AWS (Annual Wage Supplement)
Annual Wage Supplement
Here, AWS means Annual Wage Supplement, not Amazon Web Services.
Just Tell Me
In Singapore employment, AWS means Annual Wage Supplement, a single yearly payment often called the 13th-month payment.
Also called: Annual Wage Supplement, 13th month payment, 13th-month payment
Explain Like I’m Five
AWS is one annual payment on top of an employee’s total annual wage. People call it the 13th-month payment, but it is not automatically required for every employee.
Where You’ll Run Into It
The term appears in employment contracts, company handbooks, collective agreements and year-end pay discussions. A job offer may list monthly salary, AWS and performance bonus separately.
When reading a pay package, distinguish AWS from CPF contributions. If a role ends through retrenchment, the annual wage component and any retrenchment benefit are separate concepts.
Example
“The package includes one month of AWS, subject to the contract.”
The employer is describing a separate annual wage component, not promising every kind of bonus.
The Part People Get Wrong
AWS and a performance bonus are not the same thing. MOM states that AWS is not compulsory unless it is provided for in the employment contract or collective agreement.
Sources
Related
- moneyCPFUpdated
CPF is Singapore’s Central Provident Fund, a social security savings system supporting retirement, housing and healthcare for citizens and permanent residents.
- workMOM (Ministry of Manpower)Updated
MOM is Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower, responsible for workforce and workplace policies, including employment conditions, workplace safety and foreign manpower.
- workRetrenchmentUpdated
Retrenchment is dismissal because a job becomes redundant or an employer reorganises its business or work.