New tie-up offers insurance savings for SMEs committed to workers’ health and well-being

SINGAPORE – Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that invest in the health and well-being of their employees can now enjoy reduced group insurance premiums under a new partnership between the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council and home-grown insurer Singlife.

Announced on July 24 by Minister of State for Manpower Dinesh Vasu Dash at the inaugural Tripartite Connect 2025, the scheme will give a 10 per cent discount on first-year insurance premiums for SMEs that enrol their staff for health screening and lifestyle coaching under the free Total WSH programme.

“For SMEs, every cent counts, and such savings can be meaningfully redirected to support business or employee needs,” said Mr Dinesh at the event, which gathered SME leaders to look at ways to foster progressive workplace practices.

“I hope this will be a win-win outcome; win for your companies with insurance savings, and win for your employees with better health and well-being.”

Mr Dinesh was speaking at the launch of Tripartite Connect at Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel. The event, attended by about 330 participants, was organised by the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices and the WSH Council. Both agencies are under the Tripartite Alliance Limited (TAL).

In his speech, Mr Dinesh cited an example: An SME with 50 employees would typically spend around $650 per person annually for basic coverage. The 10 per cent discount would translate to $3,250 in savings in the first year.

Singlife said in a statement that the incentives will be available until March 31, 2027.

Mr Christopher Koh, general manager of the WSH Council, said the partnership with Singlife aims to encourage more employers to “recognise the commercial benefit of investing in employees’ health, which is not just good for employees themselves, but also supports businesses’ productivity”.

Beyond workers’ health, Mr Dinesh emphasised that safety and fairness are increasingly crucial to a company’s brand and bottom line.

“With strong WSH practices, service delivery is smoother, disruptions are minimised and costly delays are avoided,” he said.

Citing City Developments Limited as an example, he said the real estate developer mandates that all its contractors must have at least bizSafe Level 3 certification.

A nationally recognised programme, bizSafe is designed to help companies build workplace safety and health capabilities.

Another example he cited was Galmon, a Singapore company providing mobile elevating work platform solutions that has achieved bizSafe Star, the highest tier under the WSH Council’s bizSafe framework.

The company has a zero-fatality record over its 40-year history by cross-training staff and using a low-cost internal system to report near misses and unsafe acts, Mr Dinesh said. He added that Galmon’s experience shows how SMEs can build up safety capabilities in a cost-effective way.

Mr Bob Tan, chairman of TAL, said in his speech that as at April, close to 29,000 companies here have attained bizSafe Level 3 and above.

Mr Dinesh also urged SMEs to go further by adopting fair and progressive employment practices to meet the diverse needs of their staff.

The Workplace Fairness Act

– passed in Parliament in January – will be implemented by 2027.

The Act makes it unlawful for employment decisions, such as those related to hiring, dismissal or performance appraisals, to be based on five protected characteristics: nationality; age; sex, marital status, pregnancy status and caregiving responsibilities; race, religion and language; and disability and mental health conditions.

As part of the new requirements under the Act, employers must implement grievance handling processes to facilitate mediation and resolve issues amicably within the firm.

“Doing so not only supports future compliance with the law, but also lays the groundwork for a progressive workplace culture anchored in fairness, respect and inclusivity,” said Mr Dinesh.

“No matter the scale of your enterprise, I urge all SMEs to take the first step towards redefining success through safe, healthy, fair and progressive practices.”