Work-from-home Back To Being The Default Work Arrangement

SINGAPORE – Between 27 September and 24 October 2021, employers here are required to let their staff work from home (WFH) for those who are able to do so, announced the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Friday afternoon (24 September, SGT).

“WFH will be the default for employees who are able to work from home,” said the Ministry, adding that the 10-day snap work from home regime will be suspended. Cross-deployment of employees to multiple worksites for those who need to go to their workplaces is still not allowed.

Previously, up to 50 percent of staff who are able to telecommute were permitted to be at their worksite at any point in time.

“Social gatherings at the workplace will continue to be disallowed. Employers should continue to implement flexible working hours and stagger the start times of employees who need to return to the workplace,” MOH reiterated.

“Employees, contractors, and vendors who are unable to work from home are strongly encouraged to self-test weekly via an Antigen Rapid Test (ART) to keep infected employees from coming to work and keep their workplace safe. Those who are able to work from home but need to return to the workplace for ad-hoc reasons may do so after testing negative via ART before returning onsite.”

The government tightened workplace safe management measures (SMM) as COVID-19 cases continue to increase in Singapore.

To help industries that will be greatly affected by the stricter measures, eligible tenant-occupiers and owner-occupiers of privately-owned commercial properties will get a 2-week cash payout under the Rental Support Scheme. A 2-week rental waiver will also be provided to qualified tenants of commercial properties owned by Singapore’s government.

Furthermore, the authorities will improve the Jobs Support Scheme support to 25 percent during the aforementioned period.

Industries that will be greatly impacted by the stricter measures include retail, F&B, cinemas, gyms, and tourism.