Singapore reviews fair employment practices

Companies that roll out attendance-related incentive schemes that consider workers’ use of sick leave will be going against Singapore’s Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP).

Such a practice “should no longer be seen as a reasonable or fair practice”, said Manpower Minister Tan See Leng, reports CNA. 

“Such schemes may have emerged over time as a way to help deter malingering and instil a more disciplined workforce. While they may have been created with these outcomes in mind, the tripartite partners are of the view that attendance-related schemes that consider sick leave utilisation should no longer be seen as a reasonable or fair practice,” highlighted the minister in a written reply to parliamentary questions. 

“As a matter of principle, if an employee is unwell, he should seek medical attention, firstly for his own well-being, and secondly, for the well-being of his co-workers,” the minister added. 

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“To the extent that attendance incentive schemes discourage the taking of sick leave, even if unintentionally, it contradicts the overriding principle to protect the well-being of workers,” he said.