Want to Travel Abroad? Singapore Quarantine Requires Use of Paid Leave or Unpaid Leave
On March 16, Singapore announced that employers can require employees to use annual leave to complete home isolation or absence leave if traveling for non-essential reasons.
Photo credit: Ministry of Manpower website
On March 15, the Singapore government advised citizens to postpone non-essential outbound trips. The validity period of this travel warning is 30 days.
Yesterday, the Ministry of Manpower, the National Trades Union of Singapore (NTUC), and the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) jointly issued a requirement for employers to check all overseas work arrangements and avoid unnecessary trips.
If unavoidable, employers must ensure the full protection of their employees' health and safety, including providing paid leave for necessary periods.
Photo credit: Changi Airport Facebook
Providing paid leave is to compensate employees for isolation time and expenses in visited countries, as well as delays in returning to Singapore and isolation time and expenses in Singapore. If employees refuse overseas arrangements, employers cannot force them or take disciplinary action.
However, if employees travel for private reasons, employers have the right to require them to use annual leave for home isolation orders, absence leave, or delayed trip times. If employees do not have enough annual leave, employers can allow them to use next year's leave or unpaid leave.
