2023 Public Holidays Singapore: HR Guide
Let’s start preparing and planning for the Singapore public holidays this coming 2023!
This year has brought several tricky challenges for HR leaders, including global talent war, hybrid work arrangements, talent retention, employee health and well-being, and more.
In the coming year, we have a lot of opportunities to continously embrace inevitable changes, overcome the challenges, and redefine the way we work for a brighter future!
With that in mind, let’s now start to prepare and plan for the public holidays this coming 2023!
2023 Public Holidays and Long Weekends in Singapore
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has revised the public holidays in 2023. With the modified date of Vesak Day, 02 June 2023 (Friday), there will now be a total of 7 long weekends. Seven of the 11 public holidays fall on a Friday, Sunday or Monday.
Here’s the 2023 holiday calendar to find out more about the long weekends that you’ll have next year.
💡 Did you know? QuickHR’s all-inclusive leave management system is regularly updated to the latest changes on public holidays and other regulations. You can also include additional holidays or off days that are unique to your company!
7 Long Weekends — Singapore Public Holidays 2023
For HR managers and employees who weren’t able to take a long vacation this year, 2023 offers more opportunities to spend more time with family and friends. If you thoroughly plan it out, you can enjoy longer vacations without having to take extra annual leave.
Everything You Need to Know About Public Holidays Entitlement and Pay
In Singapore, every employee is entitled to 11 paid public holidays a year. According to the Employment Act, employees are entitled to a gross rate of pay on a public holiday, if:
- They were not absent on the working day immediately before or after a holiday without consent or a reasonable excuse.
- They are on authorised leave (e.g. sick leave, annual leave, unpaid leave) on the day immediately before or after a holiday.
If an employee is not covered by the Employment Act, the terms will be based on the employment contract.
Do employees get paid for working on public holidays?
If an employee is required to work on a public holiday, the employer should pay an extra day’s salary or grant off in lieu.
An employee can request a public holiday in lieu, in which the employee and the employer can mutually agree to substitute a public holiday for another working day.
What if a public holiday falls on a non-working day?
In accordance with the Employment Act, if a public holiday falls on a non-working day, an employee is entitled to another day off or one extra day’s salary in lieu of the public holiday at the gross rate of pay.
What if a public holiday falls on a rest day in Singapore?
If a public holiday falls on the employee’s rest day, the following working day will be a paid public holiday.
What happens if a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday?
For a public holiday that falls on a Saturday, an employee should get either a day off or salary in lieu.
For a public holiday that falls on a Sunday, the following day on Monday would be gazetted as a public holiday (also called holiday-in-lieu).
What if an employee is not covered under Part IV of the Employment Act?
If an employee is not covered under Part IV of the Employment Act, the employer can grant time off in lieu for working on a public holiday. The time off should consist of a mutually agreed number of hours.
If there is no mutual agreement on the duration of time off in lieu, the employer can decide on one of the following:
- Pay an extra day’s salary at the basic rate of pay for one day’s work.
- For working 4 hours or less on a holiday, grant time off in lieu of 4 hours on a working day.
- For working more than 4 hours on a holiday, grant a full day off on a working day.
You can also use this public holiday pay calculator to check the employee’s pay for working on a public holiday that falls on a working day or non-working day.
NOTE: This calculator is only applicable for full-time employees covered by the Employment Act.
💡 Smart Tip: You may use QuickHR’s seamless payroll management software to ensure accurate calculation of the employees’ pay on public holidays!
Streamline Your Public Holiday and Leave Management
With integrated HR solutions such as the full-suite QuickHR software, you can experience automated and optimised payroll and leave management in one platform.
QuickHR’s fool-proof leave management system comes with a multi-tiered approval system, easy tracking of leave status and detailed reports to help manage employees’ requests in real-time.
Employees can apply for leaves and HR managers can approve requests anytime and anywhere with QuickHR’s mobile app.
QuickHR’s versatile payroll system is fully integrated with employee data, leave, timesheets, salary allocations, and more, ensuring that every employee will be paid fairly and punctually.
Our comprehensive payroll module also allows automatic calculations and deductions in adherence to government regulations. These include tailored CPF formulations, auto-calculated SDL contributions, Bank GIRO and CPF submission features, and MOM itemised payslips.
At QuickHR, we always ensure that our HRMS software is regularly updated to the latest changes on public holidays and other regulations.
If you want to know more about QuickHR, you may contact us or start your 14-day FREE trial with absolutely no terms and conditions!
