Passionate Lighting Group (PLG) became the first company to donate their leave days to St. John’s Home.
“After hearing over the radio one morning about an idea of utilizing annual leave entitlement for a good cause, our MD, Mr Michael Chia, suggested we should do the same. Since most of us won’t be able to travel overseas, we encouraged our employees to encash their leave and donate to a charity of their choice.” said Ms Michelle Hee, the Executive Director at PLG.
For PLG, besides promoting a “Share and Care” spirit among the staff, the donor staff gets to enjoy tax deduction and CPF contribution as well. All these, without the staff having to contribute from their own pocket. “The staff are very happy to participate as it’s a double-win for them; the ability to give and receive at the same time.” Michelle adds.
When asked what a company should be aware of if they want to start such an initiative in their organisation, Michelle reminded that employers must bear in mind that leave encashment is subjected to CPF contributions, and cautions that it must not be made mandatory as “charity comes from the heart”.

首次收益于年假兑现
圣约翰养老院首次收到从Passionate Lighting Group（PLG）员工们兑现未使用有薪假期的捐款。
PLG执行董事Michelle Hee说 “一天早上，听了关于利用年假行善的一则广播后，我们的总经理建议我们公司应该考虑组织类似行动。由于我们大多数人都无法出国旅行，我们鼓励员工兑现未使用的有薪假期来捐赠给他们心选的慈善机构。”
对于PLG，除了在公司倡导“共享与关怀”精神外，在无需员工自费下，员工们可以享受税收减免和公积金缴纳。 “员工们都很乐意参加这项倡议，因为这对他们来说是双赢的；能捐赠，又能收益。”
如果其他机构想考虑组织这样的倡议时，Michelle提醒雇主，员工兑现有薪假，公司必须缴交公积金。她也劝告倡议不应该是强制性，因为“行善必须发自内心”。

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of St. John's Home for Elderly Persons.

St John's Home for Elderly Persons is not a government-subvented Home and depend largely on the public's generosity to enable us to continue our work as a Registered Charity.

Please support our Home by donating generously: https://www.giving.sg/stjohnshomesg