Working on Public Holiday Singapore Law
Published on 26th January, 2016 by Benjamin Li Yong Le
Does your employer have to pay you or give you off-in-lieu if he asks you to work on a public holiday?
Section 88(1) of the Employment Act provides that "Every employee shall be entitled to a paid holiday at his gross rate of pay on such of the days specified in the Holidays Act provided that (1) with the agreement of his employer, any other day or days may be substituted; (ii) if any of the days specified in the Holidays Act falls on a rest day, the working day next following that rest day shall be a paid holiday; and (iii) if any of the days specified n the Holidays Act 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.
What this means is that if a public holiday falls on a non-working day, the employer may either pay the employee for that holiday at his gross rate of pay or give him a day off for that holiday.
What if an employer requires the employee to work on a public holiday?
Section 88(4) provides that such an employee 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. If he works overtime on a public holiday, he is entitled to his usual overtime pay.
