What You Need To Know About Singapore’s Flexible Work Arrangement Guidelines

This post was originally posted on Planner Bee.

When the world was hit with the sudden and highly contagious Covid-19 in 2019, companies sought ways to maintain their businesses while reducing people-to-people interactions.

Working from home became widely accepted, and this practice, even in the post-Covid world, continues to be favoured by many younger employees. In fact, one in two Singapore employees surveyed said they would quit their jobs if they were made to work from the office more often.

However, many companies have since ended work-from-home (WFH) arrangements, making employees either adopt a hybrid working situation or entirely remove WFH plans altogether.

While WFH arrangements can help companies save on office rental and electricity fees, companies have cited various reasons for not favouring it or ending it. This includes lower work productivity, poor work experience, and fewer hours worked.

Despite this, the Singapore government sees the importance of flexible work arrangements, especially with an increasing number of Singaporeans taking up caregiver roles in their family. This gave rise to the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs), which is set to come into effect on 1 December 2024.

In this piece, we will delve into what these flexible work arrangements are, why they are proposed, how to request these arrangements and what are the acceptable and unacceptable types of requests.

What are Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs)?

FWAs are work arrangements where employers and employees agree to a variation from the standard work arrangement. FWAs may fall into one or more of these three broad categories:

The government has accepted all 10 recommendations by the Tripartite Workgroup on the Tripartite Guidelines on FWA Requests (TG-FWAR).

The mandatory guidelines will shape the right norms and expectations around FWAs, by setting out how employees should request for FWAs and use them, and how employers and supervisors should handle FWA requests.

Reasoning behind FWA implementation

Minister of State for Manpower Gan Siow Huang pointed to Singapore’s tight labour market and an ageing workforce, with more Singaporeans taking on caregiver roles at home, as a reason for FWA to be considered.

“Singapore has an ageing population. We know that more and more of us will be caregivers, at some point. It is our duty to create an environment that is supportive so that those people who want to work can continue to work, even while they are managing other family duties at home,” Ms Gan shared during a dialogue on the TG-FWARs.

NTUC assistant secretary-general Yeo Wan Ling also shared that while FWAs can greatly benefit caregivers, younger workers who are considering studying while working will also benefit from this arrangement.

Benefits of FWAs

FWAs can be beneficial for both employees and employers, enabling employees to achieve better work-life harmony, and employers a competitive advantage in talent attraction and retention.

Benefits of FWAs for employers

1. Reduced costs: With employees working from home, employers can save on office rental space, utilities costs, and various office equipment.
2. Increased productivity: Allowing employees to work at the time and place of their convenience enhances their satisfaction towards their job, which in turn can translate to better productivity at work.
3. Low employee turnover rate: When your employees are satisfied with their jobs, they tend to stay with the company longer, making it less stressful for employers as they no longer have to constantly find and train new workers.
4. Access to a wider talent pool: Many employees, especially young workers, consider FWAs as a deciding factor when presented with job offers. By offering FWAs, employers can attract top talents to their organisation.

Benefits of FWAs for employees

1. Better work-life balance: Employees can arrange their personal and work lives more effectively with flexi-time and flexi-place arrangements. This allows them to perform at their best form, benefitting their work with better performance all while achieving a stronger work-life balance.
2. Increased efficiency: Without having to travel to work or be stuck in traffic during the usual peak hours, FWAs help employees save time and energy.
3. Work stability: Employees do not have to search for a new job as they now have the flexibility of different work arrangements suited to their needs.

However, to reap these benefits, FWAs must be implemented based on trust and mutual understanding between employer and employee.

One of the reasons why WFH and FWAs are frowned upon by some employers is because they tend to worry that their employees are slacking off work. This holds some truth. One study found that remote workers put in 3.5 hours less per day, replacing that time mostly with leisure and sleep.

However, productivity remained high. While it might seem unfair for employers to be paying the usual rate while their employees put in fewer hours, high productivity means work is still getting done efficiently, sometimes even more than when employees work in the office or adhere to strict working hours.

Employers need to understand that this trade-off has a long-term benefit as their workers will have higher job satisfaction, maintaining and even increasing their work efficiency, all at no extra costs for the company.

Employers’ and employees’ obligations to FWA

The FWA guidelines that take effect on 1 December 2024 and will apply to all employers and employees who have passed probation. The guidelines aim to make it easier for employees to request FWAs, while “acknowledging that employers continue to have the prerogative to decide on work arrangements”.

Employers must set up a standardised process for all employees to formally request FWAs. Employees will need to adhere to this process when applying for FWAs. Employees can also make a formal request in writing that includes:

• Date of the request
• Requested flexible work arrangement including its frequency and duration
• Reason for the request
• Start and end date of the arrangement

A request that does not meet these requirements is not considered a formal request and will not be covered by the guidelines.

Credit: MOM

Employers are not required to, but can communicate other information that can help employees assess their suitability for FWAs:

• Types of FWAs employees can request, including those that may be available as a default
• Reasons why certain job roles might not be suitable for specific FWAs
• Examples of why requests might be rejected
• Expectations for the use of FWAs

Supervisors should let their employees know the expected work deliverables while on FWAs. This includes how the employee’s performance will be properly evaluated while on FWAs, and what conditions need to be met for the employee to continue using FWAs.

Employers should refer to these guidelines when handling formal FWA requests from employees:

• Discuss FWA requests in an open and constructive manner: Come to a mutual agreement on how best to meet both organisational and employee needs.
• Consider FWA requests properly: When assessing an employee’s FWA request, employers should focus on factors related to the employee’s job, as well as how the requested FWA may affect the business or the employee’s performance of the job.

Read more:__ 5 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Before Accepting a Job

Accepting and rejecting FWA requests

Employers who receive a formal FWA request should provide a written decision within two months of receiving the request. Should there be any clarifications and discussions on the request needed, employers should clarify them with the employee and communicate the approval or rejection of the request within two months.

Employers have the prerogative to reject employees’ FWA requests, but this should be based on reasonable business grounds and not personal bias against FWAs. Some examples of reasonable business grounds for rejection of FWA are:

• Costs: FWAs can lead to significant increases in costs for the employer.
• Detrimental to productivity or output: FWAs can cause a significant decrease in the quantity or quality of an individual, team or organisation’s productivity or output, or negatively impact the organisation’s ability to meet customer needs.
• Feasibility or practicality: FWAs are not feasible or impractical due to the nature of the job role, or there is no capacity to change other employees’ work arrangements, or require the need to hire new employees, to accommodate the FWA request.

If the request is rejected, employers should include the reason for rejection in the written decision, and are encouraged to discuss alternatives with the relevant employee(s).

Employers should not reject FWA requests for reasons that are not directly linked to business outcomes. Some examples of unreasonable grounds for rejection are:

• Management does not believe in FWAs.
• The supervisor prefers to have direct sight of employees in the office so that they can see if they are working, even though the employee has a consistent satisfactory work performance.
• It is the organisation’s tradition or custom to not have FWAs (e.g. staff have always been required to be in the office during regular office hours, or do not want to start allowing FWAs as other employees may request too).

In conclusion…

Instead of legislation, the TG-FWARs are introduced as a guideline to make it easier for companies to implement, offering a feasible approach to implement them to all employees. Fostering a workplace culture that is based on trust and open communication is essential in the effective and sustainable implementation of these flexi-work arrangements.

To maintain a harmonious workplace culture, based on trust and reciprocity, the Tripartite Workgroup has recommended taking an enabling and educational approach in implementing the guidelines. This includes equipping employees and employers with the resources and skills to make and properly consider FWA requests.

Employees can also seek assistance from the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices should employers not adhere to the requirements in the guidelines.

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