Sporns are done in by the Papayas! As long as the Papayas refuse to have Sporn-1st law and laws against discriminating the citizens, their so-called baby perks are but a BIG WAYANG!
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Baby perks vex SMEs <!--10 min-->
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>They say it's an extra burden to find and train temps when staff take longer maternity leave </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Francis Chan
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'You find someone, train that person up and then have to make the decision whether this person has to go or stay when the pregnant employee returns.'
Mr Sean Teo , founder of Transmex Systems, employs 30 staff, 21 of whom are women -- ST FILE PHOTOS
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"-->BOSSES of small businesses in Singapore are worried that the Government's plan to extend maternity leave to four months will add to already rising business costs.
Companies with leaner workforces say they may not be able to find the staff to cover the duties of women employees who take the full four months off, and could be forced to recruit and train temporary replacements who may not be up to mark.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>How small is small?
THERE is no industry classification of small and medium-sized enterprises according to size, but most agree that firms with more than 200 staff are larger SMEs that can cope better with the changed maternity leave provisions.
The Singapore Business Federation (SBF), which represents these larger firms, believes the difficulties will occur only in the transitional period.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>'It'll be painful...Everything is about rising costs and we've got to bring in someone else to do the job,' said Mr Thomas Chiam, owner of Friends Restaurant.
'It's a double whammy and SMEs will feel it even more,' said the entrepreneur, who hires 100 staff, of whom about one-fifth are women.
Mr Chiam's views were echoed by many of the 20 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that The Straits Times spoke to on the issue, as well as five prominent business groups.
The firms interviewed employ between five and 200 staff and their workforces are at least 20 per cent female. Five of the firms are helmed by women.
The Government is extending maternity leave from 12 weeks to 16, a move that comes just four years after leave was upped from eight to 12 weeks.
Overall, companies expressed the most concern about the length of time an female employee would be away from the office on maternity leave.
'This is going to be a delicate issue for most SMEs...16 weeks is equivalent to one-third of a year's absenteeism from the workplace,' said the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) in an e-mail reply to ST.
'That does not even include medical and vacation leave,' noted one Singaporean boss who did not want to be named. His firm counts 25 women among its staff of 38.
'I am in the business of office equipment sales, not making babies,' he quipped.
To show how serious it is about promoting childbirth, the Government will bear the cost of two of the four months' maternity leave. But some SMEs say this is cold comfort.
'It is not so much a case of being compensated financially,' said the female boss of a communications firm which specialises in preparing reports for Chinese firms going for an initial public offering here.
'My staff interact extensively with clients, and appropriate replacements, especially for those that need to go to China, for example, are not so easily found. Clients also may not take to part-timers as well,' she added.
The Singaporean boss said she can afford to have only two of her 24-strong team away at any one time. Any more and costs rise and efficiency suffers.
Mr Ben Kim, who runs an interior and architectural design firm with five female designers out of a staff of 10, agreed. He said companies like his require specialised staff for specific projects with tight timelines.
The Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (Asme) was not surprised by the reaction. Its president Lawrence Leow said: 'SMEs will inevitably face similar issues as when the three-month rule came into play in 2004.
'Although the Government helps pay for the third and fourth months, employers still have to shoulder the costs of employing temporary staff.'
Some bosses, however, said they appreciated that it is a sacrifice that small companies will have to make to help fulfil the national objective of upping the birth rate.
As one SME boss, whose 15 staff include five women, put it: 'Companies want to play their part for the country, but they also need to survive.'
But over time, SME bosses see attitudes changing as a result of the Government's move.
'Many SMEs are already feeling the impact of the slowdown in the economy...With the [leave] increase, it would probably drive them to hire male instead of female staff,' said Mr Edmund Ng, CEO of Infinique Technologies, which has a team of four women.
'When this happens, it would cause a huge imbalance to the gender ratio of those employed,' he added.
But others also saw the change in a more positive light, postulating that more women might stay in the workforce after having children.
'A lot of talented women quit the moment they are pregnant,' said Ms Valerie Tan, CEO of Pinnacle International, where 40 per cent of the 200 staff are women.
'This will serve as extra incentive for them to stay on.'
'One of our most capable staff had to go on maternity once and...I arranged for her to work from home and it worked out,' added Ms Reene Ho-Phang, managing director of BrandStory, who has 11 staff including 9 women.
'That experience actually trained me as a boss to look beyond the problem and find solutions. I believe if we all take that approach, we should be okay.'
[email protected]
Additional reporting by Alvin Foo
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Baby perks vex SMEs <!--10 min-->
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>They say it's an extra burden to find and train temps when staff take longer maternity leave </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Francis Chan
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
'You find someone, train that person up and then have to make the decision whether this person has to go or stay when the pregnant employee returns.'
Mr Sean Teo , founder of Transmex Systems, employs 30 staff, 21 of whom are women -- ST FILE PHOTOS
</TD></TR><TR><TD>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"-->BOSSES of small businesses in Singapore are worried that the Government's plan to extend maternity leave to four months will add to already rising business costs.
Companies with leaner workforces say they may not be able to find the staff to cover the duties of women employees who take the full four months off, and could be forced to recruit and train temporary replacements who may not be up to mark.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>How small is small?
THERE is no industry classification of small and medium-sized enterprises according to size, but most agree that firms with more than 200 staff are larger SMEs that can cope better with the changed maternity leave provisions.
The Singapore Business Federation (SBF), which represents these larger firms, believes the difficulties will occur only in the transitional period.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>'It'll be painful...Everything is about rising costs and we've got to bring in someone else to do the job,' said Mr Thomas Chiam, owner of Friends Restaurant.
'It's a double whammy and SMEs will feel it even more,' said the entrepreneur, who hires 100 staff, of whom about one-fifth are women.
Mr Chiam's views were echoed by many of the 20 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that The Straits Times spoke to on the issue, as well as five prominent business groups.
The firms interviewed employ between five and 200 staff and their workforces are at least 20 per cent female. Five of the firms are helmed by women.
The Government is extending maternity leave from 12 weeks to 16, a move that comes just four years after leave was upped from eight to 12 weeks.
Overall, companies expressed the most concern about the length of time an female employee would be away from the office on maternity leave.
'This is going to be a delicate issue for most SMEs...16 weeks is equivalent to one-third of a year's absenteeism from the workplace,' said the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) in an e-mail reply to ST.
'That does not even include medical and vacation leave,' noted one Singaporean boss who did not want to be named. His firm counts 25 women among its staff of 38.
'I am in the business of office equipment sales, not making babies,' he quipped.
To show how serious it is about promoting childbirth, the Government will bear the cost of two of the four months' maternity leave. But some SMEs say this is cold comfort.
'It is not so much a case of being compensated financially,' said the female boss of a communications firm which specialises in preparing reports for Chinese firms going for an initial public offering here.
'My staff interact extensively with clients, and appropriate replacements, especially for those that need to go to China, for example, are not so easily found. Clients also may not take to part-timers as well,' she added.
The Singaporean boss said she can afford to have only two of her 24-strong team away at any one time. Any more and costs rise and efficiency suffers.
Mr Ben Kim, who runs an interior and architectural design firm with five female designers out of a staff of 10, agreed. He said companies like his require specialised staff for specific projects with tight timelines.
The Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (Asme) was not surprised by the reaction. Its president Lawrence Leow said: 'SMEs will inevitably face similar issues as when the three-month rule came into play in 2004.
'Although the Government helps pay for the third and fourth months, employers still have to shoulder the costs of employing temporary staff.'
Some bosses, however, said they appreciated that it is a sacrifice that small companies will have to make to help fulfil the national objective of upping the birth rate.
As one SME boss, whose 15 staff include five women, put it: 'Companies want to play their part for the country, but they also need to survive.'
But over time, SME bosses see attitudes changing as a result of the Government's move.
'Many SMEs are already feeling the impact of the slowdown in the economy...With the [leave] increase, it would probably drive them to hire male instead of female staff,' said Mr Edmund Ng, CEO of Infinique Technologies, which has a team of four women.
'When this happens, it would cause a huge imbalance to the gender ratio of those employed,' he added.
But others also saw the change in a more positive light, postulating that more women might stay in the workforce after having children.
'A lot of talented women quit the moment they are pregnant,' said Ms Valerie Tan, CEO of Pinnacle International, where 40 per cent of the 200 staff are women.
'This will serve as extra incentive for them to stay on.'
'One of our most capable staff had to go on maternity once and...I arranged for her to work from home and it worked out,' added Ms Reene Ho-Phang, managing director of BrandStory, who has 11 staff including 9 women.
'That experience actually trained me as a boss to look beyond the problem and find solutions. I believe if we all take that approach, we should be okay.'
[email protected]
Additional reporting by Alvin Foo
