Payout Conditions on Employers Regarding Leave under Jobs Support Scheme
Ministry of ManpowerSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns whether employers receiving Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) payouts are bound by stipulations regarding employees' annual or no-pay leave, as raised by Mr Murali Pillai. Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo explained that a non-prescriptive approach was adopted, allowing employers to request staff to clear paid leave to manage cost pressures and conserve manpower. She noted that employers with genuine cashflow issues may implement no-pay leave to avoid retrenchment but must allow affected employees to seek additional temporary employment. The Ministry of Manpower monitors these cost-saving measures to ensure they are implemented fairly and will investigate concerns regarding irresponsible employer practices. Consequently, employers who fail to act responsibly risk the withdrawal of government-paid employment support, including future JSS payouts, and the suspension of work pass privileges.
Transcript
13 Mr Murali Pillai asked the Minister for Manpower whether employers who have received payouts under Jobs Support Scheme are required to adhere to any stipulation in relation to consumption of vacation leave by their employees or requiring employees to go on no-pay leave.
Mrs Josephine Teo: Given the varied financial positions of employers, the tripartite partners agreed not to take a prescriptive approach on the type and degree of cost-saving measures (e.g. consumption of annual leave, no-pay leave) in issuing advisories1 to guide employers.
With the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) payout, employers should provide some wage support to employees even if their employees are not working. To manage cost pressures and conserve manpower for when they are most needed, employers may request employees to clear some of their paid annual leave when business activity has been sharply reduced. Employers should be allowed to do so, and encouraged to seek their employees’ support and understanding to help the business get ready for business resumption. Where employers have genuine cashflow issues, they may not even be able to afford placing employees on paid annual leave and may have to request employees to go on no-pay leave, in order to avoid the worse alternative of retrenchment. In such instances, tripartite partners have made it clear that employers should allow their employees to seek additional temporary employment to boost their incomes.
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is closely monitoring such cost-saving measures to ensure that they are implemented responsibly and fairly with reasonable support to employees. We will investigate employees' concerns that are brought to our attention. Irresponsible employers may see a withdrawal of Government-paid employment support including future JSS payouts, and suspension of their work pass privileges.
The tripartite partners urge both employers and employees to be open, transparent and understanding in their discussions on cost-saving measures and take a long-term view on saving jobs and emerging stronger together from the crisis.