Off-in-lieu guide for employers in Singapore

Are you confused about off-in-lieu and unsure about your obligations as an employer? In this guide, we'll cover all you need to know about off-in-lieu in Singapore, including what it is, who is entitled to it, and how to calculate it for each of your employees. We'll also introduce you to Payboy's leave management system, which makes tracking off-in-lieu and other leave types a breeze!

What is off-in-lieu?

"Off-in-lieu" or "time off-in-lieu" is a term used to describe a type of compensatory time off given to an employee in lieu of overtime pay. It means that if an employee works extra hours beyond their regular working hours, they can take the equivalent time off at a later date instead of being paid overtime for those extra hours worked. The time off-in-lieu is usually granted at the discretion of the employer and is subject to specific rules and regulations regarding compensation and working hours.

Who is entitled to off-in-lieu in Singapore?

Employees in Singapore generally have the right to time off-in-lieu, also known as off-in-lieu, if they work longer than their contractual working hours or the legal minimum hours.

Under the Employment Act, employees who are entitled to off-in-lieu:

are covered by the Part IV provisions (i.e., non-managerial and non-executive employees) and
have a monthly basic salary that does not exceed S$2,600.

These employees are entitled to time off-in-lieu at the rate of 1.5 times the number of overtime hours in accordance with their contractual or statutory working hours.

For example, if an employee is contracted to work 8 hours per day but works an additional 2 hours of overtime, they would be entitled to 3 hours of time off-in-lieu (1.5 x 2 hours of overtime).

It's crucial to keep in mind that, depending on their employment contract, industry, and job description, employees who are not subject to the Employment Act may have different entitlements. Therefore, it is advisable to check with the relevant authorities or seek legal advice to ensure compliance with the applicable laws and regulations.

Does an employee get off-in-lieu if a public holiday falls on a non-working day?

In Singapore, if a public holiday falls on a non-working day, employees are entitled to either a day off-in-lieu or one extra day of salary-in-lieu under the updated employment law that came into effect in April 2019. This applies to all employees, including managers and executives, who earn more than S$4,500 per month.

For instance, if employees work a 5-day week and the public holiday falls on a Saturday, they should receive a day off-in-lieu or salary-in-lieu. If the public holiday falls on a Sunday, the following working day, Monday, will automatically be a paid public holiday.

In cases where employees are required to work on public holidays, the employer should either pay for an additional day or provide time off-in-lieu, as per mutual agreement.

Pay for working on a public holiday =
(12 x Monthly gross rate of pay x Public holidays worked on) / (52 x Average number of work days in a week)

For example:
Employee A's monthly gross rate of pay is S$3,000 and the number of work days in a week is 5. There are 11 public holidays in a year, and Employee A worked on 2 public holidays in April.

Using the above formula, the calculation for Employee A's pay for working on public holidays would be:

(12 x S$3,000 x 2) / (52 x 5) = S$276.92

In this scenario, Employee A would receive an additional S$276.92 for working on the two public holidays.

Tip: Use Payboy’s payroll module to ensure an accurate calculation of the employee’s pay on public holidays!

Simplify employee leave tracking, such as off-in-lieu with Payboy’s leave management system!

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) often find leave management to be a pain point, and we can understand why:

SMEs don’t have as many HR resources as larger businesses. As a result, they often have to rely on manual leave processes, which can be both time-consuming and error-prone.
SMEs often have a smaller pool of employees to choose from when someone goes on leave. This can lead to disruptions in workflow and decreased productivity.

If leave isn't managed properly, it can have a negative impact on productivity and morale. Therefore, good HR software is an essential tool for any business that wants to stay on top of its leave entitlements and ensure its employees are getting the rest they deserve.

Here are some benefits of using our leave management module:

Manage leaves digitally

Our leave management module is designed to streamline the leave management process, making it easy for employees to apply for leave and check leave balances, as well as for employers to approve and manage leave requests.

Employees can also easily submit supporting documents or certificates via the mobile app, so that all the documents are stored in a central database. No more missing documents!

Sync seamlessly with Shift Scheduling and Payroll Processing modules

Shift scheduling and payroll calculation can be time-consuming and stressful while managing different leave types and requests. With Payboy HR software, when leaves are approved, the employee’s availability will be automatically updated in the Shift Scheduling module, and any encashed or unpaid leave will be calculated in the Payroll Processing module.

Customise the leave policy that best fits your business needs

We'll provide you with a MOM-compliant setup to start with, but we are also ready to assist you in customising your leave policy to fit your business requirements. Check out how to customise settings for each leave type with Payboy, including off-in-lieu for public holidays!

Here’s a useful guide on how to create off-in-lieu for public holidays with Payboy!

Our Payboy Support Centre also helps to address most of the FAQs regarding other statutory leave entitlements asked by our customers:

Streamline your HR processes with Payboy today!

As a PSG-approved HRMS, Payboy provides a robust system to help you manage your HR tasks so that you can focus on your business and people!

With our wide range of modules, you can customise a solution to meet the specific needs of your business:

Payroll Processing | Leave Management | Claims Management | Applicant Tracking

Find out how you can do it all with Payboy

Reach out to us if you are keen for a free demo on how we can help you save hours and give you some peace of mind on payroll and other HR matters so that you can focus on your business and people.