Incorporating Outsourced Progressive Wage Model's New Minimum Annual Leave Standard in Government Contracts

Mr Low Wu Yang Andre asked the Acting Minister for Manpower following the increase in the Outsourced Progressive Wage Model workers' minimum annual leave from seven to 10 days progressively (a) whether the Government will require Government service buyers and encourage private buyers to ensure incoming providers recognise continuous service in the same role or worksite for leave progression; and (b) whether this requirement will be incorporated into standard Government service contracts.

Ms Jasmin Lau: Service providers, regardless of whether they are public or private entities, are strongly encouraged to recognise the length of service of incumbent workers when determining leave benefits even though this is not a legal requirement.

However, mandating such a requirement is administratively complex. For instance, this could require the sharing of employees' personal information across competing service providers when bidding for prospective contracts. Differentiated leave benefits across re-hired and new workers could also distort employers' hiring preferences. This may be detrimental to re-hired workers.

Given the unique nature of employment arrangements for outsourced PWM workers, Tripartite Partners have decided to increase their minimum leave entitlement to 10 days. This is applicable to both public and private entities. The increase in the minimum leave entitlement will benefit all outsourced PWM workers and would be easier for employers to implement.