All employers in S’pore must fairly consider flexi-work requests from Dec 1 under new rules

SINGAPORE: All employers in Singapore must fairly consider formal requests from employees for flexible work arrangements (FWAs) from Dec 1, 2024, under the new Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangements.

The compulsory guidelines were unveiled on April 15 during a company visit to the Ridout Tea Garden outlet of fast-food chain McDonald’s attended by the three co-chairs of the tripartite workgroup that had worked on it since September 2023.

The co-chairs are Minister of State for Manpower Gan Siow Huang; Singapore National Employers Federation honorary secretary Edwin Ng; and Yeo Wan Ling, assistant secretary-general at the National Trades Union Congress.

The rules will cover formal requests for FWAs, and the processes to submit and evaluate these, but not govern the outcome, the workgroup told reporters at a briefing held earlier in April.

The workgroup said this approach is in line with laws elsewhere, in countries such as the UK and Australia.

The rules also adopt a broad definition of FWAs beyond the flexi-place arrangements, such as remote or hybrid working, popularised by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Instead, the workgroup aims to sensitise employers, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises with less advanced human resource processes, to consider flexi-time and flexi-load arrangements too.

Examples of such arrangements include staggered work hours, part-time work or job sharing.

“It must be the employers’ prerogative to decide if (an) FWA for a particular job is viable from a business point of view. That is a key principle that all tripartite partners subscribe to,” the workgroup told reporters at a briefing on April 4.

The workgroup said the administrative burden is kept light to ensure all firms can comply.

The guidelines will apply to all employees who have served their probation and only cover formal requests.

On the difference between formal and non-formal requests, the workgroup said formal requests often take the form of structured, recurring arrangements that entail some change in work processes.

Meanwhile, non-formal requests for FWAs do not fall under these guidelines, but they should be allowed to be raised, and approved or rejected, so long as there is a consensus.

Elaborating, the workgroup said: “If you look at existing practices, you will find that, especially when it’s very ad hoc, an employee may go to their supervisors (to ask) ‘Can I come in a bit later today, because I need to just settle some things for my children or for my mother?’, and it works.

“What we don’t want to do is to then artificially add on a cumbersome as well as heavy administrative process, and so the formal arrangement is if the employee wants something a little bit more long-term.”

The guidelines stipulate that the process to submit a formal request, and how the request will be handled, should be clearly outlined to workers.

On their part, employees ought to make their formal FWA requests in writing, and follow requirements employers stipulate.

If no requirements were stipulated, the guidelines urge employees to mention the date of request, type of FWA, duration, reason and the start and end dates in their formal request by default.

Employers have to reply to the request within two months from the date the request was made, and they are encouraged to discuss alternative arrangements if the one sought is not feasible.

The reason for the rejection must be given, and the workgroup said the reasons should generally be business-related, such as cost or feasibility.

Employers should not reject requests based on reasons not directly linked to business outcomes, like not believing in FWAs.

Where possible, employees are strongly encouraged to discuss and resolve disagreements on FWAs with their employers through the firm’s internal grievance-handling mechanism.

Unionised employees should also approach their unions for advice on formal or non-formal FWA requests.

Employees whose employers did not adhere to the guidelines can approach the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (Tafep) for assistance on formal FWA requests.

The workgroup said Tafep will engage the employer and advise them to comply with the guidelines.

Responding to queries from The Straits Times, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said the guidelines set out best practices in developing trust and mutual understanding between employers and employees.

It added: “This is a more effective approach in developing strong workplace norms around FWAs, compared to a punitive one.

“In cases where employers are recalcitrant and/or wilfully refuse to comply with the (guidelines), MOM may issue a warning and require them to attend corrective workshops.”

The workgroup said Tafep and the Institute for Human Resource Professionals will introduce training and resources to help employers gain the capabilities to implement FWAs effectively.

These resources will be progressively rolled out from May 2024. Employers can visit the Tafep website to access these resources, sign up for training sessions and make inquiries.

Asked at the April 15 visit about further enforcement actions available against recalcitrant employers, or employers who off-handedly reject FWA requests with business-related reasons without proper consideration, Gan said market forces would mean employers have an interest in complying.

“We know that we have a tight labour market in Singapore and the employers themselves actually know that if they want to attract the talent to join them, or retain the good people in the company, they have to be competitive and they have to be progressive,” she said.

On the two-month window set for the reply to FWA requests, the workgroup told reporters at the briefing it was intended to allow employers enough time to consider what alternative arrangements are needed should the request be approved, evaluate whether these arrangements are feasible and then putting it in place.

These could include checking how the workload and job hours of the requester’s colleagues may need to be changed, for instance.

The workgroup also noted two months is the norm stipulated in legislation in the UK that provides for a right to request for FWAs.

It added that there is no constraint on the reasons workers can provide for an FWA request, and that they are not limited to caregiving responsibilities.

In a prelude, NTUC released on April 9 a briefing paper to showcase unionised companies and labour movement partners that have benefited from putting FWAs in place, as well as strategies on implementing FWAs.

Yeo, who is also director of NTUC’s U SME and U Women and Family units, told reporters on April 15: “All job types in all industries, with creativity, will be able (to be) re-engineered such that it creates a trust culture for workers as well as employers when it comes to the introduction of flexible working arrangements.”

One employer that has FWAs in place – in the form of flexible work hours and workload – is Radha Exports, which is behind the Valu$ and ABC Bargain Centre chain of stores.

Yap Chin Soon, 49, starts and ends work later to beat the morning commuter rush, continuing an arrangement necessitated by Covid-19 measures.

The senior finance manager at Radha Exports welcomed the guidelines, saying: “It provides a framework for us to have a discussion and everyone will have to come to a discussion on common ground.”

Radha Exports chief executive Deepak Anandani said of his hopes for future policies on FWAs: “Public awareness on the difficulty of (businesses) managing FWAs with staff should be at the forefront of what we educate them on.” – The Straits Times/ANN