{"id":3965,"date":"2020-04-09T09:00:02","date_gmt":"2020-04-09T01:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/?p=3965"},"modified":"2021-03-16T16:39:02","modified_gmt":"2021-03-16T08:39:02","slug":"how-singapore-companies-can-use-enhanced-work-life-grant-and-flexible-working-arrangement-fwa-incentives-to-defray-employee-costs-from-remote-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/how-singapore-companies-can-use-enhanced-work-life-grant-and-flexible-working-arrangement-fwa-incentives-to-defray-employee-costs-from-remote-work\/","title":{"rendered":"How Companies Can Use Enhanced Work-Life Grant And Flexible Working Arrangement (FWA) Incentives To Help Employees Defray Costs Of Remote Work"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Owing to stricter social distancing measures and workplace shutdowns announced by the government on 3 April 2020<\/a>, the majority of Singapore\u2019s workforce are now working remotely from home<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With\ncompulsory work-from-home measures for non-essential business services, some\nemployees found themselves incurring additional costs in order to prepare their\nliving spaces to be work-ready and \nacquiring the necessary computer equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\narticle explores additional expenses employees incur, and some schemes\ncompanies can use to help their staff defray these costs, leading to happier,\nmore productive employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Computer And Phones<\/strong>: Employers should not expect all their\nemployees to use their personal laptops and mobile phones to work from their\nhome offices. Moreover, in sensitive businesses, personal computers and phones\nmight not be secure to preserve company-sensitive information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Acceptably) Ergonomic Chair<\/strong>: Not all employees have the luxury of a\nspacious home to set up a conducive work office. Your employee might need to\nget an ergonomic chair to work comfortably at home while contributing to their\nbusiness. If your employees have existing health problems, they might have to\ninvest in getting such chairs simply to continue working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additional Monitor(s)<\/strong>: If employees include in-house graphic\ndesigners and programmers, your company might consider giving them an allowance\nfor additional monitors to be bought and set up in employees\u2019 homes. After\nthese work-from-home measures are lifted and the situation in Singapore gets\nbetter, these additional monitors can be transferred back to the workplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Home VPN Access<\/strong>: If remote employees are required to\naccess sensitive company information by connecting to the company network,\nconsider giving employees a stipend for VPN access at home.  Alternatively, you can consider to defray\npart of employees\u2019 home Internet costs for the duration they are working\nremotely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Video-Conferencing Software Plans<\/strong>: Employees who have to participate in a\nlot of company and client meetings will have to install additional\nvideo-conferencing tools that might or might not be free to use. For example,\ntools such as GoToMeeting and BlueJeans have limited free trial versions. If\nyour company is using these tools, you might want to provide employees with a\nstipend to upgrade to the paid and better quality versions of these tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Home Electricity Bills<\/strong>: With the majority of Singapore\u2019s\nworkforce set to remain at home to work, household electricity bills will\ninevitably rise. Employees forced to remain at home will have to use computers,\nelectricity, the Internet and other utility bills – will have to bear the brunt\nof these added costs – unless employers step in to mitigate them. That being\nsaid, such costs will not be so clear-cut as employees might already rely on\nenergy-saving light bulbs (LED ones) to reduce energy consumption and reduce\nutility costs. The reality is that any additional bills would mean more\nfinancial burdens for many employees, especially if their salaries have been\ncut in light of this economic recession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is It Fair For Remote Employees To Fork Out More Costs?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Some might state\nthat remote employees should fork out their own additional costs in exchange\nfor the freedom of working away from the office and from their bosses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, upon\ncloser scrutiny, during this current situation of COVID-19 and the circuit\nbreaker measures imposed by the Singapore Government, we must acknowledge that\nmany employees have been forced to work-from-home and thus might be struggling\nto adapt to the home office work environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It would indeed\nbe heartwarming if employers extend their welfare provisions to employees\nworking outside the office during these unprecedented times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employers should\nnot demand their remote employees to work using their personal laptops and home\nphone services. Such demands might put an additional toll on already decreasing\nemployee morale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, what employers can do to make their employees as comfortable as possible with the new work-from-home measures include offering stipends of varying amounts depending on company and team size to cover costs for additional hardware or software tools employees might need. Employers who wish to go a step further might opt to partially or fully defray the costs of employees\u2019 Internet fees for the whole month of April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read Also: <\/em>5 Free Tools To Help You Be More Productive When Working Remotely. <\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enhanced Work-Life Grant To Defray Costs Of Remote Employees<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Thankfully,\nSingapore employers can receive governmental help under the Enhanced Work Life\nGrant by Workforce Singapore. With this grant, employers can receive funding\ncapped at $105,000 per company for a period of up to two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To apply for the scheme, companies can only do so through these official partners: NTUC\u2019s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i)<\/a>, Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) <\/a>and Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF).<\/a> Application is free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Workforce Singapore, the Enhanced WLG will be open till 30 Jun 2022<\/a>, or when the grants are fully subscribed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read Also:<\/em> How Businesses Can Use Enhanced Work-Life Grant For Happier, More Productive Employees <\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flexible Working Arrangement (FWA) Incentive<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Singapore\nemployers should use the FWA to claim up to $70,000 for their companies over\ntwo years. Each year, employers can receive $2,000 per local employee. To\nqualify, employees must have already adopted a flexible working arrangement for\nsix consecutive months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To apply for the\nFWA, companies have to submit the following documents to either of the three\npartners:<\/p>\n\n\n\n