No Pay Leave in Singapore: When an Employer Can Impose It, How to Calculate the Deduction and the CPF Effect

Short answer: No-pay leave is unpaid time off that an employee applies for and the employer approves, or that staff agree to as a last-resort cost-saving measure. For a monthly-rated employee, MOM treats it as an incomplete month: pay the monthly gross rate divided by working days, times days worked. CPF is then payable only on the wages actually earned.

No pay leave in Singapore comes up in two different ways: an employee who has used up annual leave asks for a week off, or a company facing a sharp drop in orders wants staff to stay home unpaid. The payroll arithmetic is the same, but the rules on whether the company can require it are not. This guide for employers covers when no-pay leave can be used, how the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) expects salary to be worked out, and the effect on CPF, annual leave and public holidays.

Raffles Corporate Services works with a panel of experienced Singapore law firms who offer cost-effective and efficient legal service and advice. This article is general information only and is not legal advice.

What is no pay leave in Singapore, and when does it arise?

No-pay leave, also called unpaid leave, is an approved absence for which the employee is not paid. It is different from an unauthorised absence and from paid leave.

In practice it arises in three ways:

• The employee asks for it. MOM’s guidance on annual leave in special situations says an employee can apply for unpaid leave if they are not yet eligible for paid annual leave or have used it up, and that unpaid leave is subject to the employer’s approval. MOM also mentions it for weddings or bereavements, as there is no statutory marriage or compassionate leave.
• The employee took too much paid leave. If an employee takes more annual leave than they are entitled to, MOM says the excess is treated as unpaid leave and the employer can reduce the salary accordingly.
• The business needs to cut costs. No-pay leave is one of the cost-saving measures in the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment, but MOM places it at the end of the list.

Our guide to annual, sick and childcare leave entitlements covers the paid leave an employee should use or be offered first.

Can an employer impose no-pay leave on staff?

Not simply by announcing it. MOM’s materials treat no-pay leave as something an employee applies for or agrees to, and MOM’s answer to whether a foreign employee must be paid when there is no work is yes, for as long as the person is employed.

Where the reason is a downturn, MOM’s page on alternatives to retrenchment sets out an order of measures. Training and redeployment come first. A shorter work week should not exceed 3 days a week or last more than 3 months. A temporary layoff should not exceed 1 month at any one time, subject to review. For both, MOM suggests paying at least 50% of gross salary for the days not worked, and says employees can be asked to take up to 50% of their earned annual leave. Only after direct wage adjustments does MOM add that, as a last resort, employees may also take no-pay leave.

MOM stopped requiring employers to notify it of cost-saving measures from 1 August 2022, but still expects them to follow the tripartite advisory and engage unions and employees before implementing any measure. In practice, explain the alternatives considered, limit the period, set a review date and obtain each employee’s written agreement. The wider rules on pay cuts and the advisory are in our guide to cutting salaries or hours in a downturn, and if the business cannot recover, our guide to retrenchment in Singapore sets out what must be paid and reported.

How do you calculate salary for a month with no-pay leave?

For a monthly-rated full-time employee, MOM says a month with no-pay leave should be treated as an incomplete month of work. The formula on MOM’s monthly and daily salary page is:

Salary for the month = (monthly gross rate of pay / total working days in that month) x days actually worked in that month

MOM publishes a table of working days per month for 2025 and 2026, and an incomplete-month calculator.

Example (hypothetical): An executive on a five-day week has a monthly gross rate of pay of S$4,400. The month has 22 working days. She takes 3 days of approved no-pay leave.

1. Daily figure for this month: S$4,400 / 22 = S$200.
2. Days actually worked: 22 – 3 = 19.
3. Salary for the month: S$200 x 19 = S$3,800.

The reduction is S$600. Avoid two shortcuts: dividing by 30 calendar days (S$440 for 3 days), and using the daily gross rate of pay (12 x monthly gross rate / (52 x days worked per week), about S$203.08 here), which MOM uses for paid leave, salary in lieu of notice and unauthorised absence, not for an incomplete month. If the leave was recorded after payroll was run, see our note on reconciling unpaid leave entered late.

How does no-pay leave affect CPF contributions?

CPF follows the wages actually earned. The CPF Board’s answer on no-pay leave is that contributions are payable on the total wages earned by the employee in each calendar month, less any no-pay leave taken in that month.

In the example above, CPF for that month is worked out on S$3,800, not S$4,400. A common error is to submit CPF on the full salary before the leave is entered. If too much was paid, the CPF Board allows an employer to apply for a refund of the excess, but:

• the application must be made no later than one year from the date the contributions were paid;
• the employer must first return the employee’s share of the overpaid contribution to the employee; and
• the employee should be told about the refund, and any dispute resolved before applying.

The payslip, the CPF submission and the ledger should all show the same reduced wage.

What happens to annual leave, public holidays and sick leave during no-pay leave?

No-pay leave does not end the employment, but it affects entitlements that depend on service or working days.

The annual leave effect is often missed, so check the leave balance after every month with no-pay leave.

Are there special rules for foreign employees on work passes?

Yes, and they are stricter for Work Permit holders. MOM states that an employer must pay a Work Permit holder at least the fixed monthly salary declared in the Work Permit application or a later revision, even if there is no work. The only time MOM says salary need not be paid is when the worker is on no-pay leave outside Singapore.

So a Work Permit holder who stays in Singapore during a slow period cannot be put on no-pay leave to save costs. If the worker asks for unpaid leave to go home, record the dates and the travel. For Employment Pass and S Pass holders, MOM’s answer that salary must be paid whether or not there is work, as long as the person is employed, still applies, and any agreed salary reduction has its own MOM steps, covered in the downturn guide linked above.

How should the company document no-pay leave?

Good records protect the payroll figure and the company’s position if the leave is later disputed.

1. Receive a written request from the employee, or for cost-saving leave, a signed agreement setting out the dates, the reason, the review date and that the leave is unpaid.
2. Approve the leave in writing before it starts, and enter it in the leave system the same day.
3. Calculate the month’s salary with MOM’s incomplete-month formula, using the correct working-day count for the employee’s work pattern.
4. Calculate CPF on the reduced wages and check the submission before payment.
5. Show the no-pay leave days and the reduced salary on the itemised payslip.
6. Recalculate pro-rated annual leave and check any public holiday that falls in or next to the leave.
7. For a Work Permit holder, keep evidence that the leave was taken outside Singapore.

No-pay leave reduces what is earned for the month; it is not a licence to take other amounts from pay. If the company needs to recover anything else from an employee’s salary, the Employment Act limits those deductions; see our guide to salary deductions in Singapore. Our free tools include a compliance deadline calculator for the company’s own filing dates.

Frequently asked questions

Can I refuse an employee’s request for no-pay leave?

Yes. MOM states that unpaid leave is subject to the employer’s approval. Apply a consistent policy and give reasons.

Should I divide the salary by 26 or 30 days to work out no-pay leave?

No. For a monthly-rated full-time employee, MOM’s method divides the monthly gross rate of pay by the number of working days in that particular month, then multiplies by the days actually worked. The divisor changes from month to month.

Is CPF payable on the days of no-pay leave?

No. The CPF Board says contributions are payable on the wages earned in the calendar month, less any no-pay leave taken that month. If CPF was paid on the full salary, apply for a refund within one year of payment.

Does a public holiday during no-pay leave have to be paid?

Not if it falls within the approved unpaid leave. If the unpaid leave ends the day before the holiday, or starts the day after, the holiday is still paid.

Can I ask staff to take no-pay leave instead of retrenching them?

You can propose it, but MOM’s guidance treats it as a last resort after training, redeployment, shorter work weeks, temporary layoffs and wage adjustments, and expects consultation and agreement first. If an employee objects and you are weighing other steps, speak to a lawyer before acting.

Last reviewed: 10 November 2026. The Editorial Team, Raffles Corporate Services.