Employment matters

Can the Tribunal hear employment claims eg, claims for unpaid salaries?

The answer is no. Under section 5 of the Small Claims Tribunal Act, contract claims for the sale of goods or the provision of services are within the Tribunal's power.

An employment contract is referred to by lawyers as a "contract for service", whereas a independent contractor's contract is called a contract for services. A typical example from legal textbooks - a chaffeur would be an employee whereas a taxi-driver is an independent contractor. The line between the 2 is usually clear but some companies have become creative and structured their dealings to try to convert employees into independent contractors for tax and financial reasons. In these situations, some factors the court may consider will be what risk the "employee" takes, what type of control does the "employer" have over the "employee", etc.
A current example, although the law is maybe only 60% similar, is the class action lawsuit brought in the US by "employees" of Federal Express against the company.

For those who are employees, for minor disputes, you may wish to approach the Ministry of Manpower for assistance.