SINGAPORE — Expect at least four long weekends next year, three less than this year based on the Manpower Ministry (MOM) release of gazetted public holidays for 2018.
MOM’s release on Tuesday (April 5) show that for next year, the public holidays that will fall on a Friday, Sunday or Monday are: New Year’s Day, Chinese New Year (Feb 16 and 17), Good Friday (March 30) and Hari Raya Puasa (June 15).
The last time there were only four long weekends was in 2014. In 2016, there were six, in 2015 there were seven.
Under the Employment Act, if a public holiday falls on a Saturday, an employee who is not required to work on a Saturday is entitled to another day off or an extra day’s salary in lieu of that public holiday, said the MOM.
Workers required to work on a public holiday are entitled to an extra day’s salary at the basic rate of pay, or the employer and employee may mutually agree to substitute a public holiday for another working day.
An employer also has the additional option of granting managers or executives time-off-in-lieu for working on a public holiday. The time off should consist of a mutually agreed number of hours, said the MOM.
