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Birthday Leave for Singaporean Workers

When talented employees are looking to join new companies, one of the things they take a look at is the amount of leave available from their employers. Things like family leave and sick leave are the most important, but one attractive option for employees is a paid day of birthday leave they can use to celebrate their birthday.

Many companies are now offering a paid day off for their employees. Birthday leave helps make employees feel special, knowing that their birthday is an important enough occasion for the business they work for to give them the day off.

 

Understanding Birthday Leave

The rules for taking advantage of this form of leave are usually simple, allowing employees to take their birthday off a couple days before or after the day. Only one birthday leave day is allowed per calendar year, and needs to be requested in advance so the company has time to arrange for other employees to take over that employee’s duties.

These rules are pretty reasonable, and fairly consistent across businesses. Employees who want to take advantage of this perk often mention feeling more loyal to the company, and enjoying working for them more. A day for birthday leave gives them a chance to celebrate with friends and family, or simply give them the chance to treat themselves for their own special day.

Sometimes, companies will also include a birthday celebration at the office along with a birthday leave, recognizing the person with a small office party, a gift, or other forms of recognition.

Birthday leave is a great opportunity for the business as well. The relationship between employee and employer is an important one, and can often deteriorate when the staff is overworked or if they feel unappreciated. Birthday leave offers businesses a chance to shine the spotlight on their employee, and give them a chance to feel noticed, welcomed, and appreciated on their special day.

One other perk for businesses—it may lower the chance of unexpected call-ins from “Sick” workers on their birthday. A planned for day is much easier to deal with than an unplanned sick day, and the paid leave works nicely as a birthday present from the company all at the same time.

Even if the leave is unpaid, it is still often a nice incentive for employees who prefer to have the day off to celebrate with friends and family. Since birthday leave is not required by law, what is offered in terms of birthday leave will vary from company to company.

Some employees are sensitive about their birthdays, and don’t want to remember it at all. In that case, companies which offer birthday leave may offer that person an extra day of vacation leave instead. This helps people who prefer not to celebrate their birthdays get time off for things they do value, such as an important religious holiday, or a personal day with their family. Being able to trade birthday leave for a vacation day is entirely at the company’s discretion, so it’s good to ask before trying to make this change.

If you are an employee searching for the right company to work for, you’ll want to see the birthday leave policy before deciding whether to work for them or not. Seeing what the policy includes, whether birthday leave is offered, and whether it is paid or part paid if having birthday leave is important to you.

 

The Future of Birthday Leave

A day off to celebrate is rapidly becoming an important way for companies to provide their employees with validation, and to offer an incentive for valuable employees to both hire on and stay on with that company.

The saying goes, “It’s hard to find good help these days.” Companies are working hard to attract the best and most talented workers to their companies, and perks such as birthday leave are one of the many methods they are using to keep great people working for them for as long as possible.

Whether you are the employer or the employee, birthday leave is a powerful incentive that is the perfect way to augment any compensation package. Employees love knowing they are important enough to get their own birthday off, and employees love being able to keep their best employees happy and willing to work for them long term.