Written Answer to PQ on Compliance and Monitoring the effects of the Flexible Work Arrangement Requests (TG-FWAR)

NOTICE PAPER NO. 3290 OF 2024 FOR THE SITTING ON 7 JAN 2025
QUESTION NO. 6356 FOR WRITTEN ANSWER

MP: Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim

To ask the Minister for Manpower in respect of the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests (a) other than referring the non-compliance by employers to the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices or their respective unions, what other actions may be taken to encourage compliance by employers; (b) whether the Ministry has conducted any studies from other jurisdictions on effective measures to encourage flexible work arrangements; and (c) what are the plans to monitor utilisation and compliance with such Guidelines.

Answer:

1. To help employers understand and comply with the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests (TG-FWAR), MOM has worked with TAFEP, SNEF and NTUC to provide employers with practical resources such as toolkits and playbooks to implement FWAs effectively. Employers can also tap on grants such as the Productivity Solutions Grant to offset the costs of adopting FWAs, such as for consultancy services to redesign jobs or business processes and upgrade their IT systems to support FWAs.

2. In drawing up the Guidelines, tripartite partners studied the experience in other countries, such as Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. These countries have legislations that give employees the right to request for FWAs, but do not mandate that employers provide the FWAs requested. Disputes are mostly resolved through mediation.
Our Tripartite Guidelines, while not legislated, adopt a similar approach of allowing employees to request for FWAs, while employers retain the prerogative to decide on FWA provision in line with their business needs. Building on the strengths of Singapore’s tripartite system, the tripartite partners have further taken on an enabling and educational approach to guide and support employers to comply with the TG-FWAR.

3. The TG-FWAR recently took effect on 1 Dec 2024 and MOM is working with TAFEP to monitor utilisation and compliance with the Guidelines.