FAQs on Safe Management Measures at the workplace

All businesses allowed to operate are required to have implemented Safe Management Measures.

For companies resuming operations after the circuit breaker period, all Safe Management Measures should be in place before operations can be resumed at the workplace.

Work from home

The revised WFH requirement is that no more than 75% of employees who can WFH can be at the workplace at any point in time, from 50% previously.

There is no longer a limit on the proportion of an individual employee’s working time that can be spent at the workplace.

The mandatory split team requirement will also be removed.

Work-related events

Employer-organised social activities will be allowed, subject to the same rules as the community; i.e. gatherings of no more than 8 persons (and no multiple groups of 8 persons).

Team bonding activities, for instance, will be allowed but only to a group of 8 persons.

There is no change to the current provision for work-related events such as townhalls and workplan seminars, which remains capped at 50 persons.

The Multi-Ministry Task Force has announced that selected activities and services will be allowed to gradually resume operations from 12 May 2020. Companies that fall under the list of activities and services do not need to apply before resuming operations. Please go to https://covid.gobusiness.gov.sg for more details.

As we bring down the number of new COVID-19 cases, we will progressively reopen businesses. The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) will announce more details in due course.

To prevent the re-emergence of community cases, we will need to open up the economy gradually, and not all at once. In general, sectors that allow us to trade with the world and access critical supplies will start first. Sectors that attract high traffic and social interactions will have to wait, and put in place additional Safe Management Measures before restarting progressively.

You can resume business operations only if your company falls under MTI’s list of activities and services that are allowed to resume operations, and your company has implemented all required Safe Management Measures at your workplace.

MOM and sector agencies will take calibrated enforcement actions based on the areas of non-compliance found. For workplaces that severely lack Safe Management Measures, we will direct employers to stop operations at the workplace. Employers will have to take steps to ensure that Safe Management Measures are in place before operations can resume.

Under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act, failure to comply with Safe Management Measures is punishable with a fine up to $10,000 or imprisonment up to 6 months, or both. Repeated non-compliance is punishable with a fine up to $20,000 or imprisonment up to 12 months, or both.

Enforcement action may be taken by any of the following persons under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act:

• A police officer
• A Health Officer appointed under section 4(1)(a) or (b) of the Infectious Diseases Act
• A public officer
• An officer of a statutory body
• An auxiliary police officer
• An employee of a prescribed institution under the Infectious Diseases Act

You can verify the identity of enforcement officers via their authority cards or their public service identification cards.

You can refer to Annex B – Checklist of Safe Management Measures at the workplace for resumption of business activities for an overview of the requirements that must be fulfilled prior to resuming business activities at your workplace.

Unionised companies are also encouraged to engage their unions on such arrangements.

Annex B – Checklist of Safe Management Measures at the workplace for resumption of business activities sets out the requirements needed for employers to resume operations.

Employers are not required to fill out the checklist, but must ensure that the documents listed in the checklist (or equivalent) are available upon request by officials.

When inspected by any government agency, businesses must be prepared to show that they have fulfilled the requirements.

The requirements on Safe Management Measures at the workplace released by MOM is for general workplace settings. For specific workplace settings or sector requirements, please refer to guidelines issued by the respective sector agencies.

The advisory on Safe Management Measures and the accompanying checklist issued by MOM are for general workplaces settings.

Where there may be sector-specific considerations, companies should also refer to the sector-specific advisories issued, over and above MOM’s advisory.

All employers must implement Safe Management Measures at their workplaces for all employees and contractors.

Companies that have employees deployed to other sites should also ensure that their employees comply with the Safe Management Measures put in place at these sites. In fact, some of the Safe Management Measures can be implemented by employers regardless of where employees are deployed to, such as health monitoring.

Businesses should suspend operations in their premises from 7 April 2020 onwards until they are approved by MTI to continue operations or their list of business activity falls within the permitted list allowed to operate from 2 June 2020.

Employers whose business operations are not in the list of permitted services may still return to their business facility to take care of crucial tasks that cannot be done remotely or to retrieve necessary materials or documents. No application for exemption is required.

However, if employees have to be activated to return to the workplace for short periods of time (i.e. less than a day), employers are required to apply to MTI for a time-limited exemption to do so. If employers need to maintain a skeletal workforce at the workplace for longer periods, an application for a general exemption should be submitted instead.

Companies operating under a General Exemption must submit an application for additional manpower via the GoBusiness portal, to allow more employees to return to the workplace.

Please report the incident to covid_gobusiness@mti.gov.sg and include relevant details such as company name, address and relevant evidence (e.g. photographs).

If you notice any breach of Safe Management Measures or poor practices at the workplace, you can report it via SnapSAFE, an app that allows the reporting of workplace safety and health issues to MOM.

MOM will treat each report seriously and will keep your identity strictly confidential.

Contractors should deploy a minimal number of workers at renovation workplaces and must ensure that Ministry of Manpower’s Safe Management Measures at workplaces are complied with at renovation workplaces to mitigate the risk of community transmission.

All personnel on site must observe safe management measures such as clear physical distancing, wearing of masks and must avoid socialising or congregating in groups.

Different teams of contractors (main or sub-contractors) can carry out their respective work within the same renovation site, at the same time and day. However, all personnel on site must observe Safe Management Measures such as clear physical distancing, wearing of masks and must avoid socialising or congregating in groups.

The application of Safe Management Measures will vary depending on the renovation site. Employers should assess and evaluate the measures that must be taken to ensure safe distancing and ensure that the risk of COVID-19 spread at workplaces is minimised for their workers. This may include additional measures such as having staggered rest, arrival and exit timings to minimise interactions between workers from different companies.

No.

From 5 April 2021, you must ensure that at most 75% of employees who are able to work from home are at the workplace at any point in time.

You can consider other arrangements that will meet this requirement, for instance:

• Divide your employees into 4 groups, with 1 group working from home for any given week.
• Divide your employees into 4 groups, with a different group working from home for each day Monday to Thursday, and all 4 groups working from home on Friday.

No. From 5 April 2021, split team arrangements are no longer mandatory.

Nonetheless, you can continue to adopt such arrangements for business continuity purposes.

All employers should provide the facilities necessary to enable workers to work from home.

More employees may return to the workplace to better support in-person collaboration and business operations. Nonetheless, employers are encouraged to support as many employees in working from home as possible. From 5 April 2021, employers must ensure that no more than 75% of employees who are able to work from home are at the workplace at any point in time.

This is to limit employees’ exposure at the workplace. Return to the workplace can either be initiated by the employee and agreed upon with the employer, or directed by the employer. This will help to limit the number of workers exposed at the workplace at any point in time, and reduce crowding in common areas e.g. pantries, toilets, lifts.

Work-from-home measures should be implemented in a sustainable manner that enables employees to maintain work-life harmony while continuing to meet business needs. The tripartite advisory on mental well-being at workplaces sets out practical guidance on measures that employers can adopt to support their employees’ mental well-being.

Refer to:

• Safe Management Measures requirements at the workplace, which include ensuring that employees work-from-home where possible.
• List of resources such as technology solutions and grants available to assist companies.

Enforcement checks will be conducted and actions will be taken against business for non-compliances.

From 5 April 2021, employers must ensure that no more than 75% of employees who are able to work from home are at the workplace at any point in time.

However, there is no limit on the proportion of an individual employee’s working time that can be spent at the workplace.

Employers are nonetheless encouraged to continue to allow employees to work from home where possible. This will help to limit the number of employees exposed at the workplace at any point in time, and reduce crowding in common areas, e.g. pantries, toilets, lifts.

Everyone should wear a mask at all times, except when eating, drinking, consuming medication or engaging in strenuous physical exercise.

However, if your employee has severe medical conditions, they can wear a face shield in lieu of a mask.

The overarching objective of these regulations is to reduce physical interactions in order to prevent spread of COVID-19.

Employers can consider different ways to implement working arrangements that comply with the Safe Management Measures for the workplace, while taking business and employee preferences into account.

Employers must demonstrate the business or operational reasons why the workers working at the workplace are unable to work from home despite review and redesign of work processes. Our inspectors will assess the efforts put in by companies to implement work-from-home arrangements based on the practicality of whether the workers can work from home given the nature of the job.

For the safety of workers at the workplace, employers should put in place other Safe Management Measures at the workplace (e.g. ensuring safe distancing, ensuring use of SafeEntry, etc) to provide a safe working environment and minimise risk of further outbreaks.

Special attention should also be paid to vulnerable employees (e.g. persons who are aged 60 and above, and patients who are immunocompromised or have concurrent medical conditions) to enable them to work from home. Employers are encouraged to:

• Enable these employees to work from home.
• Allow them to travel to and from work at off-peak timings.
• Temporarily redeploy them to another role within the company.
• Take other appropriate measures to reduce their exposure to infection risk.

Yes, IMDA provides a list of digital solutions and resources that aims to make business continuity essential more accessible to businesses.

Eligible businesses can also apply for the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) to support business transformation and put in place flexible work arrangements to minimise spread of COVID-19 (e.g. work from home, staggered hours).

Physical meetings are regarded as work-related events and are allowed to proceed with a cap of 50 physical attendees.

They will also be subject to other Safe Management Measures being put in place, depending on the specific premises where the event is being held.

Nonetheless, companies should continue to conduct virtual meetings as much as possible.

Some examples of work-related events are as follows:

• Work meetings (e.g. among colleagues or with external parties)
• Training
• Board meetings
• HR talks (e.g. onboarding, retrenchment exercises)
• Townhalls
• Seminars
• Corporate retreats
• Conferences on business strategies, workplaces and reviews
• Annual General Meeting or Extraordinary General Meetings
• Tender briefings to vendors
• Award ceremonies

All work-related events that proceed must adhere to prevailing workplace Safe Management Measures and are subjected to the following requirements:

• The number of persons per event must be capped at 50 persons to limit the risk of exposure to infection.
• Attendees must maintain at least 1 metre safe distancing between individual attendees, as per the requirement at the workplace.
• Meals should not be the main feature of the event. Employers should also avoid holding events over mealtimes as far as possible. Food or drinks should only be served if incidental to the workplace event (e.g. the meeting or conference extends over lunch time). In addition, the food must be served individually with the participants seated while consuming. Participants should minimise the time that they are unmasked while eating.

Work-related events at third-party venues will also be subject to any additional premise owners’ safe management policies.

Yes, all permitted enterprises are allowed to resume work-related events of up to 50 persons at their own workplaces or premises. Respective sectoral advisories and safe management measures continue to apply.

For work-related events at both workplaces and third-party venues, attendees must maintain at least 1m safe distancing between individual attendees, as per the requirement at the workplace.

Eating and drinking should preferably be avoided at these events as these activities require masks be removed which raises the risk of COVID-19 transmission. However, if meals are necessary, attendees must be seated and served individually and minimise contact with one another while eating or drinking. Meal durations should be kept short to minimise the period that individuals are unmasked, and the meal should not be a main feature of the event.

For work-related events at third-party venues, attendees will also be subject to any additional premises owners’ safe management policies.

Yes, fundraising events may take place at the organiser’s own premises or third-party venues, with up to 50 persons per event. Events at the workplace will be subject to the workplace safe management measures, while events at third-party venues will be subject to any additional premise owners’ safe management policies.

Eating and drinking should preferably be avoided at these events as these activities require masks be removed which raises the risk of COVID-19 transmission. However, if meals are necessary, attendees must be seated and served individually and minimise contact with one another while eating or drinking. Meal durations should be kept short to minimise the period that individuals are unmasked, and the meal should not be a main feature of the event.

Fundraising activities that are not standalone fundraising events but are incidentally conducted in the course of other activities should follow the guidelines and safe management measures set for the primary activity. For example, fundraising carried out by commercial participators in the course of their retail business should follow the prevailing guidelines in place for retail activities. Similarly, the collection of offerings or tithes during religious services should follow the prevailing guidelines for the conduct of religious services.

Those who are more vulnerable should be allowed to work from home where possible. As an employer, you should enable this by reviewing the work processes and providing the necessary IT equipment to your employees.

If the job roles of vulnerable employees cannot be done from home, employers should temporarily re-deploy these employees to another role within the company that is suitable for working from home.

If there is no possible redeployment for vulnerable employees’ work to be performed from home, your employees can still be deployed to work in the company premises. The company however, must ensure that Safe Management Measures such as ensuring clear physical spacing of at least 1 metre between persons at meeting rooms, work areas and work stations are implemented.

With more employees back in the office, employers are encouraged to stagger the start times for all employees such that at least half of all employees arrive at the workplace at or after 10am, as far as possible. This would enable more employees to avoid peak-hour travel, especially if employees require the use of public transport. Timings of lunch and other breaks should also be staggered accordingly.

For employees who can work from home but who return to the workplace, employers should also allow for flexible workplace hours. This is not to shorten work hours, but to allow flexibility to reduce the duration spent in the workplace, while also working from home during the day.

To illustrate, employers can allow a proportion of your employees to work in the workplace from 10am to 4pm, and fulfil their remaining work hours from home. Employers can also allow your employees to work from home in the morning, and only return to the workplace in the afternoon, e.g. from 1pm to 5pm, or return to the workplace only for meetings and work from home the rest of the day.

For general office workplaces, employers must ensure that employees and visitors wear a mask at all times at the workplace, except during activities that require masks to be removed or when individuals are alone in their own office with the door closed. Supplementary personal protective equipment is encouraged, whenever relevant (more guidelines can be found in sector-specific guidelines). This is in addition to other Safe Management Measures (e.g. safe distancing) that must be in place at the workplace.

Some examples of activities where the requirement for masks to be worn can be waived include mealtimes, or where other equipment must be worn during the course of work (e.g. motorcycle helmets).

In addition, if an individual is alone in his or her own office with the door closed, and no other person enters the room, the individual may remove his or her mask in the room. If the room door is opened or if there is any contact with people, a mask must be used.

Where possible, employers should consider improving the working environment for employees to enable them to wear their masks.

A mask that closely and completely covers the nose and mouth (i.e. without leaving a gap between the mask and the face) must be worn at all times when persons go out of their homes, including while at the workplace.

The following specific groups of persons can use a face shield, in place of masks:

• Children 12 years and below, who may have difficulty wearing and keeping face masks on for a prolonged period of time.
• Persons who have health conditions that may result in breathing or other medical difficulties when a mask is worn for a prolonged period of time.
• Persons who are speaking to a group in a classroom or lecture-style setting, where they largely remain at the spot from which they are speaking, and are able to maintain a safe distance away from any other persons.

A face shield must be worn properly so that it covers the entire face, from the forehead to below the chin, wrapping around the sides of the face.

Plastic spit guards predominantly cover the mouth and are not considered as masks. Face coverings such as neck gaiters, bandannas, scarves or handkerchiefs are not considered as masks.

If the risk of encountering an infectious person is high (e.g. personnel has sustained contact with many other individuals throughout the course of their work), then surgical masks and other relevant PPEs should be used instead.

Recreational facilities at workplaces will be able to reopen in permitted enterprises, subject to the required Safe Management Measures (e.g. maintaining a distance of at least 2-3 metres from each other when engaging in any sporting activity or physical exercise).

When visiting such facilities, employees will still have to comply with the relevant Safe Management Measures put in place for that setting.

Access to standalone recreational facilities which are located away from employees’ workplaces will depend on the re-opening plans for relevant permitted enterprises.

These facilities will also be subject to stricter Safe Management Measures (e.g. maintaining a distance of at least 2-3 metres from each other when engaging in any sporting activity or physical exercise).

When visiting such facilities, employees will still have to comply with the relevant Safe Management Measures put in place for that setting.

Yes, these can be conducted up to 30 participants at a time, or a lower number subject to the size of the premises and the need to maintain safe distance.

The prevailing Safe Management Measures requirements must be adhered to, including:

• The ceremony, including religious prayers, should be kept to as short a duration as possible. Participants present should leave the ceremony immediately after it ends.
• All individuals present must wear a face mask at all times.
• Individuals must observe 1 metre safe distance between themselves and others.
• No reception or on-site meals are allowed before, during or after the ceremony.
• Singing and other live performances are not permitted during the ceremony.
• Premises where the ceremony is held should be well-ventilated. Premises that have reduced air circulation (e.g. air-conditioned prayer hall) should, where possible, open doors and windows to naturally ventilate the space after use.

Authorised visitors are those who visit the workplace for official reasons, including:

• Suppliers or contractors who need to be physically onsite to deliver their goods and services.
• Buyers who are onsite to collect their goods and services.
• Visitors who need to attend a physical meeting within the workplace premises.

This excludes visitors who visit the workplace for leisure purposes.

You can visit the SafeEntry website for more information on the implementation and usage of SafeEntry.

Employers must ensure clear physical spacing of at least 1 metre between persons at all times and demarcate safe physical distances (at least 1 metre apart) with visual indicators or physical means such as barriers between work stations.

If leaving an empty desk and demarcating clearly with visual indicators allows for at least 1 metre distancing between employees, such an approach can be considered. For barriers between workstations, while there are no specific height guidelines, the barriers should also facilitate the required safe physical distance of 1m apart.

As the recommended frequency and intensity may differ by sector, businesses should refer to the sanitation and hygiene advisories disseminated by NEA.

Employees who are offsite (e.g. working from home) do not need to submit their temperatures or declarations.

However, they should continue to monitor their health conditions and see a doctor if needed.

Health declarations should be done daily prior to entry into workplace premises. This must be done regardless of whether the employee is working at the employer’s premises, or at a client’s worksite.

Temperature screening and respiratory checks should be conducted twice daily for employees.

Yes, declarations by individuals via SafeEntry can be used to fulfil the requirements for temperature screening, respiratory checks and relevant declarations. Employers are reminded that temperature and respiratory symptom checks for employees have to be conducted twice daily at minimum, and for visitors prior to entry.

Even with employees making declarations via SafeEntry, employers must be able to demonstrate that regular checks for temperature and respiratory symptoms are in place at the workplace during inspections. This could include facilities set up to screen temperature or records of temperature checks.

You can do your part to guard against outbreaks starting at your workplace through:

• Adherence to Safe Management Measures at the workplace.
• Ensuring employees at the workplace who have visited a clinic submit to you records of their Medical Certificates (MCs) and diagnoses provided (only for COVID-19-related symptoms, including acute respiratory infections), and if they were tested for COVID-19 and the results of their tests.
• Advising employees who are unwell to stay home and consult a doctor rather than going to the workplace.
• Requiring employees on MCs to closely monitor their health before returning to the workplace.
• Requiring close contacts of employees on MCs to monitor their health more regularly.

The evacuation plan should include the appointment of the emergency response team, established procedures for activation of response team, evacuation routes, identification of designated clinic and transport arrangements, etc.

The follow up plan should include follow up actions to contain the spread of the virus such as cordoning off and disinfecting of affected area, managing of employees that are in close contact with the confirmed case, etc.

The monitoring plan should at minimum, include details on the steps taken to ensure the requirements are communicated and adhered to, and how any anomalies or non-compliance will be identified. The plan should also highlight risk mitigation strategies and proposed steps to remedy and document any non-compliance found.

You can refer to Annex B – Checklist of Safe Management Measures at the workplace for resumption of business activities for guidance on what should be included in the monitoring plan.

Companies should appoint someone capable of carrying out the duties stated in MOM’s requirements for workplace Safe Management Measures within the organisation as the designated Safe Management Officers (SMOs). For unionised companies, union leaders or Workplace Safety and Health officers could be appointed as SMOs.

Companies should ensure that SMOs are provided with sufficient resources and guidance to carry out their duties effectively.

SMOs can be part-time appointments.

Employers are responsible for ensuring that Safe Management Measures are in place, communicated and explained to employees prior to resuming work. Signs should also be put up to remind employers and visitors to observe all measures in place.

We are still monitoring the duration of the vaccine’s protection and its effectiveness in preventing transmission of COVID-19.

Until there is evidence of the vaccines’ effect on preventing transmission, and enough people are vaccinated, you should continue to practise public health measures such as workplace Safe Management Measures. This will help to continue protect ourselves and our loved ones.

Yes.

From 5 April 2021, you can organise social and recreational gatherings such as team bonding activities to a total size of no more than 8 persons.

For example, two groups of 5 employees cannot gather, because it would constitute a 10-person gathering.

There is no change to the current provision for work-related events such as townhalls and workplan seminars, which remains capped at 50 persons.

Yes. However, you need to split into multiple groups at different locations.

Each group must be capped at 50 persons. For example, if you have 100 persons, you need at least 2 groups, with each group in a different location.

You can use videoconferencing to link the groups.

You must ensure there is no intermingling between groups, including at common spaces such as pantries and lift lobbies. You should consider using:

• Rooms on different floors
• Different wings of the building
• Separate buildings

Yes. You are encouraged to keep these records to plan your employees’ workplace arrangements in detail, and demonstrate during inspections that you have complied with the Safe Management Measures for the workplace.