Where an employment contract expressly states that a bonus is “discretionary” or is within the employer’s “absolute right” to declare, does an employer have an unfettered discretion to decide whether to declare bonuses? In BGC Partners (Singapore) Ltd and another v Sumit Grover [2024] SGHC 206, the General Division of the High Court reiterated that employers owe an implied duty to exercise their contractual discretion reasonably. What is considered reasonable would depend on the specific facts of the case.

Across jurisdictions, we see a rising trend towards more active ESG enforcement and litigation. In our The Year Ahead: Global Disputes Forecast 2024, nearly three-quarters (73%) of the respondents said that environmental, social and governance disputes presented as the top risks to their organizations in the coming year.
In this client alert, we provide a high-level overview of the key trends and developments in ESG enforcement and litigation in Singapore in three areas: greenwashing, employment law and anti-money laundering (AML).