Family-friendly practices on the rise, more employers offering work-life arrangements

The Manpower Ministry (MOM) says Singapore employers are increasingly going beyond statutory requirements to provide various leave benefits to help their employees cope with family commitments.

More employers are also offering work-life arrangements, such as part-time work, flexi-time and tele-working, though they are still not widely prevalent.

These are the key findings from the 2012 Conditions of Employment Survey that MOM conducted recently.

The survey found that four in ten establishments offered at least one form of work-life arrangement to their employees, up from 38 per cent last year.

Part-time work was the most common work-life arrangement offered, followed by flexi-time, staggered hours and tele-work

A large majority of establishments gave compassionate leave and marriage leave.

Slightly over half granted paternity leave, while slightly over a third provided study or examination leave and one in six gave parental care leave.

The share of full-time employees who were entitled to at least 15 days of paid annual leave edged up to 41 per cent this year.

The 5-day work-week continued to be the norm.

The survey covered 3,500 establishments in the private sector.