Forum: Do I need to take a day’s leave if it’s a half-day at work?

In Singapore, it has become common practice for government offices and private employers to grant employees a half-day off on the eves of major public holidays such as Christmas, New Year and Chinese New Year.

These half-day arrangements are typically announced in advance and communicated as a gesture of goodwill, letting employees begin their celebrations earlier with family and loved ones. On the surface, this appears to be a positive and progressive practice.

However, there’s a puzzling inconsistency among organisations. Employees who choose to take the entire day off are sometimes required to apply for a full day of annual leave, rather than just half a day, despite the official half-day work arrangement in place.

This effectively results in an “over-deduction” of leave. If the organisation has already declared that employees are required to work only half a day, it seems illogical to deduct a full day’s leave from those who opt to take the remaining half off. Such practices risk breeding resentment and undermining the goodwill that the half-day gesture was meant to create in the first place.

To the credit of some employers, some explicitly remind staff that only half a day of leave is required if they wish to be absent for the full day. This approach is fairer and more consistent with the spirit of the arrangement.

Can the Ministry of Manpower clarify whether the practice of requiring a full day of leave in such circumstances is acceptable under employment guidelines? Or can the ministry advise employers on best practices to ensure that leave policies remain fair and logical?

In an era where employee engagement and workplace morale are increasingly emphasised, clarity on this matter would be welcome.

Jeff Wee