PUBLISHED ONJuly 19, 2026 3:47 AMBYSean LerOutsourced workers from five progressive wage model (PWM) sectors in Singapore will see their minimum annual leave entitlement increase from the current seven days to 10 days from 2029 onwards, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) announced on Sunday (July 19).
The five sectors are: cleaning, landscape, lift and escalator, security and waste management.
Under the Employment Act, employees are entitled to a minimum of seven days of annual leave in their first year of service, increasing by one day per year of service with the employer, up to a maximum of 14 days.
However, MOM noted that outsourced PWM workers may not be able to benefit from these leave entitlements due to the nature of their employment arrangements.
For example, when a new service provider is appointed to take over a service contract, outsourced workers may be rehired by the incoming service provider, but their leave entitlement may be reset to the minimum of seven days as a common employment practice in these sectors.
"This means that outsourced PWM workers may lose their accumulated leave benefits despite working in the same role continuously for many years," MOM stated in its statement.
In consultation with its tripartite partners, MOM said there is now agreement to increase the minimum annual leave entitlement for this group of workers from seven days to 10 days.
The ministry added that this will better reflect the continuous years of service put in by outsourced workers, thereby protecting their employment conditions, even when their employers change.
This should not affect the annual increase in leave that they are presently entitled to. Outsourced workers who are already receiving leave benefits above this new minimum should continue to receive them, MOM explained.
The increase will be progressively implemented from 2029 onwards, with the specific implementation timeline subject to further discussions by the respective sectoral tripartite clusters.
MOM said this is to allow businesses sufficient time to adjust.
Service-buyers and employers can use this period to plan ahead and incorporate changes into their contracts, while managing the operational and cost impact.
"An increase in baseline leave entitlement will support the professionalisation of outsourced PWM sectors, many of which provide essential services, by strengthening retention and service continuity to build a resilient core resident workforce in these sectors," MOM said.
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