Work-related events of up to 1,000 people to be allowed with masks on, but no food and drinks: MTI, MOM

SINGAPORE — From Monday (Jan 3), companies will be allowed to hold work-related events of up to 1,000 participants, as long as they notify the authorities and adhere to certain conditions, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said on Saturday. 

Currently, work-related events are allowed subject to a cap of 50 participants and any meals being incidental. These are meant for events such as corporate and board retreats, staff training or annual general meetings.

From Monday, larger work-related events of between 51 and 1,000 participants, can be held, subject to the following conditions:

• The event is mask-on only. In particular, there must be no consumption of meals or beverages.
• Participants are predominantly static (seated or standing in a fixed position)
• Participants are subjected to vaccination-differentiated safe management measures
• Participants maintain at least one-metre safe distance between one another and must be in zones of up to 100 persons per zone, with two metres between zones.

The organisers of these larger events must notify the authorities via an online form at https://go.gov.sg/submit-wre-mice.

This change will give businesses more flexibility to organise work-related events such as an employee townhall or awards ceremony, MOM and MTI said, adding that the authorities will perform spot-checks for such events and enforcement actions will be taken against businesses who flout the rules.