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SINGAPORE – Starting next Monday (September 28), more employees will be able to return to their workplaces, while office work events will be allowed to take place.
These changes are part of the updated requirements for safe management measures (SMM) in the workplace developed by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), the multidisciplinary COVID-19 working group announced on Wednesday.
While working from home remains the default work mode, authorities will allow more employees to return to their workplaces, said Education Minister and task force co-chair Lawrence Wong, speaking at a virtual press conference.
But employers must ensure that such employees continue to work from home for at least half of their work time, and that no more than half of such employees are in the workplace at any time, he added.
“We also want employers to do their part to minimize overcrowding and crowding in common spaces, particularly on our public transportation. That is why we also ask employers to implement flexible work arrangements for their returning employees, ”Wong said.
He added that employers should implement flexible working hours to allow employees to work partly at home and partly at the workplace. For example, allow them to work from 10 a.m. M. At 4 p. M. O of 1 p. M. At 5 p. M. During office hours will ensure that they travel outside of peak periods.
Employers can also arrange for them to return to the workplace only for meetings and work from home the rest of the time, and they must further stagger reporting times so that half of all employees start work at 10 am or later. “It doesn’t have to be such a binary arrangement,” Wong said.
Shift or split team arrangements should continue, with each team restricted to one workplace when possible, and employers should ensure a clear separation of employees into different teams or shifts.
“This update has been carefully considered to balance employers’ concerns regarding the impact of extended periods of work from home on productivity and work relationships, while creating safe workplaces for employees,” said the task force in a press release Wednesday.
“This will also help employees who face special difficulties working from home. Since these measures will need to be in place for some time, we encourage employers to ensure that work-from-home arrangements are implemented in a sustainable manner to allow employees to maintain work-life balance while continuing to meet the requirements. business needs “.
Resumption of work-related events is allowed within workplaces
Work-related events within the workplace facilities that are business-oriented, such as conferences, seminars, corporate retreats, extraordinary and general annual general meetings, may be resumed, for up to 50 people, with strict adherence to the measures of secure management.
The resumption of offsite work-related events will be considered at a later date, while the rules on, for example, staff eating their meals in staff canteens will be updated, referencing current national guidelines. MOM will publish more details later.
Wong emphasized, “So anything that is work related can be resumed subject to safe handling measures in place at the workplace. But large-scale social gatherings should not be organized either inside or outside the workplace. “
Employers should not organize or encourage large-scale social gatherings, such as parties, celebrations, team-bonding activities, dinner parties and dances, and gala dinners.
To reduce the risk of transmission with gradual resumption of activities, employers must continue to ensure a clear physical space of at least 1 meter and demarcate safe physical distances.
These include everyone in meeting rooms, workspaces, and workstations, and at all times during work-related events that take place in the workplace.
“The tripartite partners – MOM, the National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) and the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) will continue to review requirements periodically to take into account new developments, such as updated medical advice, technology updates and operational practices,” Said the working group.
“These updates will help employers keep workplaces safe amid the fluid COVID-19 situation, while streamlining processes where possible.”
Failure to comply with the safe management measure can result in sanctions such as suspension of on-site operations, fines, and withholding of payments for government support schemes and grants, while more serious violations can result in prosecution.
The SnapSAFE app can continue to be used to report any non-compliance with workplace requirements, the working group said.
“If all goes well, if we can continue to maintain this level of compliance and we can continue to control the infection well, then we can continue on this path of steadily resuming and opening up our economy and society. We are already working on the roadmap to Phase 3, ”Wong said.
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