Employment (Amendment) Bill

Bill No. 40/2004

Read the first time on 1st September 2004.

An Act to amend the Employment Act (Chapter 91 of the 1996 Revised Edition).

Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows:

Short title and commencement

1. This Act may be cited as the Employment (Amendment) Act 2004 and shall come into operation on 1st October 2004.

Amendment of section 2

2. Section 2 of the Employment Act is amended by deleting the definitions of “child” and “young person”.

Amendment of section 41A

3. Section 41A of the Employment Act is amended —

(a)

by deleting the word “Minister” wherever it appears in subsection (1) and substituting in each case the word “Commissioner”; and

(b)

by deleting subsection (2) and substituting the following subsections:

“(2) The Commissioner may, after considering the operational needs of an employer and the interests of an employee or a class of employees, by order in writing, direct that the entitlement to be paid for extra work under section 37(2) or (3), 38(4), 40 (4) or 42(4) shall not apply to that employee or class of employees, subject to such conditions as the Commissioner thinks fit.

(3) Where the Commissioner —

(a)	exempts an employee or any class of employees from section 38(1), (5) or (8) or 40 (3); or
(b)	directs that the entitlement to be paid for extra work under section 37(2) or (3), 38(4), 40(4) or 42(4) shall not apply to an employee or any class of employees,

the employer shall display the order or a copy thereof conspicuously in the place where the employee or class of employees are employed.”.

New section 67A

4. The Employment Act is amended by inserting, immediately before section 68 in Part VIII, the following section:

“Interpretation of this Part

67A. In this Part —

“child” means a person who has not completed his 15th year of age;

“young person” means a person who has completed his 15th year of age but who has not completed his 16th year of age.”.

Amendment of section 68

5. Section 68(3) of the Employment Act is amended by deleting the words “12 years” and substituting the words “13 years”.

Amendment of heading to Part IX

6. Part IX of the Employment Act is amended by inserting, immediately after the word “BENEFITS” in the Part heading, the words “AND CHILDCARE LEAVE FOR PARENT”.

Amendment of section 76

7. Section 76 of the Employment Act is amended —

(a)

by deleting subsection (1) and substituting the following subsections:

“(1) Subject to this section, every female employee shall be entitled to absent herself from work —

(a)

during —

(i)	the period of 4 weeks immediately before her confinement; and
(ii)	the period of 8 weeks immediately after her confinement;

(b)

during a period of 12 weeks, as agreed to by her and her employer, commencing —

(i)	not earlier than 28 days immediately preceding the day of her confinement; and
(ii)	not later than the day of her confinement; or

(c)

during —

(i)

a period of 8 weeks, as agreed to by her and her employer, commencing —

(A)	not earlier than 28 days immediately preceding the day of her confinement; and
(B)	not later than the day of her confinement; and

(ii)

one or more further periods, not exceeding 24 days in the aggregate, as agreed to by her and her employer, which shall be within the period of 6 months commencing on the day of her confinement.

(1A) Subject to this section, every female employee shall be entitled to receive payment from her employer at her gross rate of pay for any of the following periods (referred to in this Part as the benefit period):

(a)	where subsection (1)(a) applies, the period of 4 weeks referred to in subsection (1)(a)(i) and the first 4 weeks of the period referred to in subsection (1)(a)(ii);
(b)	where subsection (1)(b) applies, the first 8 weeks of the period referred to in subsection (1)(b); or
(c)	where subsection (1)(c) applies, the period of 8 weeks referred to in subsection (1)(c)(i).”;

(b)

by deleting subsection (4) and substituting the following subsection:

“(4) Notwithstanding any collective agreement or award to the contrary, a female employee shall not be entitled to any payment under subsection (1A) for any confinement if, at the time of the confinement —

(a)	she has 2 or more living children; and
(b)	those children were born during more than one previous confinement.”; and

(c)

by inserting, immediately after subsection (5), the following subsection:

“(6) Where the employment of a female employee is terminated (whether by resignation or dismissal, upon the completion of her contract of service, or for any other reason) before she has exercised, wholly or partly, her entitlement to absent herself from work during a period referred to in subsection (1)(c)(ii), she shall forfeit that entitlement (or the balance thereof) upon the termination of her employment.”.

Amendment of section 87

8. Section 87 of the Employment Act is amended by inserting, immediately after the words “this Part”, the words “(other than section 87A)”.

New section 87A

9. The Employment Act is amended by inserting, immediately after section 87, the following section:

“Childcare leave for parent

87A.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), where any employee —

(a)	has served an employer for a period of not less than 3 months; and
(b)	has any child below the age of 7 years at any time during any relevant period,

he shall be entitled to childcare leave of 2 days for that relevant period.

(2) An employee —

(a)

shall not be entitled to more than 14 days of childcare leave in respect of any child; and

(b)

shall —

(i)	take his first entitlement of childcare leave of 2 days for a relevant period in respect of a child in the relevant period in which the child was born or the next succeeding relevant period; and
(ii)	thereafter, take his next and each subsequent entitlement of childcare leave of 2 days for a relevant period in respect of the child in the next succeeding relevant period and in each subsequent succeeding relevant period, respectively.

(3) The childcare leave shall be in addition to the rest days, holidays, annual leave and sick leave to which an employee is entitled under sections 36, 42, 43 and 44, respectively.

(4) An employer shall grant, and an employee who is entitled to childcare leave shall take, the entitlement of childcare leave of 2 days for a relevant period not later than the last day of that relevant period, and any employee who fails to take that leave by that day —

(a)	shall thereupon cease to be entitled to that leave; and
(b)	shall not be entitled to any payment in lieu thereof.

(5) An employer shall pay an employee who is entitled to childcare leave his gross rate of pay for every day of such leave that is taken by the employee.

(6) If the employment of an employee who is entitled to childcare leave is terminated (whether by resignation or dismissal, upon the completion of his contract of service, or for any other reason) before he has taken the entitlement of childcare leave of 2 days for a relevant period, the employee —

(a)	shall cease to be entitled to that leave upon the termination of his employment; and
(b)	shall not be entitled to any payment in lieu thereof.

(7) Any employer who contravenes subsection (5) shall be guilty of an offence.

(8) In this section —

“child”, in relation to an employee, includes any adopted child and step-child of the employee;

“relevant period”, in relation to an employee, means —

(a)	any period of 12 months as is agreed to by the employee and his employer; or
(b)	where there is no such agreement, a calendar year.”.

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