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| An LOA is a precautionary measure. As advised by MOH, employees on LOA should remain in their residences as much as possible, minimise visitors and maintain good records of persons with whom they come into close contact. Employees on LOA may leave their residences for daily necessities or to attend important personal matters, but they must minimise time spent in public spaces and contact with others. Employees should also monitor their health (i.e. for fever ≥ 38°C and respiratory symptoms such as cough or breathlessness) closely during the LOA period, seek prompt medical attention when necessary and observe good personal hygiene. |
| MOH has advised that it is not necessary to segregate persons placed under LOA from others sharing the same room/apartment, though contact should be minimised, e.g. not sharing a bed, limiting time spent together at common areas within the apartment, having separate meal times, and avoiding the sharing of food, crockery, utensils and other personal hygiene items. Dorm operators, landlords and other relevant management of facilities should not evict occupants under LOA from their residence or impose unduly restrictive measures on these occupants. They may consider implementing measures to ensure that the affected occupants do not use common facilities (e.g. gyms) while under LOA. Employers and employees may wish to refer to the MOH website for more detailed advice on sharing residential spaces with people under LOA. |
| During the LOA period, employers must ensure that employees stay away from the workplace but employers may adopt flexible work arrangements, such as telecommuting and teleconferencing, to allow the employees to work from home. |
| If remote working is not possible, employers are encouraged to provide paid LOA over and above employees’ annual leave entitlements. If that is not feasible, employers can consider the following options, or a combination of the options, for the employees on LOA: Treat employees’ LOA as paid hospitalisation leave or paid outpatient sick leave;Allow employees to apply for annual leave;Allow employees to use advanced paid leave or apply for no pay leave, for employees who have used up their leave entitlements; orOther mutually agreed arrangements between the employers and employees / unions. |
| Employers and employees have a joint duty to ensure that employees behave responsibly during the LOA period. MOM reserves the right to take action against the employer or employee, if they fail to discharge their duty. |
Click here to download the Form for Foreign employee’s acknowledgement of Leave of Absence.
For further queries, please contact:
| Ministry of Manpower MOM Contact Centre: (65) 6438 5122 Online enquiry: www.mom.gov.sg | Ministry of Health MOH General Hotline: (65) 6325 9220 Online enquiry: www.moh.gov.sg |
| Source for advisories for 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) | Ministry of ManpowerMinistry of Health |
