When HR says "make sure we have WICA," they almost always mean the insurance.
WICA is the Work Injury Compensation Act 2019, a piece of Singapore legislation that sets out your legal obligations when an employee is injured at work.
WIC insurance is the policy you purchase to cover those obligations. They are not the same thing, and treating them as interchangeable creates real gaps.
This post explains what the Act actually says, who it covers, what the current compensation limits are, and why the common law question is the part most employers have not thought through.
What WICA does
The Act creates a no-fault compensation framework. When an employee is injured in a work-related accident or contracts an occupational disease, they are entitled to compensation under WICA regardless of who caused the injury. The employee does not need to prove that the employer was negligent. They do not need a lawyer. MOM administers the claim and facilitates resolution of any disputes at no cost to the employee.
Three categories of loss are compensable under the Act:
- Medical expenses incurred as a result of the injury
- Medical leave wages for days the employee is on certified medical leave or light duty
- Lump-sum payment for permanent incapacity or death.
The compensation limits were updated by MOM with effect from 1 November 2025, the first revision since 2020. The current limits are:
- Medical expenses: up to S$53,000, or one year from the accident date, whichever is reached first.
- Permanent incapacity: minimum S$116,000, maximum S$346,000. The actual amount is calculated using a formula based on the employee's average monthly earnings, an age multiplying factor, and the percentage of permanent incapacity assessed. An additional 25% is payable on top for total permanent incapacity cases.
- Death: minimum S$91,000, maximum S$269,000.
These are caps, not flat payments. What an employee actually receives depends on their earnings, age, and the severity of the injury.
Who the Act covers, and who you must insure
This is where the most common misunderstanding sits.
The Act covers all employees in Singapore, regardless of salary level or nationality. Local staff, foreigners on Employment Passes, S-Pass holders, Work Permit holders: all are covered by the legislation. From 1 January 2025, platform workers operating through digital platforms are also included.
The mandatory insurance obligation is narrower. Under MOM's requirements, employers must purchase WIC insurance for all employees doing manual work, regardless of salary, and for non-manual employees earning S$2,600 a month or less. Non-manual employees earning above S$2,600 are covered by the Act but insuring them is not mandatory.
This creates a practical risk. If a senior manager earning S$5,000 a month is injured at work, they are entitled to make a WICA claim. If you have not insured them because the salary threshold means you are not required to, you pay the compensation directly. The Act applies. The mandatory insurance does not.
What happens when an employee does not want to use WICA
Here is where common law comes into play, and why it matters considerably more than most employers realise. An injured employee has a choice. They can claim under WICA, or they can file a civil suit against the employer under common law. They cannot do both for the same injury.
The WICA route is faster, requires no legal representation, and produces a predictable outcome within the Act's compensation limits. The common law route is slower, requires the employee to prove the employer was negligent or in breach of duty, but is not capped at the statutory limits.
Common law damages can include compensation for pain and suffering, loss of earning capacity, loss of future earnings, future medical expenses beyond what WICA covers, and transport costs to and from medical appointments. In serious cases involving permanent disability or long recovery periods, common law awards can substantially exceed what the Act would have paid.
A real Singapore example: a migrant worker fell from an overcrowded lorry when another worker shoved him while rushing to shelter from rain. He pursued a common law claim rather than WICA, arguing his employer had been negligent in allowing workers to be transported unsafely. The court found in his favour. A standard WICA outcome would have been bounded by the statutory formula. The common law claim was not.
Employees with serious injuries, or those with access to legal advice, are increasingly aware of this choice. When the injury is severe and the negligence is arguable, common law is often the more financially rational path for the employee to take.
The gap in a standard WIC policy
A WIC insurance policy at its most basic covers your statutory liability under the Act. That means the medical expenses, medical leave wages, and lump-sum compensation the Act requires you to pay. It does not automatically cover a common law claim by an injured employee.
Most comprehensive WIC policies include Employer's Liability cover as part of the same policy. This is the component that responds when an employee bypasses WICA and brings a civil suit instead. A typical Employer's Liability limit under a Singapore WIC policy is S$10 million per claim.
Before assuming your policy includes this cover, check the schedule. A policy described as "WIC insurance" or "WICA insurance" may be a pure statutory liability policy without the Employer's Liability extension. The cover may exist but carry a sub-limit lower than the statutory default. At renewal, ask your insurer or adviser to confirm explicitly that Employer's Liability is included and at what limit.
What to review before your next renewal
Four things are worth checking.
First, confirm that all employees who should be insured are declared correctly: manual workers at all salaries, and non-manual workers at S$2,600 or below. If your headcount has changed or any employee's role has shifted from non-manual to manual work, the insured schedule needs to reflect that.
Second, confirm the Employer's Liability extension is included in your policy and note the limit.
Third, check whether your policy provides medical expenses cover above the S$53,000 statutory minimum. Some WIC policies offer enhanced medical limits significantly above the Act's cap. For employers of Work Permit holders, this matters separately: under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, employers remain responsible for medical expenses even if they exceed the WICA cap.
Fourth, if you have not reviewed your WIC policy since before November 2025, the premium basis may not yet reflect the updated compensation limits. Confirm with your insurer that the policy is rated on the current limits.
TZY CO assists Singapore employers with Work Injury Compensation insurance placement and renewal, including Employer's Liability cover. If you are unsure what your current policy includes, we are glad to review it with you.
This article provides general information only. It is not insurance advice. Policy availability, terms, conditions, and exclusions vary by insurer and product, and cover is subject to the full policy wording. Please contact TZY CO for advice on your specific situation.