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Success Stories
IRAS
 About Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore
The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) acts as an agent of the government to assess collect and enforce payment of taxes. IRAS also advises the government and represents Singapore internationally on matters relating to taxation. It hires 1,700 staff to fulfil its various functions.
To accomplish its vision to be a leading tax administrator in the world, IRAS believes in building an excellent team of competent and committed people. Its work-life policy is based on three pillars of time with Family/Friends, Work and Health; and programmes are designed to meet staff’s needs in these areas. As a result, attrition rates have dipped from 5.8 percent in 2004 to 4.9 percent in 2007; and employees have indicated satisfaction in working for the company. IRAS won the Work-Life Excellence Award 2008.
| Leave Benefit - Spouse hospitalisation and Eldercare Leave |
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IRAS supports employees’ roles in their respective families by introducing time-off for staff to attend to spouse hospitalisation and eldercare needs. This allowed staff to continue caring for their spouse and elders even after they have exhausted their vacation leave. Staff may take up to 2 days of time-off for eldercare and 3 days for spouse hospitalisation within a year. |
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| Flexible Work Arrangements – 5-Day Work-Week and Staggered Hours |
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IRAS is in the business of providing frontline service, thus it needs to organise its work schemes without compromising its service to the public. The organisation introduced a 5-day work-week in 2004 in which frontline staff work only one Saturday each month and take the following Monday off.
IRAS also allows its staff to report for work at different times – 8 am, 8.30 am and 9 am. With this flexibility, working parents can send their children to school and come to work on time. |
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Flexible Benefits. IRAS introduced a flexible benefits scheme whereby officers can claim for costs incurred in health screenings, personal development courses, insurance, computer equipment and travelling on a co-share basis. The scheme was introduced based on findings from an employee needs survey. Its wide scope of coverage allows IRAS to meet the diverse needs of staff. For example, staff can make use of the Flexible Benefit funds for health screenings and vaccinations; or attend recreational and enrichment courses. About 80 percent of the fund has been utilised since the scheme was launched. The scheme is reviewed regularly to ensure that it remains relevant to the needs of the staff. |
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To find out more about IRAS, please visit: http://www.iras.gov.sg
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