Enterprise Singapore
29 Jan 2020
Updated 31 Aug 2020
- The Government has announced Phase Two will start after 18 June 2020, 2359 hours.
- We will continue to work closely together with businesses to identify the new economic opportunities our businesses can target, given the structural shifts from COVID-19.
- We advise all businesses to refer to the Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) websites for the latest updates.
Approach for Phase Two
- Apart from a small list of exceptions, Phase Two will see the resumption of most activities, subject to the following Safe Distancing principles:
- As a default, measures should be put in place to ensure that individuals maintain Safe Distancing of at least one metre at all times;
- Where not feasible or practical to apply one metre Safe Distancing between individuals, this one metre requirement can instead be enforced between groups, with each group made up of not more than five persons, and with no mixing between groups. Other relevant Safe Management Measures should also be in place.
Activities to be Resumed in Phase Two
- Retail establishments and lifestyle-related businesses may re-open their physical outlets. All such establishments (including malls, supermarkets and standalone stores) must adhere to the measures outlined in this advisory.
- Standalone food and beverage (F&B) establishments predominantly selling beverages can resume operations. F&B dine-in will also be allowed to resume, subject to liquor sales and consumption ceasing at 2230 hours. However, live music, radio broadcasts and all forms of television/video screenings, as well as other forms of public entertainment such as dancing, darts or karaoke, are not allowed. All F&B establishments must adhere to the measures outlined in this advisory.
- Larger public venues with high human traffic such as malls and large standalone retail outlets will be subject to capacity limits, and operators will be required to prevent crowds or long queues from building up within and in the immediate vicinity of their premises.
- Personal health and wellness, and home-based services will also be allowed to resume. Registered clubs and societies will be allowed to operate at their registered premises. Tuition and other private enrichment classes can resume, with the exception of singing or voice training classes.
- All other healthcare services, including eldercare services in the community, individual health screening and aesthetic services, may resume with Safe Distancing measures in place. Face-to-face visitations at residential facilities for the elderly (including nursing homes, welfare homes, sheltered homes and adult disability homes) may also resume with precautionary measures in place.
- To check if your business may resume, please refer to covid.gobusiness.gov.sg/permittedlist. Businesses permitted in this list do not need to apply for an exemption before resuming operations. However, they must adhere to Safe Management Measures, and submit their manpower details via covid.gobusiness.gov.sg within two weeks of the date of resumption of operations.
- In settings run by permitted businesses, such as for F&B dining-in or classes where individuals come together for activities, the one metre Safe Distancing requirement may be waived only if each group is made up of not more than five persons, and is subject to overall Safe Management Measures.
- Telecommuting must remain the default for all businesses where feasible. Employees should only come into the office when demonstrably needed.
Activities that Cannot be Resumed in Phase Two
- While the vast majority of activities will be allowed to resume at the start of Phase Two, the resumption of a small number of activities will take more time. These are activities or settings where large numbers of people are likely to come into close contact, often in enclosed spaces, and for prolonged periods of time. These include:
- Religious services and congregations;
- Large cultural venues such as libraries and museums;
- Large-scale events and venues, such as conferences, exhibitions, concerts and trade fairs; and
- Entertainment venues such as bars, nightclubs, karaoke outlets, cinemas, theatres, as well as indoor and outdoor attractions.
Mandatory Safe Management Measures
- All businesses must put in place Safe Management Measures before resuming workplace activities, in order to provide a safe working environment and prevent transmission at the workplace. These measures include:
- Implementing a system of Safe Management Measures at workplaces;
- Reducing physical interaction and ensuring Safe Distancing at workplaces;
- Supporting contact tracing requirements;
- Requiring employees to wear personal protective equipment where needed, and observe good personal hygiene;
- Ensuring cleanliness of workplace premises;
- Implementing health checks and protocols to manage potential cases.
- All businesses must comply with the general requirements for Safe Management Measures, and any sector-specific requirements which apply to them. Strict checks will be conducted, and businesses that do not provide a safe workplace for workers will have their operations suspended until they are able to do.
- For Frequently Asked Questions regarding Safe Management Measures at the workplace after the Circuit Breaker period, please click here.
- Those who wish to report breaches or poor practices can do so via SnapSAFE – an app that allows the reporting of workplace safety and health issues to MOM.
Safe Management Measures for Business Establishments
- Enterprise Singapore has also released sector-specific Safe Management Measures, which include Safe Distancing Measures, for the following:
- All establishments must comply with these Safe Management Measures. Government agencies will be stepping up enforcement of these measures.
Implementation of SafeEntry
- To further support contact tracing efforts, SafeEntry must be deployed extensively across Singapore, especially at places with a higher risk of non-transient contact. This includes workplaces, malls and supermarkets.
- Businesses and services that are in operation must come on board SafeEntry to log the check-in of employees and visitors.
- Contact data collected by SafeEntry is only used by authorised personnel for contact tracing purposes, and stringent measures are in place to safeguard the data in accordance with the Government’s data security standards.
Guidelines for Employers with Affected Workers
- Employers should work out clear salary and leave arrangements with employees who cannot work from home or at their workplace premises, based on the principle of shared responsibility. Such arrangements should take into consideration the Government support for wages and any subsidies for training.
Business Continuity Plans
- All workplaces should update their business continuity plans (BCP), and stay prepared for trend of increasing community transmission. As the situation is evolving rapidly around the world, we encourage all companies to have their BCP in place.
- Enterprise Singapore (ESG), supported by the Singapore Business Federation, has enhanced the Business Continuity Guide for Enterprises to support you in developing your plans to deal with COVID-19.
Travel Advisory
- Please review work-related travel plans and defer all travel abroad, with immediate effect. We encourage firms to explore alternative ways of business communications.
- Please remind your employees to defer all travel plans to all countries, and obtain a travel declaration from them.
- If an employee still proceeds to travel overseas, you may require the employee to use his/her own annual leave entitlements to cover the duration of the mandatory Stay-Home Notice (SHN), or any extended period of travel in the destination country. If the employee does not have sufficient annual leave entitlements, you may allow the employee to consume advance leave or put the employee on no-pay leave.
Travel Restrictions
- The summary list of countries/regions and border control measures is as follows:
| Travel History in Countries/Regions |
For Singapore Residents and Long-Term Pass Holders |
For Short-Term Visitors |
All countries/regions
With effect from 23 March 2020, 2359 hours
|
14-day SHN
MOM will only allow the entry/return of work pass holders
(and their dependents) who are providing essential services
such as healthcare and transport.
Work pass holders (including dependents) entering Singapore
from Malaysia – regardless of the mode of travel – must
obtain MOM’s approval before commencing their journey.
|
Not allowed entry or transit
except for those under
Green / Fast Lane arrangements
|
- More details on Singapore’s measures for inbound travellers in relation to COVID-19 can be found here.
- From 27 March 2020, 0900 hours, all travellers arriving in Singapore, including residents (Singapore Citizens, Permanent Residents) and Long-Term Pass holders (Student’s Pass, Dependent’s Pass, Work Pass and Long-Term Visit Pass Holders), must submit a health declaration before proceeding with immigration clearance. They will have to do so via the SG Arrival Card (SGAC) e-Service.
- From 17 June 2020, 2359 hours, all travellers entering Singapore will be subject to a testing regime. It is an additional precautionary measure to detect the virus, especially given the risks of asymptomatic cases. More details on this can be found here.
- All inbound and outbound travellers who enter Singapore from 17 June 2020, 2359 hours, and leave Singapore from 17 June 2020, 2359 hours, respectively, will be required to pay for their COVID-19 tests, where applicable. In addition, incoming travellers who are not Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents, who enter Singapore from 17 June 2020, 2359 hours, will be required to pay for their stay at dedicated SHN facilities, where applicable. More details on this can be found here.
Visas and Work Passes
- From 23 March 2020, 2359 hours, all short-term visitors (from anywhere in the world) will not be allowed to enter or transit through Singapore. More details can be found here.
- However, essential business and official travel will be permitted under Green / Fast Lane arrangements such as the Singapore-China Fast Lane for Essential Travel.
- The MOM will only allow the entry/return of work pass holders, including their dependents, for those providing essential services, such as in healthcare and transport.
- Such workers planning to enter/return to Singapore from any country are to obtain MOM’s approval before commencing their journey. This includes those planning to enter Singapore from Malaysia, regardless of the mode of travel. The entry approval requirement applies to:
- Existing work pass holders currently out of Singapore; and
- In-Principle Approval holders who have yet to enter Singapore.
- When applying for entry approval, you must:
- Declare that you have arranged for suitable premises to house affected employees as they will be placed on a mandatory 14-day SHN upon their arrival in Singapore.
- Request for MOM’s approval before your employees can enter Singapore. You will need to send the MOM approval letter to the employee, who will need to show it to airline staff upon check-in and at the ICA checkpoint upon arrival in Singapore.
- Please note the following:
| For new or existing |
Who needs to request for approval? |
Who is responsible to ensure SHN is observed? |
| Work pass holders, including those with Letter of Consent |
Employer |
Employer and work pass holder |
Dependent’s Pass or Long-Term Visit Pass holders who are not employed
i.e. not issued a work pass, including Letter of Consent |
Local sponsor
i.e. employer of Employment Pass or S Pass holder
|
Holders of Employment Pass, S Pass, Dependent’s Pass or Long-Term Visit Pass |
Additional Measures for Returning Employees
- MOM is providing support for those affected by SHN requirements due to COVID-19. Please refer to this link for full details on the eligibility criteria and application process.
- Employees who are served a Quarantine Order will be deemed to be on paid sick leave. The period of absence from work will be treated as paid hospitalisation leave, as part of the employees’ hospitalisation leave eligibility under their employment contracts, collective agreements or as per the Employment Act.
- MOH is providing support to those affected by the Quarantine Order due to COVID-19. Please refer to link for details on the eligibility criteria of the Quarantine Order Allowance (QOA) Scheme.
Precautionary Measures for General Employees
- Please remind all employees who are unwell, even with mild flu-like symptoms, should see a doctor immediately. They should not go out into the public for any other purpose, and should not come into close contact with others.
- Please advise all employees (except for those allowed to commute for work) to remain largely within their place of residence. They can still go out to buy meals or daily necessities, procure essential services or for urgent medical needs, but should otherwise minimise the time they spend outside. They should avoid interactions with anyone other than immediate family members living in the same household.
- If you employ foreign workers who live in foreign worker dormitories, please refer to this advisory and ensure the relevant Safe Management Measures are adhered to.
- Should you become aware that someone at your workplace is a confirmed or suspect case of COVID-19, you are advised to adopt these measures set out by MOM.
- You should also carry out a thorough cleaning and disinfecting of that section of the workplace premises exposed to confirmed case(s). Please refer to the National Environment Agency’s (NEA) guidelines for more details. You may apply for the Specialised Cleaning Programme to defray part of the cleaning and disinfection costs.
Precautionary Measures for Specific Sectors
- The MOH has compiled a list of advisories for companies and employees in specific sectors. Please refer to the list here.
Regulations under the Infectious Disease Act
- The MOH will be promulgating Regulations under the Infectious Diseases Act to give legal force to the Safe Distancing Measures, as well as to provide enhanced penalties for breaches of the SHN. The penalty for an offence under the Regulations, including any SHN breach, would be a fine of less than $10,000 or imprisonment of less than six months or both. In addition, existing levers under the Infectious Diseases Act, including the temporary suspension of operations, may be used against persons and operators found to be non-compliant with the Regulations.
Support for Businesses
- The Government has introduced various support measures across different Budgets in response to COVID-19 to help companies and workers weather near-term uncertainties. The relevant measures are outlined as follows:
- ESG, together with other Government agencies, has launched new initiatives and enhanced existing programmes to provide more support more businesses. For more information, please click here.
- The Ministry of Law has introduced the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Bill to provide temporary and targeted protection for businesses and individuals who are unable to fulfil certain contractual obligations because of COVID-19.
- As businesses seek to adjust to the changing operating environment, we strongly encourage employers to take a long-term view of their manpower needs. When managing excess manpower, retrenchment should always be the last resort, after other options have been considered and found to be unworkable. For appropriate measures to manage excess manpower, you may refer to the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment.
- If you have 10 or more employees and have implemented any cost-saving measures that affects your employees’ monthly salaries (including bonuses and increments) during this period, you are required to notify MOM through this online form – within 1 week after implementation. This temporary requirement is in place to encourage responsible implementation of such measures, prevent downstream salary disputes, and allow MOM to monitor the scope and scale of such measures. For more details, please refer to the MOM website.
- The Government will continue to work together with tripartite partners to restructure our economy, build new enterprise capabilities, and upskill our workers for the future.
You can also find the downloadable version of the advisory here.
This advisory is based on information updated as of 16 June 2020.