Platform Workers Bill

Bill No. 26/2024

Read the first time on 6 August 2024.

An Act to provide for the rights and obligations of platform operators and platform workers, to register and recognise platform work associations and provide for matters connected therewith, to amend certain Acts to provide for the rights, obligations, protections and representation of platform workers and platform operators under those Acts, and to make consequential and related amendments to certain other Acts.

Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows:

PART 1

PRELIMINARY

Short title and commencement

1.—(1) This Act is the Platform Workers Act 2024 and comes into operation on a date that the Minister appoints by notification in the Gazette.

(2) A notification made under this section may specify that different provisions of the Fourth to Tenth Schedules come into operation on different days.

General interpretation

2. In this Act —

“authorised officer” means an individual who is appointed under section 80(1)(a);

“civil contravention” means a contravention that is declared to be a civil contravention under section 76;

“Commissioner” means the Commissioner for Labour appointed under section 3(1) of the Employment Act 1968;

“earnings”, in relation to a platform worker, means all payments payable to the platform worker in relation to the platform worker’s provision of a platform service for a platform operator under a platform work agreement (including any bonus earned by the platform worker from the platform operator), but does not include the following amounts:

(a)	contributions paid by the platform operator towards any pension or provident fund for the platform worker;
(b)	payments to the platform worker to cover any special expenses incurred by the platform worker by reason of the platform worker’s provision of the platform service;

“payment” includes a commission;

“platform work agreement” means a contract or other agreement (whether written or oral and whether express or implied) between a platform operator and a platform worker, under which the platform worker performs tasks in Singapore in relation to the provision of a platform service to service users for the platform operator, but does not include a contract of service within the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Employment Act 1968;

“service user”, in relation to a platform service, means a person who uses the platform service;

“task”, in relation to a platform service, means a task —

(a)	for which a request is taken or facilitated by a platform operator; and
(b)	that is performed by a platform worker providing the platform service to one or more service users for the platform operator.

Meaning of platform service

3.—(1) In this Act, “platform service” means a service specified in the First Schedule that is provided in Singapore via a digital platform or other platform by a platform operator exercising management control in respect of the provision of that service by one or more platform workers of the platform operator.

(2) A platform worker provides a platform service to a service user for a platform operator by performing one or more tasks in relation to the provision of the platform service by the platform operator to the service user.

Meaning of platform operator

4.—(1) In this Act, “platform operator” means a person who —

(a)

provides a platform service in Singapore by —

(i)	entering into a contract or other agreement with one or more service users to provide that platform service to those service users; and
(ii)	exercising management control in respect of the provision of that platform service by one or more platform workers of the person; and

(b)

satisfies any other requirement that may be prescribed,

but excludes any person that the Minister may prescribe by order in the Gazette.

(2) A person (P) does not cease to be a platform operator by reason only that P has engaged any other person —

(a)	to carry out or operate any part of the provision of a platform service on P’s behalf, including as a subcontractor; or
(b)	to exercise management control on P’s behalf in respect of the provision of a platform service by any platform worker for P.

(3) In this section, “person” means —

(a)

an individual whether or not a resident or citizen of Singapore and whether physically present in Singapore or outside Singapore; or

(b)

any of the following entities whether formed, constituted or registered in Singapore or outside Singapore:

(i)	a body corporate (including a limited liability partnership);
(ii)	an unincorporated association;
(iii)	a partnership;
(iv)	a person other than an individual.

Meaning of platform worker

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.

Meaning of management control in respect of provision of platform service

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.

No contracting out of rights of platform worker to join, participate in or organise platform work associations

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) A platform operator that enters or purports to enter into an agreement with a term mentioned in subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —

(a)	to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both; and
(b)	in the case of a second or subsequent offence — to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.

(3) In this section, “registered platform work association” has the meaning given by section 19.

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