Actions to Encourage Employers to Comply with New Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests
Ministry of ManpowerSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests (TG-FWAR) and measures to ensure employer compliance, as raised by Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim. Minister for Manpower Dr Tan See Leng highlighted that the government provides resources like toolkits and grants to support employers, drawing on similar right-to-request models used in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. He emphasized Singapore’s enabling and educational approach, where employers retain the prerogative to decide on requests based on business needs. The guidelines, which took effect on 1 December 2024, are supported by mediation rather than direct legislation to resolve potential disputes. Finally, the Ministry of Manpower is working with the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices to monitor the guidelines' utilization and compliance.
Transcript
55 Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim asked the Minister for Manpower in respect of the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests (a) other than referring the non-compliance by employers to the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices or their respective unions, what other actions may be taken to encourage compliance by employers; (b) whether the Ministry has conducted any studies from other jurisdictions on effective measures to encourage flexible work arrangements; and (c) what are the plans to monitor utilisation and compliance with such Guidelines.
Dr Tan See Leng: To help employers understand and comply with the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests (TG-FWAR), the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has worked with the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP), Singapore National Employers Federation and National Trades Union Congress to provide employers with practical resources, such as toolkits and playbooks, to implement Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs) effectively. Employers can also tap on grants, such as the Productivity Solutions Grant, to offset the costs of adopting FWAs, such as for consultancy services to redesign jobs or business processes and upgrade their IT systems to support FWAs.
In drawing up the Guidelines, tripartite partners studied the experience in other countries, such as Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. These countries have legislations that give employees the right to request for FWAs, but do not mandate that employers provide the FWAs requested. Disputes are mostly resolved through mediation. Our Tripartite Guidelines, while not legislated, adopt a similar approach of allowing employees to request for FWAs, while employers retain the prerogative to decide on FWA provision in line with their business needs. Building on the strengths of Singapore's tripartite system, the tripartite partners have further taken on an enabling and educational approach to guide and support employers to comply with TG-FWAR.
TG-FWAR recently took effect on 1 December 2024 and MOM is working with TAFEP to monitor utilisation and compliance with the Guidelines.