a platform work agreement between A and B; and (b) A requires B to access the tasks to be performed by B in relation to B’s provision of the platform service for A by — (i) using an app provided or specified by A; or (ii) accessing a website specified or designated by A. 

5. In this section — “app” includes a computer program; “data” includes individually‑identifiable information and anonymised or aggregated information; “use” of any data includes the organisation, adaptation, alteration or combination of that data.

Section 40. 1. Despite any provision in any rules or resolution of any platform work association — (a) the officers of a platform work association and any other persons duly appointed by the platform work association to represent its members in negotiations with a view to a collective agreement have the authority to bargain collectively for and to bind all the members of the platform work association by a collective agreement without the need for ratification by the members; and (b) the decisions of those officers or persons on any matter in such negotiations is the decision of all members of the platform work association. 

2. Any provision in any rules or resolution of any platform work association that is inconsistent with subsection (1) is void to the extent of that inconsistency.

Section 19. In this Part — (…) “industrial action” means the adoption, in furtherance of a work dispute, of any practice, procedure or method in the provision of a platform service which would result in the limitation or restriction in the performance of tasks by platform workers in relation to the provision of that platform service; (…) “work dispute” means any dispute between platform workers and one or more platform operators, between platform workers or between platform operators, which is connected with — (a) whether a person is engaged or otherwise allowed to provide any platform service for a platform operator; or (b) the terms under which or the conditions in which a platform worker provides a platform service.

Section 7. 1. Subject to any other written law for the time being in force, every term of an agreement between a platform operator and any platform worker which purports to restrict or exclude, in any way, the right of any platform worker to do any of the following is void: (a) to join a registered platform work association; (b) to participate in the activities of a registered platform work association, whether as an officer of the registered platform work association or otherwise; (c) to associate with any other persons for the purpose of organising a platform work association in accordance with the provisions of Part 3. 2. (…) 

Section 22. 1. Every platform work association must apply to be registered under this Part within a period of one month starting from the date on which it is established. 

2. The Registrar may, from time to time, grant an extension of the period mentioned in subsection (1), provided that no such period is, in any particular case, extended so as to exceed a period of 6 months in aggregate. 

3. For the purposes of this Part, a platform work association is established on the first date on which any platform workers or platform operators agree to become or create an association or a combination for the furtherance of any one or more of the objects specified in the definition of “platform work association” in section 19. (…) 

Section 36. 1. A registered platform work association must not commence, promote, organise or finance any strike or any form of industrial action affecting the whole or any section of its members without obtaining the consent, by secret ballot, of the majority of the members so affected. 

2. Any registered platform work association which, and every member of its executive who, contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $3,000. (…)

Section 16. 1. This section applies in relation to a winding up of a platform operator that is a company under the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018. 

2. The following must be paid in priority over all unsecured debts of the platform operator other than the preferential debts specified in section 203(1)(a) to (h) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018, and rank in priority after the debts specified in section 203(1)(h) but before those specified in section 203(1)(i) of that Act: (…) (b) second, all amounts due in respect of any work injury compensation payable to or for the benefit of a platform worker under the Work Injury Compensation Act 2019 accrued before, on or after the commencement of the winding up; (…)

Section 14. 1. A platform operator must give to every platform worker, within the prescribed time, an earnings slip for all earnings paid by the platform operator in respect of each task performed by the platform worker in relation to the platform worker’s provision of a platform service for the platform operator. 

2. To avoid doubt, subsection (1) continues to apply where the platform worker, at any time after performing the task mentioned in that subsection, ceases to provide the platform service for the platform operator for any reason. 

3. An earnings slip given by a platform operator to a platform worker must be in the form prescribed (if any) and must contain all the information prescribed. 

4. The requirement to give an earnings slip to a platform worker under subsection (1) is satisfied if an electronic record containing the information prescribed for the purposes of subsection (3) is provided in a manner that enables the information contained in the electronic record to be accessible and useable by the platform worker for subsequent reference. 

5. Where an earnings slip is in respect of 2 or more tasks performed by the platform worker in relation to the platform worker’s provision of a platform service for the platform operator, the platform operator — (a) must provide the earnings slip, within the prescribed time, in respect of the earliest task performed by the platform worker that is included in the document or electronic record; and (b) must ensure that the earnings slip contains the information prescribed for the purposes of subsection (3) in respect of each task included in the document or electronic record. 

6. A platform operator is taken to have failed to comply with subsection (1) if the earnings slip given to a platform worker is incomplete or inaccurate, whether or not the platform operator knew that the earnings slip is incomplete or inaccurate.

Section 16. 1. This section applies in relation to a winding up of a platform operator that is a company under the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018. 

2. The following must be paid in priority over all unsecured debts of the platform operator other than the preferential debts specified in section 203(1)(a) to (h) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018, and rank in priority after the debts specified in section 203(1)(h) but before those specified in section 203(1)(i) of that Act: (…) (c) third, all amounts due in respect of contributions payable, during a period of 12 consecutive months commencing not earlier than 12 months before and ending not later than 12 months after the commencement of the winding up, by the platform operator, under any written law relating to platform workers’ superannuation or provident funds.

Section 19. In this Part — (…) “lockout” means — (a) the suspension or termination by a platform operator of the right or ability of any number of platform workers to obtain tasks assigned or facilitated by the platform operator; or (b) the refusal of a platform operator to assign tasks to, or facilitate tasks for, any number of platform workers, in consequence of a work dispute, where the suspension, termination or refusal (as the case may be) is with a view to —(c) compelling those platform workers to accept terms or conditions of, or affecting the provision of, any platform service by those platform workers for that platform operator; or (d) aiding another platform operator in compelling platform workers of that platform operator to accept terms or conditions of, or affecting the provision of, any platform service by those platform workers for the other platform operator; (…)

Section 6. (...) (5) In this section — “app” includes a computer program; “data” includes individually‑identifiable information and anonymised or aggregated information; “use” of any data includes the organisation, adaptation, alteration or combination of that data.

Section 13. 1. A platform operator must make, and keep for the period prescribed (called in this section the record retention period), specified records containing the prescribed particulars for — (a) every platform worker who provides a platform service for the platform operator; and (b) every individual who has ceased to provide a platform service for the platform operator (called in this section the former platform worker). 

2. A platform operator must ensure that a specified record made and kept under subsection (1) is, during the record retention period prescribed for the specified record, readily accessible to the platform worker or former platform worker to which the specified record relates. 

3. A platform operator is taken to have failed to comply with subsection (1) if the platform operator makes or keeps a specified record that is incomplete or inaccurate, whether or not the platform operator knew that the specified record is incomplete or inaccurate. 

4. Different record retention periods may be prescribed for different classes of platform workers or former platform workers, for different platform services and for different types of specified records.

5. In this section, “specified record”, for a platform worker or former platform worker of a platform operator, means a record of information or particulars about the provision by the platform worker or former platform worker (as the case may be) of a platform service for the platform operator. 

Section 85. 1. If a person exercising any function under this Act obtains protected information about the affairs of another person, the first mentioned person must not disclose that protected information to any other person unless the disclosure. (a) is made with the written consent of the person to whom the information relates; (b) is for the purpose of the administration or enforcement of this Act; or (c) is in compliance with the requirement of any court, tribunal, authority or person having lawful authority to require the production of documents or the answering of questions. 

2. If any person acts in contravention of subsection (1), he or she shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both. 

3. For the purpose of this section, the reference to a person disclosing any protected information includes his or her permitting any other person to have any access to any record, document or other thing containing that information which is in his or her possession or under his or her control by virtue of the person being or having been an authorised officer or authorised person. 

4. In this section, “protected information” means information the disclosure of which would, or could reasonably be expected to, disclose a trade secret or to adversely affect a person in relation to the lawful business affairs of that person.