Hossain Rakib v Ideal Design & Build Pte Ltd
Key facts
| Court | High Court (General Division) |
|---|---|
| Decided | |
| Judge | Goh Yihan |
| Charges / claim | Employment Law |
| Counsel | JCP Law LLC, TSMP Law Corporation, Chan Kah Keen Melvin, Chia Wei Lin Rebecca, Markus Kng Tian Sheng, Neo Zhi Wei Eugene |
Source: [2023] SGHC 166, High Court (General Division), decided — eLitigation. Updated .
Catchwords
Practice Areas
Judges (1)
Counsel (6)
Case Significance
Hossain Rakib v Ideal Design & Build Pte Ltd [2023] SGHC 166 is a reserved judgment of Goh Yihan JC in the General Division of the High Court, delivered on 15 June 2023 in Employment Claims Tribunal Appeal No 1 of 2023. The appellant, Mr Hossain Rakib, a Bangladeshi national employed as a construction worker, welder and flame cutter by Ideal Design & Build Pte Ltd from 14 December 2020 to 6 January 2022, claimed overtime pay for over 700 hours of overtime worked between February 2021 and November 2021. The central question was whether s 38(5) of the Employment Act 1968 bars a claim for overtime pay exceeding the prescribed monthly limit of 72 overtime hours, the respondent having required him to work beyond that limit in some months; Mr Rakib had lost in the Employment Claims Tribunal below.
[2023] SGHC 166 explained
Hossain Rakib v Ideal Design & Build Pte Ltd ([2023] SGHC 166) is a Singapore judgment decided by the High Court (General Division) on 15 June 2023. It is categorised under Employment Law. It is a recent decision; within this corpus no later judgment has cited it yet. This page summarises what the reported decision covers and links the primary sources — the full judgment, the statutes it cites, and the other cases it engages with — so the decision can be read in context. It is reference information, not legal advice, and it does not state the outcome or any holding beyond what the official judgment records.
What is [2023] SGHC 166 about?
Hossain Rakib v Ideal Design & Build Pte Ltd ([2023] SGHC 166) is a High Court (General Division) decision from 2023. Its published catchwords are “Employment Law — Pay — Whether s 38(5) of the Employment Act 1968 (2020 Rev Ed) bars a claim for overtime pay exceeding the prescribed monthly limit of overtime hours”, which indicate the subject matter the judgment addresses. The full reasoning and orders are in the judgment itself, linked below.
Which legislation does [2023] SGHC 166 consider?
The judgment refers to Employment Act (Cap 91) and Interpretation Act (Cap 1). The statutes cited are listed in full on this page, each linking to its primary text.
Summary
Hossain Rakib, a Bangladeshi construction worker, appealed against an Employment Claims Tribunal decision that denied him overtime pay for over 700 hours of work performed between February and November 2021. The key issue was whether s 38(5) of the Employment Act 1968, which caps overtime at 72 hours per month, barred his claim for pay for hours beyond that cap. The High Court allowed the appeal, holding that s 38(5) was not intended to prevent recovery of overtime pay, and remitted the case to compute the additional sum owed.
What was Hossain Rakib v Ideal Design & Build Pte Ltd [2023] SGHC 166 about?
It was a reserved judgment of Goh Yihan JC, delivered on 15 June 2023, on whether s 38(5) of the Employment Act 1968 bars a construction worker's claim for overtime pay exceeding the prescribed monthly limit of 72 overtime hours.
How much overtime did Hossain Rakib claim in [2023] SGHC 166?
Mr Hossain Rakib, employed by Ideal Design & Build Pte Ltd from 14 December 2020 to 6 January 2022, claimed overtime pay for over 700 hours of overtime work between February 2021 and November 2021, some months exceeding the 72-hour statutory limit.
Statutes Cited
Cases Cited (8)
Related cases
Other Singapore judgments involving the same parties or counsel.
Referenced in
Statutes interpreted in this judgment
Legal concepts & references
Judgment
Read the full judgment on the official Singapore Courts portal.
Read on eLitigationSource: eLitigation ([2023] SGHC 166)