Reduction of Official Work Hours

Mr K Karthikeyan asked the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will reduce the official work hours to 40 per week to achieve work-life balance and productivity improvement.

The Employment Act regulates working hours for employees earning a basic monthly salary not exceeding $2,500 and workmen with a basic monthly salary not exceeding $4,500. Under the Act, contractual working hours cannot be more than eight hours in a day or 44 hours in a week. Those who work longer than what is prescribed in the law at the request of their employer will have to be paid extra for overtime work. For other employees whose work hours are not regulated by law, their nature of work is not time-based. As such, it is not practical for the Government to regulate their working hours.

A more pragmatic and feasible approach to promoting work-life harmony is to encourage more employers to adopt flexible work arrangements. Flexible work

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arrangements, such as telecommuting or flexible working hours, can allow employees to find the right fit that suits their personal needs. Many research studies have also shown that employees on flexible work arrangements are also more productive and engaged at the workplace.

We are heartened that more employers are now offering flexible work arrangements to their employees. Forty-four percent of establishments in Singapore offered at least one form of flexible work arrangement to their employees in 2013, up from 25% in 20073.

The Tripartite Committee (TriCom) on Work-Life Strategy will be stepping up its promotional efforts this year to organise a week-long Work-Life Campaign in November to increase the awareness of the benefits of flexible work arrangements. In conjunction with the campaign, TriCom will also be issuing a Tripartite Advisory on Flexible Work Arrangements to guide employers, supervisors and employees in implementing and using flexible work arrangements.

In July, the Government enhanced the WorkPro Work-Life Grant to encourage a higher take-up rate when employers implement and sustain flexible work arrangements. In August, the National Trades Union Congress also launched the U Flex Family-Friendly Grant with funding from the Government to encourage companies to put in place a more holistic family-friendly workplace environment by introducing Family Care Leave and Family Support Schemes.

Going forward, the Government will continue to work closely with the tripartite partners to encourage even more companies to adopt flexible work arrangements.

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