If we could sum up 2020, it’s certainly been a roller coaster ride with a lot of ups and downs. However, there is plenty to look forward to in 2021, the most optimistic of which is that a COVID-Vaccine has already been discovered. Hence, it would be safe to assume that things will only get better from here. With that in mind, we can start to plan for the public holidays coming up in 2021 once the global situation has settled.
For 2021, out of the 11 public holidays, three will happen on a Friday, while one will occur on a Monday
Friday holidays are New Years Day (January 1), Chinese New Year on February 12, and Good Friday on April 2
The Monday Holiday will be National Day on August 9
2021 Public Holidays and Long Weekends in Singapore
Check out the following 2021 holiday calendar to find out more about the paid holidays and the 4 long weekends that you will enjoy throughout the year. If you plan your annual leave carefully, you may even get 6 long weekends for more rest and relaxation!

(Source: https://www.sgmytaxi.com/wp-content/uploads/Singapore-Public-Holidays-2021.jpg)
If the public holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday will be a public holiday off-in-lieu.
Employees Leveraging 2021 Paid Holidays for Longer Vacation or Bigger Paycheck
If you love a good vacation, 2021 may offer you more opportunities to enjoy longer leisure time out; all you need to do is to start plotting your vacation dates on your employee holiday calendar. With some clever planning, you may get a longer vacation over one of the long weekends without having to take extra annual leave.
For those who tend to work on public holidays, bear in mind that MOM has made some amendments to the Employment Act in 2019. These changes are likely to offer a nicer pay check that will make your 2021 holidays more delightful.
What Employers Should Know About Their 2021 Public Holiday Entitlements
If you are not aware, some amendments were made to the Employment Act since 1 April 2019. These amendments are implemented to ensure that all employees are rightfully compensated during the holiday periods. Whether you are an employee or a Human Resource (HR) manager, here are some important guidelines that you may want to take note of while handling your payrolls.
1. An employee who is required to work on a public holiday is entitled to an extra day’s salary at the basic rate of pay.
2. The employer and employee may mutually agree to substitute a public holiday for another working day.
3. The employer has the additional option of granting time-off-in-lieu, based on a mutually agreed number of hours, for working on a public holiday for the following group of employees:
Workmen earning more than $4,500 a month;
Non-workmen earning more than $2,600 a month;
All managers and executives.
Before 1 April 2019, time off in-lieu was only available for managers and executives earning less than $4500/month.
For time off in-lieu, if there is no mutually agreed number of hours, you can follow this guideline:
For working 4 hours or less on a holiday, grant time off in lieu of 4 hours on a working day;
For working more than 4 hours on a holiday, grant a full day off on a working day.
Deploying the HR Tools That Can Take The Work Off Your Shoulder
With the changes in MOM’s Employment Act and the anticipated increase in payroll processing, leave applications and monitoring, HR managers and employees will definitely need to streamline their workflow with integrated HR solutions, such as the one-stop platform from JustLogin.
Manual tracking and paper recording are things from the past. By using JustLogin’s cloud-based solution, it allows managers and employees to plan and approve leave applications, consolidate payroll and monthly processing on one single platform.
Employee experience is emerging as the preeminent competitive priority for organizations today. Mobile HR platform offers self-service and are “on-demand” and personalized for employees—giving them access to the tools they need 24/7. Mobile payroll gets employees payslip digitalized and allows them to have visibility anywhere, anytime, keeping an organized record. Employees can also apply and cancel leave anytime, anywhere and managers approve these pending leaves on the go with a few simple taps.
Plan Your 2021 Holidays Wisely for Better Work-Life Balance
With so many gazetted holidays and long weekends in 2021, you will be wise to plan your year wisely. Whether you are an employee hoping to leverage the paid holidays for better pay or leisure, or a manager looking to streamline your HR responsibilities; strategic planning and careful deployment of tools and software can surely ensure greater success and lessen your workload. After all, what we all want is a work-life balance and smoother sailing year in 2021.
Get started on cloud-based HR with JustLogin
JustLogin is a suite of cloud-based HR applications that helps small to mid-sized businesses automate their payroll, leave, attendance, and expense claims. We’ve helped thousands of businesses achieve increased productivity and better employee experience – no matter if they are working from an office, at a restaurant, in a retail shop, at a warehouse facility, or of course, even working from home. Give JustLogin a try today at justlogin.com/free-trial.
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