Singapore: Guidelines on Flexible Working Will Take Effect in December

To help employers in Singapore navigate the world of flexible working, the Singapore Ministry of Manpower and the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices have introduced the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests, which will take effect Dec. 1.

Yeo Wan Ling, co-chair of the Tripartite Workgroup for Flexible Work Arrangement Requests, said, “Access to Flexible Work Arrangements [FWAs] is often the main consideration for caregivers, women workers, and senior workers when it comes to deciding to stay or return to the workforce. The Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests is a milestone enhancement to the normalization of FWAs in the workplace, as it puts into place formalized and clear processes for workers to request for flexible work arrangements. At the heart of successful FWA implementations is the building of a trust culture in the workplace.”

What Does Flexible Working Mean?

The Tripartite Guidelines provide for three categories of FWAs:

1. Flexi-place: Employees may request to work from locations other than their usual office location (for example, they may request to work from home).

2. Flexi-time: Employees may request to work at different hours from their contractual work hours with no changes to their total working hours or workload.

3. Flexi-load: Employees may request different workloads with commensurate remuneration (i.e., switch from a full-time position to a part-time position with their pay prorated accordingly).

The above categories are broadly similar to the types of FWAs commonly seen in other jurisdictions, such as the United Kingdom and Australia, where FWAs often involve flexibility around employees’ work hours, schedules, or work locations.

Who Can Make a Flexible Working Request?

The Tripartite Guidelines provide that employees in Singapore who have completed their probationary period (if any) can make a formal request for flexible working. Employers may consider flexible working requests from employees who are still on probation but are not required to allow them to make such requests.

These provisions may be contrasted with those in the U.K., where employees now have a statutory right to request FWAs from their first day of employment. In Australia, on the other hand, employees are required to work for the same employer for at least 12 months (in addition to satisfying other conditions) before they are able to request flexible working.

How Should a Flexible Working Request Be Made?

The Tripartite Guidelines provide that employers should implement a process for employees to make their requests. As a matter of good practice, it is recommended that this process include a form for employees to record the details of their request (including the date of the request; the type of FWA requested; the expected frequency, duration, and reason(s) for the request; and the start and end dates of the FWA), details of to whom the request should be submitted, a timeline for the employer to respond to the employee’s request, and the mode in which the employer should communicate its decision to the employee.

In the absence of an employer-implemented process, employees can still make a formal FWA request in writing with the above-mentioned details.

Employers’ Considerations in Assessing a Flexible Working Request

The Tripartite Guidelines provide that employers, in assessing whether an FWA request should be granted, should consider the impact of an FWA on the employee’s workload and performance, as well as the impact on the requesting employee’s team and clients (where relevant). Insofar as it is reasonably practicable, employers who are assessing FWA requests should consider the feasibility of reassigning work across team members and reviewing their work processes.

Employers should evaluate each FWA request on a case-by-case basis and may refuse a request so long as the reasons for rejection are linked to legitimate and justifiable business considerations. Examples of legitimate business considerations include if the FWA is impractical due to the nature of an employee’s job role, if granting the FWA request leads to significant costs for the employer, or if granting the FWA is detrimental to the employee’s or team’s productivity or output.

To assist employers in evaluating whether an employee’s FWA request should be granted, the Tripartite Guidelines also provide examples of unreasonable grounds for rejecting a request. These grounds include a supervisor’s preference for physical presence over performance-based evaluation, a general lack of trust in FWAs, or reasons based solely on organizational customs and practices without a clear business justification.

In this regard, employers in Singapore may draw upon the experience of other jurisdictions with established frameworks to obtain further guidance. For example, the grounds on which employers may reject an FWA request in the U.K. include the burden of additional costs (in practice, this is likely to be justified if an employer is required to hire and train additional headcount so that its business operations can function effectively), the inability to reorganize work among existing staff, and the inability to recruit additional staff. U.K. employers may also reject an FWA request if they can show that there will be a detrimental impact on quality of work, a detrimental effect on the ability to meet customer demand, a detrimental impact on performance, insufficient work available during the periods the employee proposes to work, or planned structural changes to the employer’s business.

Procedures for Handling Flexible Working Requests

Employers are required to provide a written decision on an FWA request within a specified time frame and are encouraged to engage with the requesting employee to explore modifications to the original request or other suitable FWA options that may be mutually beneficial. The Tripartite Guidelines provide that employers should issue their written decision within two months of receiving the request. If employers reject a request, they should also include the reason why in the return decision.

Employers are encouraged to discuss FWA requests in an open and constructive manner and to explore alternative arrangements if the employee’s original request cannot be granted. However, there is no requirement for employers to implement any appeal mechanism unless the employer’s grievance policies provide one.

Conclusion

The introduction of the Tripartite Guidelines in Singapore represents a progressive endorsement of flexible working as an important part of the future of work for the nation. Employers are encouraged to implement clear and fair processes to consider employees’ requests for flexible working and to work toward building a culture of trust to promote higher job satisfaction and accountability among employees.

Rebecca Lim is an attorney with Seyfarth in Hong Kong and Singapore. © 2024 Seyfarth. All rights reserved. Reposted with permission of Lexology.