How to compute the number of working days in a year
Whether you're a professional looking to plan a leave or a project manager planning project timelines, understanding the number of days in your work year is important. It helps with efficient project planning, budgeting, and scheduling. We explain how to calculate the total number of days you work in a year. We'll consider public holidays, non-working days, rest days, and annual leave entitlements based on the Employment Act issued by the Ministry of Manpower.
Here's what we'll cover:
- How many working days in a year?
- How to calculate the number of working days in a year
- Factors to consider for working days in a year
- Importance of knowing the number of working days in a year
- Conclusion
- FAQs
How many working days in a year?
The typical workweek is from Monday to Friday. The non-working days would generally be the weekends. Saturday is usually the non-working day, and Sunday is the rest day.
In addition, the Employment Act states that if you work for five days a week or less, your work schedule would be nine hours per day or 44 hours a week. If you work over five days a week, your work schedule would be eight hours a day or 44 hours a week. This applies to full-time employees and those working in part-time, temporary, or contractual jobs.
How to calculate the number of working days in a year
Here's a general formula for calculating the number of days in your work year:
Number of working days = Total days in a year − Number of weekly rest or non-working days − Number of public holidays − Annual leaves
- Total days in a year: In a calendar year, there are 365 days. A leap year has 366 days.
- Number of weekly rest days: Typically, there are two weekly rest days – Saturday and Sunday if you work for five days in a week. There are 52 weeks in a year, so subtract 2 × 52 from the total days in the year.
- Number of public holidays: Singapore has 11 paid public holidays annually.
For example, in a standard year (365 days), with 52 Saturdays and 52 Sundays as weekly rest days and 11 general holidays, the standard calculation would be:
Number of working days = 365 − (2 × 52) − 11 = 250
This formula gives the total number of working days. This number can vary based on the contract and working arrangement you have.
Factors to consider for working days in a year
There are several considerations when calculating the number of working days in a year. These can vary depending on the country, region, and company policies. Here are some key factors to consider:
Contractual working hours
The standard work week for full-time employment is up to 44 hours. If you have a five-day work week, Saturday would be your non-working day, and Sunday would be a rest day. This can also change based on your employer. In that case, your employer would have to inform you about this at the start of each month.
Public holidays
According to the Employment Act, all employees are eligible for 11 public holidays each year. If this falls on a non-working day, you'll get an alternate day off or salary for that day's work instead. If the public holiday falls on a rest day, you'd get the next day off. For example, if a public holiday falls on a Saturday, then you'd get the following Monday off.
You're also entitled to overtime pay if your employer requires you to work on a public holiday. The pay will depend on how many hours you work.
Annual leave entitlement
Singaporean companies are required to give employees a minimum of seven annual leaves after their first year of service. Each year, this number increases by one. This means by the eighth year, you'll have 14 annual leaves in a year. You can only start applying for annual leave if you have worked for an employer for more than three months.
Importance of knowing the number of working days in a year
Here are some reasons why it's important to know how many days you work in a year:
- Knowing how much you get paid: This helps determine how much money you earn each month. It can also help you plan your budget and decide how much to save or spend.
- Understanding job expectations: Knowing how many days you work can help you understand what your employer expects of you and if the job is a right fit for you.
- Allocating your time: Knowing how many work days you have can help you plan your time well. You can finally plan your vacation days, time with family and friends, and other activities in advance.
- Being more productive: Knowing how many work days you have can help you plan your average work hours and set realistic goals to complete your tasks on time.
- Planning your career: Knowing how many days you work a year can help you plan your career. You can use this information to decide if you want to pursue additional education or training or use it to look for new job opportunities.
Conclusion
Having an idea of how many working days you have in a given year will help you in several ways. It'll help you plan your year and how you want to make the best of it. You'll be able to file your leaves ahead of time so there's no inconvenience in your absence. Another advantage is you'll be able to manage your time more effectively and be more productive in your workplace. This can also help you maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Remember that the number of working days can differ from one company to another. You can also contact your employer or human resources (HR) department to clarify if you have any questions.
FAQs
Here are answers to some common questions about the topic:
- Where can I get a list of national holidays in Singapore?
You can refer to the list of national holidays released by the Ministry of Manpower here. Some national days in Singapore include New Year's Day, Labour Day, Chinese New Year, and others. - How many five-day work days are in a year?
A year has 52 weeks. If you count weekdays (Monday to Friday), there are usually 260 five-day work weeks a year. But you should also consider holidays and your company's policies. - Will I receive compensation if I work on national holidays?
If you work on a national holiday, you're entitled to an additional day's salary at your basic pay rate. Or the employer can give you an alternate day off. This depends on the mutual agreement between the two of you. - Are there other leaves I'm eligible for apart from annual leaves?
You're eligible for additional leaves such as:
Sick and hospitalisation leaves: You can avail of sick leave if you have worked for at least three months and hospitalisation leave if you have a medical certificate from a certified healthcare professional.
Maternity or paternity leave: Maternity leave is between 12 and 16 weeks. Paternity leave is for two weeks.
Childcare leave: You can take up to 6 days of childcare leave each year, given your kid is below 7. This number can change based on the Employment Act.
Adoption leave: You can take up to 12 weeks of adoption leave.
This number isn't fixed and may change whether you're a Singapore citizen or a foreign national. There are also other conditions you'll need to fulfil to be eligible for the above leaves. You can always refer to the section under employment practices to get more clarity. - How will my company calculate annual leave entitlement if I'm a part-time worker or during my first year of employment?
You can calculate your prorated (in proportion) annual leaves through this formula:
Number of months you've completed ÷ 12 months) × Number of days of annual leave entitlement
This means if you completed six months of service and you're entitled to 8 leaves a year, then your pro-rated leave would be:
(6 completed months ÷ 12 months) × 8 days of leave = 4 days of prorated annual leave
If the final number is less than half a day, you'll need to round it down. For example, if the pro-rated annual leave comes to be 4.2, it'd be 4. You'll round it up if the final number is greater than half of a day. So if your pro-rated annual leave comes to be 4.6, you'd round it off to 5.
The same holds if you're a part-time employee contracted to work for a specific duration.
