More workers will enjoy protections related to working hours, such as overtime pay, in the upcoming Employment Act review, said Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin on Thursday in Parliament.

Currently, a special section of the Act which deals with issues such as working hours and overtime covers manual workers earning up to $4,500 and other workers earning up to $2,000.

But when the Act is changed later this year - to take effect in 2014 - the salary ceiling for non-manual workers will be raised to $2,500. This means about 150,000 more workers will be covered by this section of the Act, and will be eligible for overtime pay if they do work overtime, said Mr Tan.

To help employers manage their costs, however, the amount of overtime payable will be capped at a salary level of $2,250. This means that workers earning from $2,250 to $2,500 will get the same overtime rate of $17.70 per hour.