Employment Act 1968 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 4 · Rest Days, Hours of Work and Other Conditions of Service
40. Shift workers, etc.
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Despite section 38(1), an employee who is engaged under his or her contract of service in regular shift work or who has otherwise consented in writing to work in accordance with the hours of work specified in this section may be required to work more than 6 consecutive hours, more than 8 hours in any one day or more than 44 hours in any one week but the average number of hours worked over any continuous period of 3 weeks must not exceed 44 hours per week.
employee
“employee” means a person who has entered into or works under a contract of service with an employer and includes a workman, and any officer or employee of the Government included in a category, class or description of such officers or employees declared by the President to be employees for the purposes of this Act or any provision thereof, but does not include any of the following:(a)any seafarer;(b)any domestic worker;(c) (d)any person belonging to any other class of persons whom the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, declare not to be employees for the purposes of this Act;
No consent given by an employee under this section is valid unless this section and section 38 have been explained to the employee and the employee has been informed of the times at which the hours of work begin and end, the number of working days in each week and the weekly rest day.
hours of work
“hours of work” means the time during which an employee is at the employer’s disposal and is not free to dispose of his or her own time and movements exclusive of any intervals allowed for rest and meals;
An employee to whom this section applies may be required by his or her employer to exceed the limit of hours prescribed in subsection (1) and to work on a rest day, in the case of —
employer
“employer” means any person who employs another person under a contract of service and includes —(a)the Government in respect of such categories, classes or descriptions of officers or employees of the Government as are declared by the President to be employees for the purposes of this Act;(b)any statutory authority;(c)the duly authorised agent or manager of the employer; and(d)the person who owns or is carrying on or for the time being responsible for the management of the profession, business, trade or work in which the employee is engaged;
accident, actual or threatened;
work, the performance of which is essential to the life of the community;
work essential for defence or security;
urgent work to be done to machinery or plant;
an interruption of work which it was impossible to foresee; or
work to be performed by employees in any industrial undertaking essential to the economy of Singapore or any of the essential services as defined under Part 3 of the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act 1955.
Except in the circumstances described in subsection (2A)(a), (b), (c), (d) and (e), an employee to whom this section applies must not under any circumstances work for more than 12 hours in any one day.
Section 38(4) does not apply to any employee to whom this section applies, but any such employee who at the request of his or her employer works more than an average of 44 hours per week over any continuous period of 3 weeks must be paid for the extra work in accordance with section 38(4).