Singapore issued over $141,000 fines for workplace management breaches

Since 2021, businesses in Singapore have received over S$141,000 (US$104,014) in fines for breaches of safe management measures at the workplace.

Breaches for such measures commonly include asking employees to return to the workplace even though they can work from home, and not implementing sufficient safe distancing measures. 

Last week, one firm was ordered to stop work, out of an inspection of over 12,000 companies, the Ministry of Manpower told The Straits Times. 

Director of medical services Kenneth Mak had earlier warned that a worst case scenario of the transmission of the Omicron variant could see Singapore recording as many as 15,000 cases a day. 

Singapore Human Resources Institute president Low Peck Kem highlighted that easing back into the workplace through compliance of measures such as self-testing, group size caps and restrictions on social interactions will prevent the need for a nationwide lockdown.

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Health Minister Ong Ye Kung also said that due to Omicron’s transmissibility, Singapore has to prepare for a “much bigger infection wave” than was seen with the Delta strain last October.