Approval workflows for Singapore SMEs: leave, training and onboarding without WhatsApp
Why WhatsApp and verbal approvals fail, what a good approval flow needs, and how to apply it to leave, training and onboarding in a Singapore SME.
By Cova
In most small companies, an approval is a thumbs-up emoji. A worker asks for leave in the site group chat, the supervisor replies "ok", and HR finds out on the day the worker doesn't turn up. It works until someone disputes it, the supervisor leaves, or an MC photo ends up in a group with forty people in it.
This guide explains why chat and verbal approvals break down, what a good approval flow looks like, and how to apply it to the three requests every SME handles: leave, training and onboarding. The examples come from construction, where approvers are on site and requests arrive from several projects at once. Every legal point links to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) or TAFEP.
Why WhatsApp and verbal approvals fail
- There's no record you can find. A "can" in a chat thread is hard to find a year later, and it's gone when the supervisor changes phones or leaves the company.
- It's unclear who decided. A group chat has many people in it. When three people react, nobody knows who actually approved.
- Nothing is checked. A chat doesn't know the worker has 2 days of leave left, or that half the formwork crew is already off that week.
- Requests stall quietly. There's no deadline and no reminder, so a request waits until someone chases it.
- Personal data spreads. Medical certificates, leave reasons and identity documents get forwarded to people who don't need them.
- People approve their own requests. A supervisor applies for leave and says "approved" in the same breath.
What the rules expect you to keep
The rules below don't tell you how to approve a request, but each depends on the records your approvals leave behind.
Leave records. For employees covered by the Employment Act, MOM requires employers to keep the dates and other details of leave taken and public holidays. Keep the latest 2 years for current employees. For ex-employees, keep the last 2 years for 1 year after they leave. (MOM: employment records)
Sick leave notice. If an employee can't report for work, the Employment Act requires them to inform the employer within 48 hours, and they should submit the medical certificate when they return. (MOM: sick leave eligibility and entitlement) You need one clear channel for that notice, not five chats.
Onboarding deadlines. Employers must issue key employment terms (KETs) in writing within 14 days after the start of employment to employees covered by the Employment Act who are employed for 14 days or more. (MOM: what is a contract of service) An onboarding checklist with due dates keeps that on track.
Personal data. Under the PDPA, organisations must make reasonable security arrangements to protect personal data, and make a reasonable effort to ensure it's accurate and complete, especially if it's likely to be used to make a decision that affects the person. (PDPC: data protection obligations) An MC in a group chat fails the first test. A leave balance worked out from memory risks the second.
Fair decisions. The Workplace Fairness Act prohibits adverse employment decisions on protected characteristics such as age, nationality and race, including decisions about training and promotion. It will require employers to have processes to handle grievances, and MOM aims for it to take effect at the end of 2027. (TAFEP: guide to workplace fairness for employers, MOM: Workplace Fairness (Dispute Resolution) Bill) If a worker says they were refused a course unfairly, a written decision with a reason is far better than "I think he said no".
What a good approval flow looks like
| Principle | What it means | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| A named approver | Each request goes to one person or role, set in advance | No guessing who decides |
| A fallback | If there's no manager, the request goes to HR | Nothing gets stuck with nobody |
| No self-approval | Nobody decides their own request, HR included | Removes the obvious conflict |
| Checks before approval | Balance and clashes are checked automatically | Approvers decide on facts |
| Deadlines and reminders | Old requests are flagged, and approvers are chased | Requests don't stall quietly |
| A reason for every no | Rejections carry a written reason | Fair, and defensible later |
| An audit trail | Who decided what, and when, can't be edited | Evidence for disputes and reviews |
| Works on a phone | Approvers can decide from site | Site supervisors aren't at desks |
Keep it simple. Most SMEs need one step for leave, an optional manager step for training, and a few owners for onboarding. Add stages only where money or risk justifies them, such as purchases above a set amount.
Applying it to leave, training and onboarding
Leave
Route leave to the worker's reporting manager, usually the site supervisor or project manager, with HR as the fallback. The approver should see the balance and who else is off before deciding. For a construction team, that clash check matters: two crane operators off on the same day can stop a lift.
Annual leave in Singapore: a practical guide for SMEsEntitlement by years of service, pro-rating and carry-forward, with every rule linked to MOM.cova.sg/resources/sg-annual-leave-guideTraining
Decide which courses need a manager's yes. Mandatory safety courses often don't: HR can book them straight away. Optional or expensive courses usually do. Either way, record who approved each request and why any were declined.
Training management for Singapore SMEs: SkillsFuture funding, providers, approvals and recordsSkillsFuture subsidies, SFEC and Absentee Payroll, choosing a provider, and running booking, approvals and certificates.cova.sg/resources/sg-training-management-smesOnboarding
Onboarding is a chain of small approvals: documents checked, equipment issued, induction done. Give each step an owner and a due date counted from the join date. At the end, someone checks the uploaded documents and signs off the whole checklist.
How Cova handles approvals
Cova is HR software for Singapore SMEs. Here's how it covers each principle today.
One inbox for every request. Leave, training and form requests sit in one Approvals inbox, oldest first, with filters for each type. A request waiting more than 3 days turns red. Approvals works on a phone too.
Named approvers and a fallback. Leave goes to the person's reporting manager, or to HR if they don't have one. On forms such as purchase requests, each stage's approver can be the requester's manager, a role (Finance, IT, HR or Admin) or a named person. If a stage finds nobody to approve it, the request goes to the form's owner, then to HR and Admins.
No self-approval. Nobody can approve, reject or send back their own request, HR and Admins included.
Checks before the decision. When someone applies for leave, Cova checks their balance and blocks overlapping leave. The approver also sees a warning if others in the same department are out on those dates.
Reminders on form approvals. By default, approvers are reminded after 2 working days, then every 2 working days, up to 3 times. After that, the form's owner is told the request is stuck. The form's owner can change the timing or switch reminders off. Leave and training requests turn red after 3 days today; if you want those approvers chased by email too, we build and set that up for your team. A form can have several stages, with up to 10 approvers on a stage, and either anyone or everyone must approve.
Reasons on every no. Rejecting a request needs a reason, which the requester sees. A form request can also be sent back with a note saying what to change.
Training approval where you want it. HR chooses which courses need a manager's approval, course by course or a whole category at once, and those requests land in the same inbox as leave.
Onboarding with owners and sign-off. HR builds checklist templates and starts one for each new joiner. Every step has an owner and a due date. For team steps, HR can turn on a reminder email, sent on the due date or daily while the step is open, for up to 14 days. At the end, HR checks each uploaded file or note and approves it or sends it back, and the finished checklist is locked as "Audited".
A trail that can't be edited. Every step of a training request is recorded with who did it, when and why. Entries in the company Audit log can't be edited or deleted in Cova, by HR or anyone else.
The steps removed: no scrolling through chats to prove an approval, no balances worked out by hand, no chasing approvers one by one, and no MCs forwarded around group chats.
Ask the Cova team for a quote for your headcount and the modules you need.
Choosing an HRIS in Singapore: a buyer's checklist for SMEs and site-based teamsWhat to check before you buy an HR system: leave rules, work passes, training records, approvals, PDPA, mobile access and pricing.cova.sg/resources/sg-hris-buyers-checklist Construction training records in Singapore: courses, certificates and approvals for SMEsWhich safety courses construction workers need, why records matter in an inspection, and how to run training without spreadsheets.cova.sg/resources/sg-construction-training-recordsFrequently asked questions
Is a WhatsApp approval for leave valid in Singapore?
A chat message can show that leave was agreed. The problem is the record: MOM requires employers to keep the dates and details of leave taken, and a chat thread is hard to search, easy to lose and often shared with the wrong people.
How long must I keep leave records?
MOM requires the latest 2 years of records for current employees. For ex-employees, keep the last 2 years for 1 year after they leave.
Who should approve leave when an employee has no manager?
Set a fallback in advance, usually HR. In Cova, leave from someone with no reporting manager goes to HR automatically.
Can someone approve their own request in Cova?
No. Nobody can approve, reject or send back their own request, HR and Admins included.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules were checked against the MOM, PDPC and TAFEP websites on 15 October 2026. Always check the linked pages for the latest position.