Legislation to Support Requests for Work-from-Home Arrangements
Ministry of ManpowerSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns whether the government will legislate the right for employees to request flexible work arrangements (FWAs) and require employers to provide business-related reasons for rejections, as raised by Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang. Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo replied that the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is currently enhancing FWA support through initiatives like the Citizens' Panel on Work-Life Harmony recommendations and sector-specific implementation guides. She highlighted that 85% of employers offered formal or ad-hoc FWAs in 2019 and that usage increased during the COVID-19 period due to safety requirements. Tripartite partners are now calling for employers to make flexible hours a norm post-Circuit Breaker, while MOM monitors the impact of higher FWA adoption to entrench best practices. Finally, the Ministry will evaluate the experiences of other jurisdictions and consult with tripartite partners to ensure that any future policies balance the interests of both employees and employers.
Transcript
42 Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will legislate the right for all employees to request flexible work arrangements and require employers who reject the request to provide a specific business-related reason.
Mrs Josephine Teo: The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) recognises the importance of flexible work arrangements (FWAs) in helping workers to better manage both their work and personal responsibilities. We have continuously reviewed and enhanced our efforts to support the provision of FWAs. This includes progressively implementing the recommendations of the Citizens' Panel on Work-Life Harmony that were submitted last year, such as growing a community of Work-Life Ambassadors and developing sector-specific implementation guides on FWAs.
Today, the vast majority of employees are benefitting from FWAs. In 2019, about 85% of employers offered some form of formal or ad-hoc FWAs.1 These numbers have increased during this COVID-19 period with employers being required to implement work-from-home and FWAs for safety of their workers. Post-Circuit Breaker, even as more workers are allowed to return to the workplace, the tripartite partners have called upon employers to not only stagger start times for their employees but also introduce flexible workplace hours as a norm.
MOM will monitor the effects of the higher use of FWAs, and study the best ways to entrench best practices after COVID-19. We will consider the experience of other jurisdictions and work with tripartite partners to ensure the interests of both employees and employers are considered. In the meantime, we urge employers to press on and continue to implement work arrangements that enable employees to maintain work-life harmony while continuing to meet business needs.