A Malaysian manicurist, Mary (not her real name) who works at a local manicurist shop, was relieved when her employer informed her that she would be receiving her full basic salary of $2100 for the months of May and June.
But she was left disappointed when her boss informed her the she would have to “return the working hours” by putting in 50 hours of overtime when business resumed after the circuit breaker. Her 14 days of annual leave would be cut by half as well.
Mary stated that she felt it is unfair as her boss received help from the Singapore Government and she did not explain the reason and how she came up with the 50 hours of overtime. She then approached MOM to inform them on her current issue.
The spokesman from MOM explained that the employer had borrowed the concept of time-banking, which allows employees to be paid now for work to be done later.
“Overall, it appears that Mary would be paid her full basic salary for three months, while the employer has only asked her to consume part of her annual leave entitlement and time-banked less than two weeks of unworked hours,” she said.
“As Mary is a Malaysian work permit holder, her employer would not have received any Jobs Support Scheme payout and only the foreign worker levy rebate of $750 each month, while her basic salary is much higher at $2,100.”
The spokesman said that since March 12, over 4,000 companies have informed MOM of their cost-saving measures. More than 120 companies have applied to implement time-banking, a sharp jump from last year when only six did so.