Employers Penalized for Failing to Comply with Safe Management Measures
Between September 28, 2020, and January 15, 2021, a total of 42 firms in Singapore were fined for violating workplace safe management measures during the ongoing pandemic. These violations occurred despite work-from-home being the default arrangement during this period. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) reported that the most common offenses included requiring employees to report to the office when they were able to work from home and failing to implement proper safe distancing markers in common areas.
A total of 5,380 workplaces were inspected, and this was part of the government’s efforts to ensure compliance with safe management practices, especially considering the rise in Covid-19 cases in the community and the new, more transmissible virus strains. In addition to the fines, seven workplaces were shut down for serious lapses.
The transport and storage sectors were particularly scrutinized during the year-end festive period due to increased activity. These inspections and enforcement measures are part of ongoing efforts to control the spread of Covid-19 in workplaces, especially as active clusters continue to be linked to work settings.
