InterContinental Singapore introduces enhanced employee benefits

InterContinental Singapore has launched new enhanced benefits to support its staff’s development and promote better work-life balance. Commencing in 2018, the programme includes

• increasing maternity and paternity leave,
• encouraging flexible work arrangements,
• allowing encashment and the purchase of annual leave,
• promoting cross-training in different departments for skills upgrade and enhanced career development prospects,
• adding more items which can be claimed under its Flexible Benefits Scheme, and
• offering paid leave for employees to undertake volunteer work

In addition to the enhanced benefits, the hotel has raised the re-employment age from 67 years old, as implemented by the Ministry of Manpower last year, to 68 years old. With the enhanced employee benefits programme, staff will enjoy the following:

Extended maternity and paternity leave Female employees at InterContinental Singapore will receive six months of paid maternity leave while male employees, who are not eligible for paternity leave funded by the government, will be entitled to five working days of paid paternity leave supported by the hotel.

Flexible work arrangements InterContinental Singapore endorses job-sharing, staggered work-hours and telecommuting arrangements to facilitate the needs of employees, in addition to its current Family Care Leave that permits up to five working days of paid leave for employees to take care of immediate family members.

Encashment and Purchase of Annual Leave Employees enjoy the flexibility to encash accrued annual leave or purchase annual leave in addition to their entitlement.

Cross-training Employees are provided the opportunity to be trained in another job function for up to five working days per calendar year, allowing employees to upgrade their skills for versatility in career development.

Flexible benefits scheme  To cultivate a healthy balance between work and wellness, employees enjoy flexible benefits redemptions for union and gym membership fees, yoga and Pilates classes, flight tickets, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TMC) treatments, and outpatient expenses for immediate family members. This is in addition to the current coverage of dental and optical care, health screening and Portable Medical Benefits Scheme (PBMS).

Paid volunteer leave Each employee is granted paid volunteer leave for community programmes at registered charity organisations of their choice or to engage in activities to support IHG Foundation; a non-profit organisation with four key areas of focus, namely hospitality skills development, disaster relief, local community investment and environmental sustainability.

Retirement and re-employment scheme Employees will retire at the age of 62 years old and are eligible for re-employment up to the age of 68 years old, which is one year more than the requirement by Ministry of Manpower.

In the release, Gabrielle Choy, director of human resources, InterContinental Singapore, said: “Hotels in Singapore have been facing a tightening supply of talent in recent years due to new hotel openings and the increase in job opportunities available in the industry has resulted in stiff competition for a limited pool of talent. It is, therefore, crucial that we develop a truly robust benefit structure focusing on the well-being and development of our team, and continually review and enhance our employee benefits to attract and retain talent.”

“Working closely with the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and Workforce Singapore (WSG), we strive to have at least 20% of our employees to commence on the Flexible Work Arrangements by end-2018,” she concluded.

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