12 July, 2017
2017 has seen many changes to the employment law of Singapore. These include, amongst others, the implementation of a two week paternity leave for fathers of newborns and the establishment of an Employment Claims Tribunal.
From 1 July 2017, additional changes will come into force. We set out below these changes which employers should take note of.
Raising the re-employment age for older workers to 67
The re-employment age for older workers will be raised to 67 (from 65 previously). The new age-ceiling will apply to Singaporeans and Permanent Residents who turn 65 on or after 1 July 2017. Employers are therefore obligated to offer re-employment to eligible employees from age 62 to 67.
In this connection:
The employees eligible for re-employment may now be re-employed by another employer, subject to the following safeguards:
(i) the employee must consent to the transfer to the new employer; and
(ii) the new employer must agree to take on all relevant re-employment obligations of the previous employer.
This is to address the situation where the current employer is unable to re-employ the employees who turn 62.
The maximum Employment Assistance Payment (“EAP”) amount is increased from S$10,000 to S$13,000.
EAP is a one-off payment (equivalent to three months’ salary with a minimum of S$4,500 and the new maximum of S$13,000) which must be offered to employees whom the employer is unable to re-employ, or find another employer to take on its re-employment obligations.
No reduction in employee’s salary at age 60
To ensure further protection for older workers, employers are no longer permitted to reduce the salary of employees when turn 60 years old. Employers were previously allowed to reduce an employee’s wages by up to 10 per cent when such employee turns 60 years old.
Changes in leave entitlements for new parents
As part of the government’s pro-family efforts, revisions were also made to leave entitlements for new parents:
Increase in Adoption Leave: The statutory leave for mothers with adopted children will be increased from four weeks to 12 weeks.
For the first and second adopted child, the first four weeks of the leave will be paid for by their employers, while the last eight weeks will be funded by the Government. All 12 weeks of leave will be funded by the Government for the third and any subsequent child.
Increase in parental leave which may be shared: The number of weeks which mothers may share their statutory maternity leave with their working husbands is increased from one to four weeks.
Impact on employers
Employers should ensure that their internal human resource policies are updated and in compliance with the aforementioned changes.
