Singapore reverts to work-from-home as default again

As COVID-19 cases continue to spike, work from home (WFH) will be the default for all employees who are able to do so.
By: | September 27, 2021
Topics: Compliance | Employee Experience | Health and Wellness | Hybrid Working | News | Singapore

This rule will take effect from September 27 to October 24, with the earlier 10-day snap WFH regime for when COVID-19 cases are detected at the workplace will be suspended, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in a press release.  

Employees, contractors, and vendors who are unable to work from home are strongly encouraged to do an antigen rapid test (ART) every week, MOH said, adding that “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”. 

“There should continue to be no cross-deployment of workers to multiple worksites for those who need to go into worksites to work. 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,” said MOH. 

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Besides workplace safety measures, MOH emphasised that vaccination-differentiated safe management measures, mask wearing, and social distancing remain “essential” to ensure that large-scale events can proceed safely for attendees. 

The tightening of measures comes as Singapore – even with one of the world’s highest vaccination rates of 82% – saw an exponential increase in COVID-19 cases from August 23.