SINGAPORE - Workers supporting causes outside the workplace should not face any kind of bullying, harassment or ostracism at the workplace with the roll-out of a broader set of guidelines taking effect in mid-February.

The additional guidelines call for employers to be sensitive to the diverse cultures, values and beliefs of their employees when developing, promoting or implementing events, programmes and policies that are not related to work.

Also, employers should provide employees with a safe environment to raise their concerns, including through a proper grievance-handling process.

In a joint statement on Monday, tripartite partners Ministry of Manpower (MOM), National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) said the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP) will be enhanced to include these additions from mid-February.

Under the new guidelines, the statement said, employers should continue to demonstrate and communicate the importance of an inclusive and harmonious workplace. 

The guidelines also cover areas such as performance assessments, where employees should be assessed for promotions and related areas based only on work-related requirements.

Also, employees should not be required or pressured to participate in events, programmes and policies that are not related to work. Non-support or non-participation should not affect their employment outcomes.

In the statement, the tripartite partners said employers and employees all over the world are doing more to support various causes in the workplace.

Often, these activities are held in support of causes unrelated to the primary business of the employer or the job that employees are hired to do, it said.

“The enhanced guidelines will underscore the importance of building and maintaining a harmonious workplace, where individuals of different backgrounds, abilities and beliefs continue to feel valued, engaged and respected,” it added.

Both SNEF and NTUC said the guidelines reinforced the importance of diversity in the workplace.

SNEF executive director Sim Gim Guan said: “We are mindful that the increasing diversity of the workforce may affect workplace relations. Therefore, it is important that we continue to enlarge the common space in which all of us can live, work and play together.”

In a Facebook post on Monday, NTUC assistant secretary-general Patrick Tay said employers are expected to abide by the principles of fair employment practices set out in the guidelines.

He said: “NTUC does not tolerate, condone nor approve of any discriminatory and unfair practices in the workplace, and will not hesitate to red-flag such practices.”

He added that union members can report instances of non-compliance to their unions or union leaders or the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (Tafep). NTUC or Tafep will refer cases of non-compliance to MOM for investigation.

MOM may curtail work pass privileges of non-compliant employers, he said.

The guidelines come in the wake of a parliamentary debate on the repeal of Section 377a of the Penal Code, which decriminalises sex between men.

During the debate, several MPs touched on how some workers were singled out at their workplaces because they are religious and, by default, seen to be homophobic and, therefore, at odds with the company’s diversity and inclusion policies.

Some MPs also said employers should ensure that their policies and practices provide an inclusive workspace that respects and is sensitive to different personal beliefs and values of all employees, and they should not promote activities that may potentially give rise to bullying or discrimination. 

Guidelines under the TGFEP already require employers to make employment decisions based on merit and factors relevant to the job.

MOM is also looking at enacting workplace fairness legislation.