MOM rolls out leave benefits, contract renewal guidelines for contract workers

Employees should be notified in advance if their contract will not be renewed.

Term contract employees should be entitled to leave benefits and must be given advance warning if their contracts will not be renewed, accordng to new tripartite guidelines developed by the Ministry of Manpower and the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), and the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF).

Under the guidelines, term contract employees are eligible for leave benefits if they have been working for the same employer for over three months, even if the service was rendered on separate contracts that are each shorter thant hte minimum service period of three months.

The guidelines also stipulate that employers could prorate annual leave, sick leave and child-care leave benefits based on the length of the term contract.

Employers are also encouraged to give sufficient notice before the contract's expiry on whether either party wishes to renew the contract.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM), National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), and the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF), have jointly developed a set of Tripartite Guidelines on the Employment of Term Contract Employees.