The Work Injury Compensation Act covers any employee working under a contract of service in Singapore, regardless of salary, age or citizenship. It does not cover independent contractors, the self-employed, domestic workers, or uniformed personnel — members of the Singapore Armed Forces, the Police Force, the Civil Defence Force, the Central Narcotics Bureau and the Prison Service. Everyone else on your payroll is in scope, including foreign workers and staff earning well above the insurance threshold.
The practical difficulty is almost never the list. It is deciding which side of the line a particular working relationship sits on, and employers get that wrong far more often than they realise.
Who WICA does cover
If someone works for your business under a contract of service — an employment relationship — WICA applies to them. That includes:
- Foreign employees. Work Permit, S Pass and Employment Pass holders are covered on the same footing as Singaporeans and PRs. Citizenship is irrelevant to WICA.
- High earners. A manager on a substantial salary is still an employee for WICA purposes. What their salary changes is whether you are legally obliged to buy insurance for them, not whether they can claim.
- Part-timers, temporary and casual staff. A short contract is still a contract of service.
- Young and older workers. WICA sets no age boundary on who counts as an employee.
That last point matters for budgeting. Employers who insure only the group they are legally required to insure — manual workers at any salary, non-manual employees on S$2,600 a month or less — still carry WICA liability for the employees they left off the policy. If one of them is injured, the compensation is payable by the company rather than by an insurer. For accidents from 1 November 2025, awards run up to S$269,000 for death and S$346,000 for total permanent incapacity, with medical expenses up to S$53,000 or one year, whichever comes first.
Who sits outside WICA
| Group | WICA position | What usually applies instead |
|---|---|---|
| Independent contractors working under a contract for service | Outside WICA — provided the relationship really is one of contractor and client | Their own cover; your public liability may respond to third-party claims, subject to policy terms |
| The self-employed, sole proprietors and partners in their own business | Outside WICA — you cannot be your own employee | Personal accident and medical cover bought individually |
| Domestic workers employed in a household | Outside WICA | Separate insurance obligations attach to the work pass — confirm the current requirements with MOM |
| Uniformed personnel: SAF, Singapore Police Force, Singapore Civil Defence Force, Central Narcotics Bureau, Singapore Prison Service | Outside WICA | Their own service compensation schemes |
Nothing on this list is a loophole to aim for. Three of the four groups are defined by who the person is rather than by anything an employer can arrange. The first one — contractor status — is the only line that businesses try to move, and it is the one that moves least.
The contractor trap: the invoice does not decide it
Treating a worker as a contractor does not remove your liability if the working relationship is, in substance, employment. The label on the invoice, the absence of a payslip, the fact that the person registered a sole proprietorship, an agreement both sides signed calling it a contract for service — none of that settles the question on its own. What matters is how the relationship actually works day to day: who controls when and how the work is done, who supplies the tools and materials, whether the person can send a substitute or work for others, and how integrated they are into your business.
Those are the sorts of questions that get asked, but MOM decides the answer, and it does so on the facts. The consequences of getting it wrong land entirely on the employer: if a worker you treated as a contractor is later determined to have been an employee, WICA liability follows — and because you never declared them, no insurer is standing behind it. Failing to insure an employee you were required to insure is also an offence, carrying a fine of up to S$10,000, imprisonment of up to 12 months, or both.
If you have anyone whose status is genuinely arguable — a long-standing freelancer who works only for you, a "self-employed" installer on your daily roster, a family member helping in the shop — confirm their status with MOM rather than assuming. It is a free question to ask and an expensive one to get wrong.
Platform workers: protected from 1 January 2025
Delivery riders, private-hire drivers and other platform workers gained WICA-equivalent work injury protection from 1 January 2025, arranged through the platform operators they work for. They were previously outside the system as self-employed persons.
For most SMEs this is background rather than an obligation — it matters if your business operates a platform, or if you engage platform workers and want to understand where responsibility now sits. If your business is the operator, confirm the current requirements directly with MOM.
What to do about the people outside WICA
Someone falling outside WICA does not mean you have no exposure to them. It means the exposure is not routed through work injury compensation. A practical approach:
- List everyone who works on your premises or under your direction, not just those on payroll. Include freelancers, subcontractors and their crews, interns and family helpers.
- Confirm the arguable cases with MOM before an accident forces the question.
- Check what your subcontractors carry. If a subcontractor has no WICA insurance for their own workers, an injury on your site can end up back at your door — main contractors and principals frequently ask for evidence for exactly this reason.
- Consider voluntary cover for the gaps. Group personal accident cover is often used for people a WICA policy will not respond to, and public liability generally responds to injury claims from third parties rather than employees. Both are subject to policy terms, so read what the wording actually covers.
Insuring people you are not legally required to insure is common and usually inexpensive relative to the exposure. Discuss the options with a licensed professional who can look at your actual workforce.
Frequently asked questions
Who is not covered under WICA?
WICA does not cover independent contractors working under a contract for service, the self-employed, domestic workers, or uniformed personnel — members of the Singapore Armed Forces, Singapore Police Force, Singapore Civil Defence Force, Central Narcotics Bureau and Singapore Prison Service. Everyone working under a contract of service is covered, regardless of salary, age or nationality.
Are independent contractors covered under WICA?
No — genuine independent contractors working under a contract for service are outside WICA. But the label does not decide it: if the working relationship is in substance employment, WICA liability applies to you despite the invoice, and MOM decides status on the facts of the relationship. Confirm any arguable case with MOM before you rely on it.
Does WICA cover foreign workers?
Yes. WICA covers employees regardless of citizenship, so Work Permit, S Pass and Employment Pass holders are covered on the same basis as Singaporeans and permanent residents. Work Permit and S Pass holders additionally need Foreign Worker Medical Insurance with at least a S$60,000 annual claim limit, which is a separate MOM requirement.
Are directors covered under WICA?
It depends on whether the director works under a contract of service. A director who is also an employee of the company is generally in scope; a director who takes only director's fees and is not employed by the company generally is not. Because the answer turns on the actual arrangement, confirm your position with MOM.
Is a domestic helper covered under WICA?
No, domestic workers are outside WICA. Separate insurance obligations attach to the work pass for a migrant domestic worker, so an employing household still has requirements to meet — confirm the current ones with MOM.
Do I have to insure employees earning more than S$2,600 a month?
Not if their work is non-manual — the compulsory insurance requirement covers all manual workers regardless of salary, plus non-manual employees earning S$2,600 a month or less. But those employees are still covered by WICA itself, so if one is injured at work your company pays the compensation directly rather than an insurer. Many employers insure everyone for that reason.
Related cover & guides
Work Injury Compensation (WICA) Insurance
Compulsory cover for workplace injuries. Required for all manual workers and non-manual staff earning ≤S$2,600/month.
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