A Singapore HR Guide to the Tripartite Advisory on Mental Well-being

The Tripartite Advisory on Mental Well-being at Workplaces is guidance from Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM), NTUC and SNEF that sets out how employers should support employee mental health. First issued on 17 November 2020 and expanded in 2023, it lists 12 recommendations across organisation, team and individual levels, from wellbeing champions to EAP access.

This guide explains what the advisory says, what changed in the latest version, how it links to tools such as iWorkHealth, and how to turn it into a practical employer checklist. It is written for HR leaders, People and Culture heads and business owners with staff in Singapore.

What is the Tripartite Advisory on Mental Well-being at Workplaces?

The advisory is a joint document from the three tripartite partners: MOM, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF). Its current title is the Tripartite Advisory on Mental Health and Well-being at Workplaces, and it is hosted on both the MOM website and the Tripartite Alliance (TAL) website.

It gives employers practical steps to reduce work stress, spot distress early and connect employees to help. It also includes Annex A, a non-exhaustive list of Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) providers, training providers, counselling services and helplines, plus quick tips on working from home.

The advisory does not create new legal duties on its own. Employers should still treat it as the benchmark MOM and the tripartite partners expect, because it is referenced in parliamentary answers, WSH Council programmes and related tripartite guidelines.

When was the advisory issued and what changed in 2023?

MOM, NTUC and SNEF launched the original advisory on 17 November 2020, according to the MOM press release. It responded to pressures from COVID-19 and remote work, which had blurred the line between work and home and raised the risk of stress and burnout.

The 2020 version asked employers to appoint mental wellness champions, provide counselling access such as EAPs, train managers to recognise distress, and adopt a work-life harmony policy with clear expectations on after-hours communication.

In 2023 the advisory was enhanced as part of the National Mental Health and Well-Being Strategy announced on 5 October 2023. MOM's media fact sheet names two additions:

• Setting up a peer support system with trained peer supporters, for example through NTUC's Peer to Peer training or the Health Promotion Board's Peer Supporter training.
• Hiring job-ready individuals with mental health conditions, with referrals to the Institute of Mental Health, Singapore Anglican Community Services and the Singapore Association for Mental Health.

The version on the MOM website is dated 20 November 2023. It also adds guidance on return-to-work policies and on reviewing mental well-being as part of workplace health risk assessment.

Is the Tripartite Advisory legally binding?

No. The advisory is guidance, not legislation, so there is no fine for failing to follow a specific recommendation. Several connected obligations are binding, however, and HR teams should read them together.

The Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests (TG-FWAR) took effect on 1 December 2024 and set minimum requirements that all employers must follow when handling formal flexible work requests. The advisory itself points employers to flexible work as a support for mental well-being and for a gradual return to work.

Employers also remain bound by the Workplace Safety and Health Act, which requires stakeholders, including employers, to take reasonably practicable measures to ensure the safety and health of persons at the workplace. Treating psychosocial risk as part of routine risk assessment, as the advisory recommends, is the simplest way to show that those duties are taken seriously.

What does the advisory recommend employers do?

The recommendations are grouped into three levels. Each one is short, and most can be started without large budgets.

Organisation level

1. Regularly review employees' mental well-being as part of workplace health risk assessment, for example with iWorkHealth.
2. Appoint workplace mental well-being champions (WMWCs) to rally senior management, organise support activities and set up referral systems for people in distress.
3. Review HR and workplace policies so they support mental well-being and employees with mental health conditions, including a flexible work arrangement policy.
4. Establish an after-hours work communication policy.
5. Adopt good-practice examples of after-hours policies, such as not expecting replies to non-urgent messages until the next working day.
6. Establish return-to-work policies for employees recovering from mental health conditions, using options such as flexi-load, flexi-location and flexi-time.
7. Hire individuals with mental health conditions.

Team and department level

1. Train managers, supervisors, HR, WSH representatives and union leaders to spot signs of distress and know where to refer employees.
2. Build a psychologically safe, trusting environment through regular conversations about mental well-being.
3. Set up a peer support system with trained peer supporters.

Individual employee level

1. Provide access to counselling services such as EAPs, with clear assurances of confidentiality.
2. Consider extending flexible benefits and insurance coverage to mental well-being programmes and consultations.

How does iWorkHealth support the advisory?

iWorkHealth is the measurement tool the advisory points to for its first recommendation. The WSH Council describes iWorkHealth as a free, online, company-administered psychosocial health assessment tool, developed by the WSH Institute with Changi General Hospital, the Health Promotion Board, the Institute of Mental Health and the WSH Council.

There are two versions. The Full version has 89 questions and takes 15 to 20 minutes, covering individual resilience, organisational stressors such as job demands, recognition and culture, and well-being at work. The Lite version has 20 questions and takes about five minutes, which suits pulse surveys between full assessments.

Employers receive an aggregated, anonymised company report that can be split by department, along with recommended interventions. Employees taking the Full version also get a confidential individual report.

National data shows why measurement matters. In a September 2025 written answer to Parliament, MOM said that roughly a third of more than 15,000 employees at employers using iWorkHealth in 2024 reported work-related stress or burnout, a share that has been relatively stable since 2021.

Employer checklist: are you aligned with the advisory?

Use this checklist in a leadership or HR committee meeting. Mark each item as done, in progress or not started.

• We run a psychosocial risk assessment, such as iWorkHealth, at least once a year and act on the results.
• We have named workplace mental well-being champions with time and a budget to do the role.
• Our HR policies, including leave, medical benefits and performance management, have been reviewed for mental health impact.
• We have a written flexible work arrangement policy that meets TG-FWAR minimum requirements.
• We have a written after-hours communication policy, and senior leaders model it.
• We have a return-to-work process for employees recovering from mental health conditions.
• Our hiring practices are open to job-ready candidates with mental health conditions.
• Managers, HR and WSH representatives have been trained to spot distress and refer employees.
• We have a peer support system with trained peer supporters.
• Every employee can access confidential counselling through an EAP, in a language they are comfortable with.
• Our flexible benefits or insurance cover mental health consultations.
• Employees know the crisis numbers and how to reach help outside office hours.

How can HR implement the advisory in 90 days?

Most organisations do not need to start from scratch. A phased plan keeps the work manageable and gives leaders data to act on.

1. Weeks 1 to 2: get a baseline. Run iWorkHealth Lite or an internal pulse survey and review existing absence, attrition and EAP usage trends. Agree who owns the work.
2. Weeks 3 to 4: appoint champions. Select two to four WMWCs from different functions and give them a short brief covering awareness, activities and referral routes.
3. Weeks 5 to 6: close policy gaps. Draft or refresh the after-hours communication policy, flexible work policy and return-to-work process. Ask unions or employee representatives for input.
4. Weeks 7 to 9: train people managers. Prioritise managers of teams with the highest stress scores. Training should cover warning signs, a first conversation and how to refer.
5. Weeks 10 to 12: communicate and review. Relaunch the EAP, share crisis numbers, and set a date for the Full iWorkHealth assessment to measure change.

For manager training, the WHO and ILO also recommend manager training for mental health in their 2022 call for new workplace measures, so the step aligns with both local and global guidance.

How do EAPs fit the Tripartite Advisory?

An EAP is a confidential counselling and support service paid for by the employer. It is the main way employers meet the advisory's individual-level recommendation to provide access to counselling.

The advisory sets out three points that matter when choosing a provider. Employers should assure employees of confidentiality. Employers of migrant workers should look for providers who speak workers' native languages. Annex A lists providers where at least 80% of counsellors and psychologists are registered with a relevant association and which have at least one year of EAP experience, although the list is not an endorsement.

When comparing providers, check language coverage, data security, access routes such as text and video, and how the provider reports anonymised trends back to HR. ThoughtFull, a regional provider across Asia Pacific, offers support in 30 languages, is ISO 27001 certified for data security, and delivers an EAP for Singapore employers with text-based coaching, video therapy and 24/7 crisis support. For a primer, read what an EAP is and how it works in Singapore.

An EAP covers individual support, but the advisory also asks for team and organisation measures. ThoughtFull's Organisational Mental Wellness Assessment takes under seven minutes and measures depression and anxiety symptoms alongside psychological safety, while Mental Health First Responders at Work training prepares managers and peer supporters to respond to distress.

How far have Singapore employers progressed?

Adoption is rising but uneven. MOM told Parliament in September 2025 that more than 90% of firms surveyed in 2023 had implemented at least one mental well-being measure.

After-hours policies are less common. In an August 2026 parliamentary answer, MOM said 55% of full-time resident employees reported in 2025 that their employer had a policy on after-hours communication, up from 48% in 2022. That leaves a large share of employees without clear rules on messages outside working hours.

One measure is not a strategy. Employers that pair measurement, manager capability and confidential support are better placed to show progress over time.

What crisis numbers should employees know in Singapore?

The advisory's Annex A lists 24-hour crisis helplines. Share these in your EAP materials, intranet and onboarding packs.

• Emergency services (SCDF ambulance): 995.
• Samaritans of Singapore 24-hour hotline: 1767, or CareText on WhatsApp at 9151 1767.
• Institute of Mental Health 24-hour helpline: 6389 2222.

Anyone in immediate danger should call 995 or go to the nearest emergency department.

Next steps for HR leaders

The advisory is short, practical and easy to audit against. Start with the checklist above, pick the three biggest gaps, and assign an owner and a date to each one. If you want help with measurement, manager training or confidential counselling across Singapore and the wider region, book a demo with ThoughtFull to see how the pieces fit together.