Making workplaces inclusive for womenSeeking help on employment disputes

In continuing the momentum of enabling employers to improve their employment practices, the tripartite partners launched the Tripartite Standard (TS) on Grievance Handling on 20 October 2017 at the Devan Nair Inst itute for Employment and Employability. The TS on Grievance Handling, which identifies best practices for companies to manage workplace grievances more effectively, is the third in a series of Tripartite Standards rolled out by the tripartite partners this year. At the launch, over 220 companies of varying sizes across various sectors were announced as early adopters of the TS on Grievance Handling. The TS on Grievance Handling requires employers to implement grievance handling procedures to manage workplace grievances in order to foster an inclusive and harmonious workplace. There are four specifications outlined for employers who adopt the TS on Grievance Handling: (1 ) employers commit to providing a channel for employees to raise grievances and conduct proper investigations, (2) employers commit to clearly communicating and documenting the grievance handling procedure, (3) employers state the appropriate authority to hear the appeal and the timeframe for action to be taken, and finally, (4) employers

phase of restoration works. He shared that the 350 affected hotel workers were either successfully seconded to sister-hotels locally or received assistance in finding new employment opportunities.

At the launch, Mr Lim also delivered a progress update on the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) since its launch in April 2017. Between April to September 2017, TADM has shown results in managing and mediating workplace disputes. Out of the 4,600 employees and employers who have registered salary claims, 90 per cent have received help from TADM, through mediation, to recover their salaries in full. In addition, TADM now provides advice to all employees on employment and contractual issues. This has benefitted about 3,800 employees, with 200 of them receiving additional help for disputes not covered by employment laws, through voluntary mediation and legal clinics.

“What the tripartite partners strive to do, is to keep strengthening our dispute management mechanisms so that more of such disputes can be resolved in a cheaper, better and faster manner for both employers and employees,” said Mr Lim at the event.

commit to training supervisors and relevant employees to manage feedback and grievances, and work with the union if the company is unionised.

Speaking at the launch of the TS on Grievance Handling, Minister for Manpower, Mr Lim Swee Say, announced that the early adopters collectively employ nearly 250,000 employees, and the names of these companies would be listed on TAFEP’s website and the Jobs Bank. These companies are also entitled to display the Tripartite Standards logomark in their publicity materials to distinguish themselves as progressive employers.

Using Raffles Hotel Singapore as an example of the early adopters, Mr Lim cited the hotel’s good practices of engaging staff in one-to-one discussions with senior management and the talent and culture team, before it closed in December 2017 for its final

Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say speaking at the tripartite event on fair and responsive management of disputes for all employees on 20 October 2017.

For more information on the Tripartite Standards, employers may visit TAFEP’s website at tafep.sg or email ts@tafep.sg.

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Panellists, comprising representatives from the

tripartite partners, having a discussion on dispute

management.

IMPROVINGGRIEVANCE HANDLINGPROCEDURES FOR ALL

3

Providing better support for all

employment issues

4.

salary arrears recovered

about

$5 mil$5 mil$

Almost allemployeesfully recovered their salaries

4,6004,600claims registeredfor mediation

Helping employees and employers with

salary-relatedclaims

1. Settling salary claims

expeditiously

2.

Helping employees recover owed salaries

3.

5.

90%

EmployeeClaims

10%

Additional help for employees who did not fully recover salaries

for lower wage workers from

businesses that failed

Financial aid

$

to recover salaries from employers who refuse to pay

Initiate Writ of Seizure & Sale

Employers Rank-and-File Professionals, Managers and Executives

5% 75% 20%

92% 6% 2%within 2 months 2-3 months 3-5 months

concluded in 2 MONTHS>90%

Referred to the Employment

Claims Tribunals

16% (500)

3,100claims

concluded 84% (2,600)Settled at TADM

employees advised on employment and

contractual rights

3,8003,800employees received

additional help

200

Voluntary mediation

100Advice through

legal clinics

1003,400 R&F 400 PMEs *An employee may receive more than one form of assistance

employees received further

assistance*

170170 Employment facilitation to help with

job placement

135

Social assistance to help the lower-income

35

Social work intervention to support

emotional needs

5

Going beyond management of employment disputes

Improving support for dispute management and beyond.

RESULTS AT A GLANCE(APR – SEP 2017)

FIGURE IT OUT!The Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management(TADM) was introduced in April 2017, and here’s a quick snapshot of TADM's achievements, six months into its launch:

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Can you tell us a bit more about your career journey with Keystone Cable? Keystone Cable is a cable manufacturing company which my parents had started 28 years ago. Prior to joining the business, I had worked at Economic Development Board (EDB) in Singapore and at Roche, a multinational pharmaceuticals company based in Switzerland, with roles in business development, global marketing and sales analytics. When I joined Keystone five years ago, I chose to focus on HR and Marketing, which I believe are two extremely important yet often underserved functions in a traditional SME such as ours. With my experience and skill sets, I thought I would make the most impact within the company in these two areas.

Can you share with us what Keystone Cable is like as an organisation and employer? Keystone Cable is a family business and our culture strongly reflects this. We treat our staff more as family members than simply as employees. My mom, the general manager and matriarch of the company, is the catalyst behind this family-oriented culture. She knows every employee and their family members by name, and takes genuine care of everyone’s well-being inside and outside of work. As a result of this culture, we are able to maintain a stable management team and workforce, which has helped the company grow over the years.

As we are able to establish trust with our employees, we actively engage them to understand their career aspirations and craft their development paths accordingly. One of the advantages of being an SME is that we can be flexible and creative in developing our employees. In addition to the traditional promotion within the

Nicole’s case, we promoted her based on merit. Although her promotion happened faster than usual, we have only heard positive feedback from the ground because people recognise her contributions and capabilities.

What tips can you offer employers looking to implement a fair, progressive and inclusive workplace? We have to begin by recognising our biases, as these can sometimes be on a subconscious level. Kristen Pressner, my HR Manager and role model at Roche, gave a TEDx talk titled "Flip-It-To-Test-It" in Basel last year. The idea of this talk was to "flip" a person's gender at any given situation, to test your response and see if you are being fair or biased towards the person. Applying this to Nicole's case, if we had "flipped" her gender, based on her resume, she would have been a clear-cut 'yes' for the interview, right from the start.

What are your thoughts on the HCP Programme which Keystone Cable most recently became a part of? It is an encouragement to us and we are truly proud to be recognised as a progressive Human Capital Partner (HCPartner). This motivates us to continue to become a better version of ourselves.

Any tips for women in traditionally male-dominated industries out there? Whether it is a traditionally male-dominated industry or not, it is important to know what our strengths are and where we can best contribute. The fact that it is a male-dominated industry may actually create opportunities for women to stand out and make greater contributions to the company.

same job function, we have successfully moved many employees laterally to try completely different job functions according to their abilities and interests. For example, we have had a number of employees who began with us as delivery drivers and went on to become successful sales executives and managers.

What are your views on the importance of creating an inclusive workplace for women? How does that translate to business benefits? Women are just as capable as men and can also provide different perspectives for the company. I think it is a huge loss to organisations if women are excluded from any position because of their gender.

A good example is our Quality Control (QC) department, where we traditionally only have had men on the team. When Ms Nicole Chan, a fresh graduate with engineering training, came in to interview for a QC engineer position, we had some doubts. However, because of her humility, maturity, and genuine interest in the position and our company, we decided to hire her.

Nicole has proven to be one of my best hires. Nicole has not only demonstrated the ability to handle her QC tasks, but more importantly, she has fundamentally improved how the entire QC team operates with her communication and leadership skills. We promoted her to a supervisory role after just two years, and now in her fourth year with the company, she has continued to blossom into a confident and effective young leader. In your opinion, what can organisations do to ensure a workplace that recognises and counters gender discrimination? Setting up a fair and transparent process for evaluation is important. In

PLEASEDTO MEETYOU

The annual International Women’s Day falls on 8 March and in conjunction with this occasion of recognition and empowerment, we speak to Ms Pearl Yu, who is the Director of Human Resources (HR) and Marketing at Keystone Cable, on practices that make workplaces inclusive for women.

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One participant described the learning journey as enlightening. “When it comes to implementing flexible work arrangements, there are bound to be challenges in any organisation. One key takeaway from this session is to tap on available resources, including grants from the government, to help you kickstart your work-life initiatives,” shared Ms Agnas Pang, HR Business Partner, Human Resource, Fujitsu.

Who says work-life initiatives are cumbersome to implement?

As part of a collaboration with Cisco Systems, over 15 TAFEP pledge signers went on a learning journey to the firm on 30 November to understand more about their collaboration tools and flexible workplace practices.

During the tour at Cisco Systems, the participants witnessed how an office can be fully equipped with various types of workplaces to facilitate the different workplace needs of employees. To enable full mobility of its workforce, employees at Cisco Systems are not assigned work desks or offices. Instead, employees can use any workspace on any floor, using mobile work desks and allocated storage lockers when they work at the office.

Tapping on its internal expertise as a technology company, employees at Cisco Systems, who work remotely, are also able to communicate with their team mates and maintain a virtual presence through IT. Employees are provided with easy access to all information and documents through Cisco® AnyConnect software which enables electronic devices to launch a secure connection to access and share information.

protect oneself. Such employment contract helps to protect the employee and should not be disregarded even if the employer is a friend, family or relative.

Set up in April 2016, TADM provides advice and conduct mandatory and voluntary mediation for employment disputes. From salary claims to disputes relating to dismissals and performance appraisals, TADM also extends its support to employees through job search and financial assistance. When disputes arise, employers and employees can approach TADM, which is located at the Devan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability and the Ministry of Manpower Services Centre, for assistance. For more information, visit TADM’s website at tadm.sg.

In April last year, Ms Vijaya Ashok Kumar, 46, sought assistance from The Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) on her salary claim dispute. A former Executive Director in the beauty industry, Ms Vijaya was owed three months of salary amounting to $15,000 when she resigned from her job in December 2015.

As her former employer did not keep to his word of paying her owed salary, Ms Vijaya took her case to TADM where she was advised on her contractual rights. She subsequently registered for mediation to recover her owed salary and a meeting with a representative of her former employer was then set up by a TADM mediator.

During the mediation meeting, her former employer explained that the

business was going through financial difficulties which prohibited the payment of owed salary to Ms Vijaya in a timely manner.

Through mediation, both Ms Vijaya and her former employer agreed to a payment schedule where her owed salary will be paid to her in instalments. Ms Vijaya also took her mediator’s advice to register the settlement at the State Courts to ensure the payment and agreement to a schedule would be enforced legally.

By July, just three months after seeking assistance at TADM, Ms Vijaya successfully recovered the outstanding salaries in full. Reflecting on her experience, Ms Vijaya realised the importance of an employment contract that is drawn up clearly with details stipulated within to

A.S.KAssistance. Support. Knowledge

Ever been caught in the middle of a salary claim? Have you wondered where to seek help or what to do when you get embroiled in an employment dispute?

Participants taking a tour of the Cisco Systems' office.

Learning Journey to Cisco Systems

Ms Amanda Chua, HR Director, ASEAN & HK, Ingram Micro Asia Ltd

“Signing up for Tripartite Standards is aligned with our corporate values, FIRST, which stands for Fairness, Integrity, Respect, Sincerity and Transparency. Cyient Singapore believes by being the FIRST mover to adopt various Tripartite Standards, we will augment our value preposition to employees by providing more transparency in areas such as hiring, rewards & benefits and grievances handling. With the rise of millennials joining our workforce, we continue to ensure that fair employment and inclusion are embedded into our HR policies and practices to attract and retain the best talent, as well as setting the tone for boomerang employees. Cyient, as a global design, build and maintain partner is committed to managing the expectations of a diverse workforce and utilising the best talent and skill sets to deliver enhanced business results for our customers in the aerospace and defense industry.”

Ms Grace Lim Swen Choo,Manager, Human Resources, Cyient Singapore Private Limited

“The practices stated in the Tripartite Standards are not new to Ingram Micro but by volunteering to formally adopt them is just a way of showing our commitment towards a fair and progressive employment practices in our workplace. We hope to differentiate ourselves from the rest of the employers in a positive way and strive to draw the attention of more jobseekers to join the Ingram family. We recognise that the expectations of the Singapore workforce have also changed dramatically over the last decade. The workforce now has a greater understanding of what constitutes fair employment practices and a greater willingness to challenge traditional company practices and norms. Employers need to be aware that employees who are disenchanted with their current work situation are likely to keep an eye open for alternative employment opportunities. Therefore, it is in our interest to communicate and implement fair and progressive employment practices as talent attraction and retention is a constant concern for all employers.”

“Go-Ahead Singapore is fully supportive of the adoption of Tripartite Standards, which is in line with our company’s vision and beliefs. We are committed to creating a fair and progressive workplace and implementing good employment practices for the benefit of our employees. Since the adoption of Tripartite Standards, our employees have been made aware of the practices implemented and will continue to be regularly informed. The Tripartite Standards Logomark has also been included in our job advertisements and we are positive that it will serve to attract potential jobseekers as well as reinforce their confidence in our merit-based employment practices.”

“We adopted the Tripartite Standards because the onus is on us to set a good example of what we’d like to see in the workplace today. Work, as we know it, is constantly evolving to meet the needs of the marketplace. While it would be easy to simply go with the flow, Witching Hour believes in taking a stand and veering things towards a healthy workplace for all. Another reason we wish to hold ourselves to such standards is to create good HR habits, which will contribute greatly to the creative output of the team since they know they’re well taken care of.”

Mr Wang Poon Liang,Human Resource Director, Go-Ahead Singapore

Mr Ian Gregory Tan, Co-founder & Creative Director, Witching Hour Studios

LEGEND:

TERMEMPLOYMENT

Tripartite Standards Tripartite Standards

FLEXIBLEWORK

ARRANGEMENTS

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Since it was first launched in July 2017, there are now five sets of Tripartite Standards introduced to encourage employers to strive for progressive employment practices. The Tripartite Standards cover Employment of Term Contract Employees, Flexible Work Arrangements, Grievance Handling, Recruitment Practices, and Procurement of Services from Media Freelancers. Let's hear from four companies who have adopted the Tripartite Standards and their reasons for doing so.

GRAPEVINETHROUGH THE

SPOTLIGHTIN THE

As one of the most prominent banking and financial services institutions globally, HSBC holds itself accountable to high standards of fair and progressive workplace practices. In this issue, the bank shares their thoughts on being a HCPartner and an adopter of the Tripartite Standards.

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Employees of HSBC Singapore marked the World Mental Health Day

by raising awareness of well-being in and outside of office.

HSBC employees enjoying a Diversity & Inclusion event – Free & Easy Quiz Night

This helps reinforce HSBC as a fair employer and supports its talent attraction and retention strategy. Similarly, the firm also takes pride in their recruitment and selection practices. Their selection tools are regularly reviewed to ensure that they do not unfairly exclude or disadvantage any section of the population. If a disability prevents a suitably qualified individual from undergoing standard selection procedures, appropriate alternative arrangements for assessment are offered.

For employers who wish to sign up for the Tripartite Standards, Mr Tony Cripps, Group General Manager, CEO HSBC Singapore, lets in on one crucial tip. “For companies that are already practicing these standards, signing up as an adopter shows the commitment to the cause more broadly. For others, it’s a good standard to aspire towards as it helps to distinguish them in the marketplace,” said Mr Cripps.

At HSBC, the bank commits to high standards of fair and progressive workplace practices to give them a competitive edge in the financial sector. As one of the progressive employers in the pioneer batch of HCPartners under the Human Capital Partnership (HCP) Programme, the bank attributes its success to its pool of talent. “The HCP Programme compliments our ethos and initiatives that we are driving locally within HSBC to achieve the same outcome. One of our initiatives, The Catalyst Program, focuses on upskilling the leadership capabilities of our mid-level People Managers, to prepare them for future leadership roles while contributing towards making Singapore a preferred destination for talents globally,” explained Ms Francine Biddulph, Head of HR, HSBC Singapore.

Apart from being a HCPartner, the bank is also a supporter of the recently launched Tripartite Standards, adopting four out of the five Tripartite Standards. These four Tripartite Standards cover the Employment of Term Contract Employees, Flexible Work Arrangements, Grievance Handling, and Recruitment Practices.

When asked why it chose to adopt these four Tripartite Standards, the banking and financial services giant said that it did so to demonstrate its commitment and support for the cause more broadly in the Singapore market. Ms Biddulph said, “The Tripartite Standards aligns well with our philosophy to be an employer of choice. As HSBC Singapore is currently in a growth mode, we believe that the Tripartite Standards will allow us to differentiate ourselves

from our competitors, thereby enhancing our ability to attract and retain our staff.”

Having good employment practices have also resulted in several improvements within the bank. Citing some examples, HSBC shared that flexible work arrangements help to attract and retain employees, enhance employee well-being, improve employee engagement, and foster inclusive working environments.

One of its employees, Mrs May Lee, said, “The flexible work arrangements have been a great help in allowing me to pursue my career aspirations as a HR professional while spending time with my children during their critical education years. At HSBC, I was given the choice to work three days a week and spend quality time with my children on my off days.”

On the grievance handling front, HSBC believes that having multiple platforms for employees to raise any matters or concerns helps employees and the company drive a speak up culture, without the fear of retaliation. “Through platforms like HSBC Confidential, employees can confidentially raise any concerns regarding the way business is conducted, outside of their normal reporting or escalation channels. All these raised cases are independently and thoroughly investigated,” added Ms Biddulph.

When it comes to term contract employees, HSBC is a firm believer in providing similar entitlements to employees for performing a role, whether it is performed by a HSBC term contract or a permanent employee.

For more information on Human Capital Partnership (HCP) Programme and Tripartite Standards, visit tafep.sg.

DIARYFOR YOUR

Check out some exciting events that we have installed for you this quarter!

9TH Jan Piloting Flexible Work Arrangements Workshop

17TH Jan Fair and Progressive Employment Forum

10TH Jan Developing a Progressive PME Employment Contract Workshop

11TH Jan Fair Recruitment and Selection Workshop

16TH Jan Effective Management of Mature Employees Workshop

17TH Jan Overview of Employment Act/ FREP (Paid)

23RD Jan Fair Grievance Handling Workshop

1ST Feb Developing a Progressive PME Employment Contract Workshop

6TH Feb Fair Employment Practices Information Sharing Session

8TH Feb Fair Performance Management Workshop

13TH Feb Creating a Fair and Progressive Organisational Culture Workshop (By Invitation Only)

28TH Feb Fair and Progressive Employment Forum

22ND Feb Welcome Event for New Pledge Signers (By Invitation Only)

27TH Feb Managing Multi-Generational Workforce Workshop

1ST Mar Fair Recruitment and Selection Workshop

6TH Mar Fair Employment Practices Information Sharing Session

7TH Mar Overview of Employment Act/ FREP (Paid)

8TH Mar Piloting Flexible Work Arrangements Workshop

13TH Mar Fair Grievance Handling Workshop

29TH Mar Managing Multi-Generational Workforce Workshop

For more details on TAFEP and updates on workshops, log on to tafep.sg

All information stated above is correct at time of printing and subject to change.

25TH Jan Welcome Event for New Pledge Signers (By Invitation Only)

30TH Jan Creating a Fair and Progressive Organisational Culture Workshop (By Invitation Only)

31ST Jan Harnessing the Potential of Mature PMEs Workshop

14TH Mar Developing a Progressive PME Employment Contract Workshop

15TH Mar Harnessing the Potential of Mature PMEs Workshop

20TH Mar Effective Management of Mature Employees Workshop

19TH Mar Fair and Progressive Employment Forum

22ND Mar Fair Performance Management Workshop

27TH Mar Welcome Event for New Pledge Signers (By Invitation Only)

28TH Feb Overview of Employment Act/ FREP (Paid)