Nowadays, part-time employees constitute an important section of the workforce. People may choose to work part-time due to various reasons: more leisure time, better work-life balance, a transition to full-time jobs. Employers, on the other hand, may also prefer part-time workers for higher flexibility and lower employment costs.
Thus, to protect your right as a part-time worker, do take note of following before you start work!
- Definition of Part-time Employee
According to Ministry of Manpower (MOM), a part-time employee is one who is “under a contract of service to work less than 35 hours a week”.
The Employment Act also covers part-time employees (except for those who are managers, executives, domestic workers or seamen). Similar to the contract of service between employers and full-time employees, the contract of service between employers and part-time workers must include essential information on hourly basic rate of pay, hourly gross rate of pay (the hourly basic rate plus allowances), number of working hours per day or per week and number of working days per week or per month.
- According to the law, how much should I minimally be paid for overtime?
It is possible for part-time workers to work overtime. When a part-time employee completes work in excess of his or her normal daily working hours, the situation of overtime work occurs.
In Singapore, you, as a part-time employee, are also entitled to be paid for overtime work, just as your full-time counterpart. The exact payment is influenced by the comparison of your working hours and that of a similar full-time worker.
According to MOM, a rough gauge of the overtime pay can be calculated in this way:
| Number of hours worked | Overtime pay |
| More than your daily working hours but less than that of a full-time worker | At your basic hourly rate of pay |
| More than the normal daily working hours of a full-time worker | 1.5*your basic hourly rate of pay |
For example,
In your contract, you work 5 hours a day, while normal full-time workers work 8 hours a day, and your basic hourly rate of pay is $6.
One day you work 10 hours; your overtime pay would be (8-5)*6+(10-8)*6*1.5 = $36
- Entitlement to Rest Days for Part-time Employees
Of course, under the Employment Act, you are entitled to rest days and pay for working during those rest days.
If you work for no less than five days a week, you are entitled to one rest day per week, and the rest day does not necessarily be a Sunday. However, if the rest day is not confirmed as a Sunday, the employer needs to inform employees about the rest days at least one month in advance.
The actual payment for working on rest days also depends on whether it is requested by the employer or the employee. A way to estimate the payment could be:
| Number of hours worked, N | N< half of normal daily working hours | half of normal daily working hours < N < normal daily working hours | Normal daily working hours < N < normal working hours of a full-time employee | N > normal working hours of a full-time employee |
| Requested by the employer | 1 day’s salary at basic rate of pay | 2 days’ salary at basic rate of pay | 2 days’ salary + basic hourly rate of pay | 2 days’ salary + basic hourly rate of pay + 1.5*basic hourly rate of pay |
| Requested by the employee | Half day’s salary at basic rate of pay | 1 day’s salary at basic rate of pay | 1 day’s salary + basic hourly rate of pay | 1 day’s salary + basic hourly rate of pay + 1.5*basic hourly rate of pay |
For example,
In your contract, you work 5 hours a day, while normal full-time workers work 8 hours a day, and your basic hourly rate of pay is $6.
One day you work 10 hours on a rest day as requested by your employer.
Your rest day pay is “2 days’ salary + basic hourly rate of pay + 1.5*basic hourly rate of pay”
2*5*$6 + (8-5)*$6 + 1.5*(10-8)*$6 = $96
- What about Public Holidays?
As a part-time worker, you are entitled to paid public holidays as well! The number of days you get to enjoy is determined by the number of hours you work in the following manner:
| (No. of working hours per year of a part-time employee ) / (No. of working hours per year of a similar full-time employee) | X | No. of days of public holiday of a similar full-time employee with equal length of service | X | No. of working hours in a day of a similar full-time employee |
For example,
You work 20 hours a week, while a similar full-time worker works 44 hours a week. Your annual entitlement is :
(20/44) * 11 public holidays * 8 hours = 40 hours of pay for all 11 public holidays
However, rather than being paid for the holidays, you can also negotiate with your employer to encash the public holidays and calculate this into your hourly gross rate of pay and include this in the contract of service clearly.
How does this actually work?
| [Annual entitlement to public holidays of the part-time employee (in hours)] / (Weekly working hours of that part-time Employee x 52 weeks)
|
X | Hourly gross rate of pay |
If the hourly gross rate of pay is $6, the encashed amount added to the hourly gross rate of pay is:
[40 hours / (20 hours*52 weeks)] * $6 = $0.23
Therefore, the new updated hourly gross rate of pay is now $6.23.
- Various Types of Leave Available for Part-time Employees
Just as full-time workers, if you are covered by the Employment Act, you are entitled to paid annual leave and sick leave. And if you are eligible, you may also enjoy maternity, paternity and childcare leave as well.
The exact amount of pay for working during these leaves also depends on the number of hours you work accordingly.
A step-by-step guide on how to calculate the various types of leave entitlement and how to encash them into your hourly gross rate of pay can be found on government websites.
Frequently Asked Questions from Part-time Employees
- Do I, as a part-time worker, get any benefits from my employer when he or she wants to terminate the contract of service between us?
The fact that an employee is a part-time employee does not make a difference to the benefits the employee will be entitled to. The part-time employee is entitled to whatever a full-time employee is entitled to; notice, damages etc.
- Does CPF scheme also apply to part-time workers?
Answer: Yes. The CPF scheme applies to all Singapore citizens (SCs) and Singapore permanent residents (SPRs) employed in Singapore under a contract of service, whether employed on a permanent, casual or part-time basis.
- If I injure myself during my work, do I get work injury compensation as well?
Answer: Yes! As long as you are under a contract of service, it does not matter whether you are working full-time or part-time.
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This article is written by Walter Silvester from Silvester Legal LLC and edited by Rishika Pundrik of Asia Law Network.
This article does not constitute legal advice or a legal opinion on any matter discussed and, accordingly, it should not be relied upon. It should not be regarded as a comprehensive statement of the law and practice in this area. If you require any advice or information, please speak to a practicing lawyer in your jurisdiction. No individual who is a member, partner, shareholder or consultant of, in or to any constituent part of Interstellar Group Pte. Ltd. accepts or assumes responsibility, or has any liability, to any person in respect of this article.