All employees can ask for FWA from Dec 1: One working mum at McDonald's shares how she cares for family, upskills under flexi arrangement

Not many people love their jobs, but Rumiyati Razali is one of the rare few who do.

And a major reason why the frontline crew member with McDonald's is passionate about her job has to do with her flexible work arrangements (FWAs) with her employer.

The 50-year-old mother's working hours are determined on a flexi-shift basis, which means she can request to be rostered at certain times and days based on her availability.

As a guest experience leader at the McDonald's outlet in Bukit Batok West, Rumiyati's role involves customer service — from assisting people with using the self-ordering kiosks to handling complaints.

Speaking to AsiaOne during a company visit to the McDonald's Ridout Tea Garden outlet in Queensway on Monday (April 15), Rumiyati said the flexi-shift arrangements has allowed her to care for her 7-year-old daughter and elderly parents while making time to further her education.

She recently completed a 10-month SkillsFuture-certified diploma in retail while continuing to work full-time.

"I talked to my boss before [I enrolled] and he agreed, so I worked from 9am to 5pm and attended classes from 6pm to 10pm," she said.

Rumiyati added that she can also approach her restaurant manager to swop shifts with another colleague in case she has emergencies or urgent matters.

"This way, I can look after my family, fulfil my passion and upskill all at the same time."

New tripartite guidelines on FWAs

From Dec 1, like Rumiyati, all employees in Singapore will be able to formally request flexible work arrangements from their employers.

Minister of State for Manpower Gan Siow Huang announced the new Tripartite Guidelines on FWAs during the company visit.

Also present were fellow co-chairs of the tripartite workgroup — Singapore National Employers Federation honorary secretary Edwin Ng and assistant secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress Yeo Wan Ling.

These guidelines will apply to employees who have served their probation, as well as the  processes to submit and evaluate them.

Formal FWA requests refer to structured, recurring agreements such as staggered work hours, working remotely and job sharing.

They are aimed at making it easier for employees to request FWAs, while "acknowledging that employers continue to have the prerogative to decide on work arrangements", the Ministry of Manpower said in a press release.

Gan told the media on Monday that Singapore's tight labour market and ageing workforce would result in more people taking on caregiving roles and requiring flexibility in their working hours.

"If we want to have a strong labour force in Singapore, we want to be able to empower adults in Singapore who want to work to be able to work. Flexible work arrangements have to be the way to go," she added.

ALSO READ: Flexible work arrangements to be normalised in upcoming guidelines: Gan Siow Huang

bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.