Written Answer by Mrs Josephine Teo Minister for Manpower to PQ on Regulations Protecting Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Workplaces

NOTICE PAPER NO. 237 OF 2021 FOR THE SITTING ON OR AFTER 02 FEBRUARY 2021

QUESTION NO. 422 FOR WRITTEN ANSWER

MP: Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song

To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether there are any regulations specifically protecting the rights of people with disabilities at the workplace; (b) if so, how many complaints have been filed with the Ministry pertaining to violations of these regulations in the past five years; and (c) whether the Ministry has plans to strengthen regulations to better protect the rights of persons with disabilities at the workplace.

Answer:

1. People with disabilities enjoy the same protections, right and obligations under our employment legislation, as any other individual. This includes an expectation that employers abide by fair and merit-based employment practices as outlined in the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices, protection from workplace discrimination and from unfair dismissal. Employers who have breached these obligations face firm enforcement action by MOM and will have their work pass privileges curtailed.

2. MOM and TAFEP investigate all such complaints impartially, without prejudging either party to the complaint. From 2015 to 2019, the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) received four complaint cases on workplace discrimination relating to persons with disabilities. After investigation, TAFEP found that these cases involved poor communication and a lack of sensitivity by the employer, when interacting with the complainant. However, there was no practice or policy of discrimination on the part of the employer. TAFEP provided advice to the respective employers on how they could improve their employment practices. All four employers were receptive to the advice, and there have been no further complaints against these employers involving persons with disabilities. There were also no substantiated cases of discriminatory dismissal due to disability in the past five years.

3. TAFEP has also observed that employers, their managers and society generally, need to cultivate the correct mindset with respect to disability. Some employers misunderstand the needs of persons with disabilities, or wrongly conclude they are unable to perform certain tasks. Our public education efforts include advisory articles on TAFEP’s website, advertisements on mainstream media platforms, and social media posts, to create a more inclusive workplace for persons with disabilities. The Government also provides wage offsets to employers who hire Singaporeans with disabilities earning below $4,000 a month. Under the Enabling Employment Credit scheme, employers will receive up to 20% wage offset, and those hiring Singaporeans with disabilities who had not been working for the past six months prior to being hired will receive an additional wage offset of up to 10% for a period of six months. SGEnable also administers the Open Door Programme which provides support for employers to hire, train and integrate persons with disabilities into the workplace.