No plans to review annual leave entitlements for now: Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM)
Review of leave entitlements must take into account other entitlements and the impact on business costs, said Senior Minister of State for Manpower Koh Poh Koon.
SINGAPORE— The government has no plans to review the minimum annual leave entitlements for now, said Senior Minister of State for Manpower Koh Poh Koon.
The minister was responding in Parliament to a question by Member of Parliament for Nee Soon Group Representation Constituency (GRC) Louis Ng, who had asked when the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) would review the minimum annual leave entitlement of seven days provided for eligible workers under the Employment Act 1968.
Ng also asked what factors the ministry will consider in determining whether to increase the minimum number of annual leave days.
In response, Koh said that while the Employment Act stipulates a minimum entitlement of seven days of annual leave, this figure increases by one day per year of service with the same employer.
Citing statistics from MOM's survey on employees' working conditions, Koh said that in 2022, over 90 per cent of full-time resident employees aged 25 to 64 in Singapore had more than seven days of annual leave.
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Furthermore, 64.6 per cent of full-time resident employees aged 25 to 64 had 15 days or more of annual leave. This was higher than the 61.1 per cent in 2018.
"Annual leave entitlements must be seen alongside other entitlements that similarly support employees in balancing work and personal needs," said Koh.
Such entitlements include paid public holidays, sick leave, and parental leave. Koh added that reviews of leave entitlements must also take into account the impact on business costs.
"There are no plans to review the annual leave entitlements for now, but we encourage more employers to review their employment benefits holistically to better attract and retain talent in our tight labour market," said Koh.
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