For many employers and employees, employment contracts are a formality that sets out the terms of employment. However, as the recent SBS Transit lawsuit highlighted, employment contracts are more important than just a formality, they determine the rights to compensation and must be in line with the Employment Act. If the minimum requirements of the Employment Act are not met, it may form the basis of a lawsuit.
In particular, bus drivers are protected by Part IV of the Employment Act, which sets out the hours of work, overtime and rest day for workman earning not more than $4,500 or non-workman earning not more than $2,600.
Read Also: Singapore Employment Act: 10 Statutory Requirements To Pay Employees
Breaks And Lunch Hours Are Not Included In Working Hours
While specifying lunch and break times in the employment contract may seem archaic in this time and age, there is a good reason for employers to do so.
For workers protected by Part IV of the Employment Act, working hours are regulated. This includes break times.
According to MOM, “if the nature of the work requires continuous work for up to 8 hours, breaks must be provided for meals. The breaks should be at least 45 minutes long.” This includes a general guideline of allowing a break for more than 6 consecutive hours of work.
Read Also: Minimum Requirements For Key Employment Terms (KETs) On Employees Contracts
Overtime Starts After 44 Hours A Week
Even if the work week exceeds 44 hours, overtime must be paid after the 44 hours.
For overtime work, employers must pay at least 1.5 times the hourly basic rate of pay. Overtime starts after 44 hours of work in a week. This applies for those who work 5 days or less, more than 5 days a week or shifts of up to 12 hours a day. For those who work less than 44 hours every alternate week, this can go up to 48 hours a week, but capped at 88 hours in any continuous 2-week period.
For workers who are not a shift worker but agree to work up to 12 hours a day, and not exceeding an average of 44 hours over any 3 continuous weeks, employers must obtain their consent in writing, explain the provisions of Sections 38 and 40 of the Employment Act, and inform them of daily working hours, number of working days in each week and weekly rest day.
At Least One Rest Day A Week
Rest days are also regulated. Employers must provide 1 rest day per week. A rest day stretches from midnight to midnight, while a week defined as a continuous period of 7 days starting from Monday and ending on Sunday.
Employer can determine the rest day, which can be on a Sunday, or any other day of the week. If the rest day is not a Sunday, a monthly roster should be prepared, and the employee informed of the rest days before the start of each month.
The maximum interval allowed between 2 rest days is 12 days.
Employment Contracts May Need To Reviewed And Renewed Over Time
One of the contentions in the SBS Transit lawsuit was the basis of the monthly salary on a 48-hour work week when the legal limit before overtime is 44 hours. This requires bus drivers to work overtime though what is termed as “built-in overtime”.
While it is understandable from the perspective of SBS Transit that this is an inherited system and not easy to change in the negotiations with the union, it is also understandable from the perspective of the bus drivers who find it unintuitive and confusing.
Regardless of the outcome of the lawsuit, this is a strong reminder to employers that employment contracts are not static and should be reviewed as the employment needs change. Keeping to the same employment contract that the company had when it was starting out compared to when it has expanded may be detrimental to both employer and employee. s
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