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Outsourced PWM Annual Leave 10 Days: What Cleaning, Security and Landscape Contractors Must Change
Short answer: MOM has announced that the minimum annual leave for resident outsourced Progressive Wage Model workers in cleaning, security, landscape, lift and escalator, and waste management will rise from 7 days to 10 days. It starts in phases from 2029. Sector timelines are not yet published, so contractors should plan now.
The outsourced PWM annual leave 10 days change, announced by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on 19 July 2026, is a long-lead compliance item rather than an immediate one. Nothing changes in your payroll today, but contracts signed now will run into 2029 and beyond. This guide explains who is covered, what the new floor means against the Employment Act leave ladder, what MOM has and has not decided, and how service providers and service buyers can prepare their contracts, pricing and leave records.
Key facts at a glance
- MOM press release of 19 July 2026: minimum annual leave for resident outsourced PWM workers rises from 7 days to 10 days.
- Sectors named: cleaning, security, landscape, lift and escalator, and waste management.
- Implementation is in phases from 2029 onwards. The sectoral Tripartite Clusters will set the timeline and share details closer to the date.
- MOM says approximately 60% of outsourced workers in these sectors will benefit (based on full-time resident employees aged 25 to 64).
- Under the Employment Act, annual leave is 7 days in the first year of service, rising by 1 day a year to 14 days from the 8th year (per MOM).
- MOM’s written reply of 6 October 2026 says providers are strongly encouraged, but not legally required, to recognise incumbent workers’ length of service.
- PWM covers Singapore citizens and Singapore permanent residents; the 10-day floor is stated for resident workers.
This article is general information only and is not legal, tax or immigration advice. For matters needing legal advice, we work with a panel of experienced Singapore law firms.
What is the outsourced PWM annual leave 10 days rule?
It is a planned increase in the baseline annual leave for resident workers who do outsourced PWM jobs. MOM, working with tripartite partners, will lift the minimum from 7 days to 10 days, and says it applies to both public and private entities.
The MOM press release of 19 July 2026 gives the reasoning. When a new service provider takes over a contract and rehires the existing workers, their leave may be reset to the minimum of 7 days. A cleaner or security officer who has served at the same site for many years can therefore lose the leave they had built up even though the job, the site and the colleagues are the same. A higher baseline narrows that gap. MOM also links the change to the professionalisation of the outsourced PWM sectors and to retaining a resident workforce in them.
Two points are worth separating at the start. First, this is an announced policy with a phased start, not a rule in force today. Second, MOM has not said how the 10 days will be legally enforced. The press release does not mention licensing conditions, so do not assume the floor will sit in the same licence conditions that carry the PWM wage ladders until the Tripartite Clusters and the regulators say so.
Which workers and sectors are covered?
Resident outsourced PWM workers in five sectors: cleaning, security, landscape, lift and escalator, and waste management. Retail and food services are not on MOM’s list for this change.
The PWM itself covers Singapore citizens and Singapore permanent residents who work full-time or part-time under a contract of service, according to MOM’s PWM page. Employers who hire foreign employees on Work Permits, S Passes or Employment Passes must instead meet the Local Qualifying Salary requirement for their other local employees. The leave announcement refers to resident workers, and neither the press release nor the parliamentary reply addresses foreign workers. A contractor with a mixed workforce should therefore not assume the 10-day floor will reach Work Permit holders. It should wait for the sector details and check the Employment Act position for each group in the meantime.
| Sector | How PWM is enforced (per MOM) | PWM start date |
|---|---|---|
| Cleaning | Licensing condition set by NEA | 1 September 2014 |
| Security | Licensing condition set by PRD (SPF) | 1 September 2016 |
| Landscape | Landscape Company Register requirements | 30 June 2016 |
| Lift and escalator | Contractor registration requirement set by BCA | 1 May 2019 |
| Waste management | Licensing condition set by NEA | 1 July 2023 |
The table shows how the wage ladders are enforced today. It does not say how the leave floor will be enforced, and MOM has not published that.
When does the increase start?
MOM says it will be implemented in phases from 2029 onwards. The specific timeline will be set by the sectoral Tripartite Clusters, and implementation details will be shared closer to the date.
That means there is no sector-by-sector date to put in a contract today. It is reasonable to plan for the first phase to arrive in 2029 and for some sectors to follow later, but that is a planning assumption and not an announced schedule. The written parliamentary reply of 6 October 2026 describes the move as progressive and likewise gives no dates or stages.
How does the 10-day floor compare with the Employment Act ladder?
The new floor is higher than the statutory entitlement for the first three years of service and equal to it in the fourth. After that the statutory ladder is already above 10 days.
MOM’s annual leave page sets out the statutory entitlement for employees covered by the Employment Act who have worked at least 3 months, and the press release says the new minimum should not affect the annual increase in leave that outsourced employees are currently entitled to. Putting the two side by side:
| Year of service | Employment Act leave (days) | Planned outsourced PWM floor (days) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 7 | 10 | 3 more days |
| 2nd | 8 | 10 | 2 more days |
| 3rd | 9 | 10 | 1 more day |
| 4th | 10 | 10 | None |
| 5th to 7th | 11, 12, 13 | Statutory leave already higher | None |
| 8th onward | 14 | Statutory leave already higher | None |
The comparison is simple arithmetic on the published figures. MOM has not yet published how the floor will work with the increase each year, so treat the table as a way to see where the cost falls and not as the final rule. On this reading the cost sits with newer workers and with high-turnover sites, and the benefit to long-serving workers comes mainly from not being reset to a lower figure when the contract changes hands. For the statutory rules in detail, see our guide to statutory annual leave in Singapore.
Workers who already receive more than the new minimum keep that benefit under their own terms and the Act, according to MOM. A contractor whose existing contract of service already gives 10 days or more from day one will see no change for those staff.
Does a new provider have to honour leave built up with the old one?
Not as a legal requirement. MOM’s written reply says providers, public or private, are strongly encouraged to recognise the length of service of incumbent workers, even though this is not a legal requirement.
The reply, given on 6 October 2026 to a parliamentary question, explains why MOM stopped short of a mandate. It would be administratively complex, because it could mean sharing personal data among competing providers during bidding. It also warns that giving re-hired and new workers different leave could distort employers’ hiring preferences, which may hurt the re-hired workers. The written answer states that the baseline increase to 10 days will benefit all outsourced PWM workers and be easier for employers to implement.
For a contractor bidding to take over a site, the sensible reading is as follows. Recognising service is encouraged and may help win and keep the workforce, but it is a commercial choice, and it needs to be priced. If you do recognise service, record it in the new contract of service so that leave entitlement is clear from the first day. Our article on unused annual leave when employment ends covers the exit side of the same issue.
How should service providers prepare their contracts, pricing and records?
Start with contracts still running when the first phase arrives, in the order below.
- List every outsourced PWM contract that runs beyond 2028, with the sector, headcount, and each worker’s start date and current leave entitlement.
- Count the workers whose leave would rise. On the statutory ladder this is anyone in their first three years of service, and anyone whose contract of service gives less than 10 days.
- Estimate the annual cost. For an illustration only, assume one leave day costs S$100 in wages, CPF and cover. A site of 40 workers all in their first year would then carry 3 extra days each, which is 120 days or S$12,000 a year. Replace the S$100 with your own figure and the headcount with your own staffing.
- Check whether your service contract allows a price adjustment for a change in law or in tripartite requirements. If it does not, add one when you next renew or extend.
- Agree with the service buyer how replacement cover is provided and paid for when more leave is taken.
MOM’s press release refers to employers and service buyers planning ahead and building the change into their contracts, and to managing the operational and cost impact. It states no specific obligation on service buyers. How the cost is shared is therefore a matter for the contract, and it is better settled before 2029 than argued about after it.
If you are also managing other PWM changes, our posts on the Progressive Wage Model for employers hiring foreign workers, the retail PWM wage hike and the occupational progressive wages for administrators and drivers may help you build one compliance calendar. A broader view of the sectors is in the Raffles Corporate Services guide to which Singapore sectors the PWM covers.
What should service buyers do now?
Service buyers should treat the change as a known future cost and decide how their contracts will absorb it. MOM says the phased approach allows employers and service buyers to plan ahead and incorporate the change into their contracts.
A buyer that retenders its cleaning, security or landscape contract in 2027 or 2028 will be asking providers to price a period that may include the first phase. Without a clear instruction, bidders will either leave the cost out and then ask for a variation, or add a contingency to every bid. A short clause that says who bears the cost if the leave floor takes effect during the term, and how the adjustment is calculated, gives bidders the same basis to price on.
Buyers should also expect to be asked about continuity of the workforce. Since MOM encourages incoming providers to recognise incumbent service but does not require it, a buyer who values stable staff at the site can ask bidders to state how they will treat the leave of workers they take over. Doing so needs care: the buyer should ask for a statement of approach and should not instruct the provider to share personal data of workers with competitors, the concern that MOM’s reply identified. For help sizing the staffing and leave cover for a site, you can use the tools at rafflescorporateservices.com/free-tools.
What is still unknown?
Several points that contractors will want answered have not been published, and none of them should be guessed at in a contract or a bid.
| Open point | What MOM has said |
|---|---|
| Start date for each sector | Phased from 2029 onwards; Tripartite Clusters to set the timeline |
| How the floor is enforced | Not stated in the press release or the written reply |
| Foreign workers on Work Permits and S Passes | Not addressed; the announcement refers to resident workers |
| Transfer of accrued leave between providers | Encouraged, not mandated |
| Cost sharing between provider and buyer | No specific buyer obligation stated; left to contracts |
| Interaction with yearly increases on the statutory ladder | MOM says the annual increase should not be affected; detailed rules to follow |
Check the MOM newsroom and the sectoral Tripartite Cluster announcements each quarter. When implementation details are published, update your pricing model and your leave policy the same week, and not at the next contract renewal.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 10-day minimum already in force?
No. MOM announced it on 19 July 2026 and says it will be implemented in phases from 2029 onwards. The Tripartite Clusters will set the timeline.
Does it apply to Work Permit holders?
The announcement refers to resident outsourced PWM workers, and the PWM covers citizens and permanent residents. MOM’s press release and written reply do not address foreign workers, so wait for the sector details.
Will long-serving workers get more than 10 days?
Yes, where the Employment Act or their contract already gives them more. The statutory ladder reaches 14 days from the 8th year of service, and MOM says workers already above the new minimum keep their benefits.
Must a new provider keep the leave a worker built up with the old provider?
Not as a legal requirement. MOM strongly encourages providers to recognise incumbent workers’ length of service, but did not mandate it, citing administrative complexity and the risk of distorting hiring.
Are retail and food services covered by this change?
MOM’s announcement lists cleaning, security, landscape, lift and escalator, and waste management. Retail and food services are not named.
Need help with this? Call, SMS or WhatsApp +65 8501 7133, or email [email protected]. Little Big Employment Agency (EA Licence 19C9790) works with a panel of corporate and employment law firms; this article is general information, not legal advice.
Last reviewed: 9 November 2026. The Editorial Team, Little Big Employment Agency.
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