A service contract (unless it is a fixed term) usually has a termination clause with a fixed notice. Such notice tends to be shorter than the notice period agreed between the employer and the worker. Independent contractors are not protected by statutory minimum deadlines. Employment contracts in Singapore are also governed by the general principles of contract law. Employment contracts can be terminated by agreement, performance or performance, frustration and refusal or fundamental violation. A service contract must include important terms of employment and essential clauses such as working time and volume of work. In early February, members of the Mountain House Community District Board of Directors informed only a large number of supporters that they would continue to enter into contracts with the Tracy Rural Fire Protection District. Four days later, in a special late-night session, they voted in favour of a reversal. As a result, mountain House residents will see their service levels drop dramatically if the district enters into a contract with Camp Fire District, an undated online support provider (S ALS) this year. “Basically, we lost the contract, but the real losers are the people of Mountain House,” said Tony Perez, president of Tracy Firefighters, Local 3355, which represents Tracy Rural`s FPD and the city of Tracy. The decision to enter into a contract with French Camp ends a nearly three-year ordeal at Mountain House, in which a couple of hard-line district managers tried to reduce operating costs at the expense of public safety.

As part of the service agreement, the Tracy Rural FPD provided businesses with three engines and a support system that allowed 12 additional firefighters to be placed on site in eight and a half minutes. French Camp will provide two-headed non-SDRA engine companies and does not currently have mutual assistance agreements. “The level of service is not even close,” Perez said. Throughout the process, Local 3355 members worked to inform community members of the seriousness of the decline in service. Residents were so receptive that media coverage of the first board vote to continue to hate each other with Tracy Rural found that the decision led to “applause from a large number of spectators who are only in the standing room.” “We went around the municipality and went door-to-door to let residents know what the consequences would be,” Perez said. “The community was very supportive, but at the end of the day, it was a decision of the board that was based on money.” If no notice has been agreed between the employer and the worker, EA workers are subject to statutory deadlines. If an EA employee has one less service. B of 26 weeks at the employer, the mandatory notice would be one day and, if an EA employee has at least five years of service, his or her notice is four weeks.

In general, persons employed under a “service contract” are considered workers, while persons employed under a “service contract” are considered independent contractors.