Employment Act - Singapore Statutes Online

Holidays

88.—(1) Every employee shall be entitled to a paid holiday at his gross rate of pay on a public holiday that falls during the time that he is employed, subject to the following:

(a)	by agreement between the employer and the employee any other day or days may be substituted for any one or more public holidays; [Act 27 of 2015 wef 22/08/2015]
(b)	if any public holiday falls on a rest day, the working day next following that rest day shall be a paid holiday; and [Act 27 of 2015 wef 22/08/2015]
(c)	if any public holiday falls on a day when the employee is not required to work under his contract of service, the employer may either pay the employee for that holiday at his gross rate of pay or give the employee a day off in substitution for that holiday. [32/2008] [Act 27 of 2015 wef 22/08/2015] [Act 27 of 2015 wef 22/08/2015]

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), no employee shall be entitled to holiday pay for any public holiday which falls on a day when the employee is on leave of absence without pay granted by the employer at the request of the employee.

[32/2008]

[Act 27 of 2015 wef 22/08/2015]

(3) An employee who absents himself from work on the working day immediately preceding or immediately succeeding a public holiday or any day substituted therefor under subsection (1) without the prior consent of his employer or without reasonable excuse shall not be entitled to any holiday pay for that holiday.

[32/2008]

[Act 27 of 2015 wef 22/08/2015]

(4) Notwithstanding subsection (1), any employee may be required by his employer to work on any public holiday to which he would otherwise be entitled under that subsection and, in such event, he shall be paid an extra day’s salary at the basic rate of pay for one day’s work in addition to the gross rate of pay for that day and to a travelling allowance, if payable to him under the terms of his agreement with his employer, for one day.

[32/2008]

[Act 27 of 2015 wef 22/08/2015]

(4A) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (4), where any employee (other than an employee to whom Part IV applies by virtue of section 35(b) or who is a workman mentioned in section 35(a)) is required by his employer to work on any public holiday to which he would otherwise be entitled under subsection (1), the employee shall be paid the gross rate of pay for that day and may be given the following, in lieu of a day off in substitution for that holiday or an extra day’s salary at the basic rate of pay:

(a)

part of a day off on a working day comprising such number of hours as may be agreed between the employee and his employer; and

(b)

in the case where there is no such agreement —

(i)	part of a day off on a working day comprising 4 hours if the employee worked on that holiday for a period not exceeding 4 hours; or
(ii)	a day off on a working day if the employee worked on that holiday for a period of more than 4 hours. [Act 26 of 2013 wef 01/04/2014] [Act 27 of 2015 wef 22/08/2015] [Act 55 of 2018 wef 01/04/2019]

(5) No employee shall, by reason of subsection (4), receive double any housing allowance or food allowance.

[32/2008]

(6) Subsection (4) shall not apply to an employee who is employed by the Government or a statutory body in any of the essential services as defined under Part III of the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act (Cap. 67), but —

(a)	any such employee may, notwithstanding subsection (1), be required by his employer to work on a public holiday or part thereof to which he would otherwise be entitled under that subsection; and [Act 27 of 2015 wef 22/08/2015]
(b)	in any such case, he shall be given a day or part of a day off, as the case may be, in substitution for the public holiday or part thereof. [32/2008] [Act 27 of 2015 wef 22/08/2015]

(7) For the purposes of this section if any public holiday falls on a half working day, the gross or basic rate of pay payable shall be that of a full working day.

[32/2008]

[Act 27 of 2015 wef 22/08/2015]

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