In brief
The Employment Claims Tribunals (ECT) decision in JJF v. JJG [2026] SGECT 9 clarifies when a claim that a dismissal was “without just cause or excuse” under Section 14(2) of the Employment Act 1968 (EA) will succeed. Such a claim can succeed even if an employer complies with the contractual obligation to provide a notice period or payment of salary in lieu of notice. While the burden of proof may lie on the employee to show that the dismissal was “without just cause or excuse”, once the employee’s evidence “calls for an answer”, the evidential burden can shift to the employer to show a just cause or excuse. Therefore, while employers are not required to give reasons at the time of dismissal, they should be ready to provide evidence of a “just cause or excuse” for dismissal should the employee decide to bring a claim to the ECT.
In this Client Alert, we take a closer look at what this decision means in practice for employers dealing with dismissals of employees.
Chia Ning Whang, Trainee, has contributed to this legal update.
Download the full alert.
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