Supporting Your Employees During COVID-19

How businesses show care and provide support for employees during challenging times can have a huge impact on their livelihoods and personal lives.

Here are a few ways to provide support as employees and companies go through this difficult period together. 

Q1. How do I support my employees’ mental health and well-being during COVID-19? What resources are there? 

The COVID-19 situation is a challenging time for everyone and may take a toll on people’s mental wellness. Employers could share information with employees such as reminders to spend some time to relax and encourage interaction and connection in remote teams, the National Care Hotline for emotional support - be it stress over finances or marital and family tensions, and various support schemes for Singaporeans affected by COVID-19 under the Ministry of Social and Family Development.

Visit the SG United and Gov.sg websites for more information.

Q2. I would like to help my affected employees to find a second job during this period. How can I go about this?

Employers that implement job-sharing arrangements, shorter work-week, or temporary layoffs should support employees who are interested to take on part-time or temporary work for another employer. 

Workforce Singapore has launched a series of SGUnited Jobs Virtual Career Fairs (VCF), which jobseekers can access here. You can encourage your employees on reduced working hours or no-pay leave to visit the VCF to find suitable temporary job opportunities. 

Q3. My migrant workers staying in the dormitory are unable to access remittance services to send money home during the Circuit Breaker period. Am I able to help them do this? 

Yes. Employers are encouraged to assist their migrant workers with remittance upon the worker’s request. 

If you are assisting your migrant workers to remit their salaries overseas, you must obtain their written consent (e.g. via text messages or email) and also keep a record of their remittance requests. The request from the migrant worker must include details such as:

• Worker’s full name, FIN, date of birth, nationality and address;
• Worker’s specified amount of his/her salary to be remitted overseas;
• Worker’s specified name and bank account details of intended recipient; and
• Worker’s specified date or time period for the remittance transaction to take place. 

For more information, visit the MOM website here.