New tripartite guidelines for the employment of term contract workers

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM), National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), and the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF), have jointly developed a set of Tripartite Guidelines for the employment of term contract employees.

Term contract employees, those who are on fixed-term contracts of employment, are a small but significant population. Last year, they made up 11.3% of the resident workforce.

One of aims of the guidelines is with regards to clarifying the granting of leave benefits to term contract employees with a long term working relationship.

Employees who have completed at least three months of service with a company will be entitled to statutory leave benefits under the Employment Act (EA) and the Child Development Co-Savings Act (CDCA).

“The guidelines will benefit both employers and employees," said Alvin Lim, divisional director of Workplace Policy and Strategy at MOM.

"On one hand, the guidelines will provide employers with greater clarity on the employment terms they should be providing to their term contract employees. Term contract employees will also benefit from the good employment practices outlined in the guidelines.”

Also read: MOM introduces stiffer enforcement penalties on workplace safety

The guidelines also encouraged both employee and employer to give sufficient notice before the contract expires or either party wishes to renew the contract. This is to provide sufficient time for the other party to make alternative agreements.

Summary of Leave Schemes in the EA and CDCA:

• Annual leave: Start with 7 days per year for first year of employment. Increases by 1 day per year of service thereafter, capped at 14 days per year.
• Sick leave: a) 14 days per year of non-hospitalisation leave; orb) if hospitalisation is necessary, the lesser of the following:i. 60 days of hospitalisation leave per year;ii. the aggregate of 14 days plus the number of days on which he is hospitalised per year.
• Maternity leave: Under the EA, 12 weeks per child birthUnder the CDCA, 16 weeks per child birth
• Paternity leave: 1 week per child birth
• Adoption leave: 4 weeks per child adopted
• Childcare and Extended Childcare: Under the EA, 2 days per year for parents who have children under the age of 7.

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