Covid-19: SP to cut director fees, senior management bonuses

Singapore

SP Group's directors will take a pay cut, while its senior management will trim their bonuses this year. This in the spirit of solidarity and to support its staff and the wider community amid the coronavirus outbreak, the electricity grid operator said on Friday.

SP Group's board of directors will reduce their director fees by 5 per cent. The senior management team, comprising vice-presidents and above, will also reduce their performance bonuses for this financial year by one to two months. This translates to 8-15 per cent of annual base salaries, increasing in quantum with staff seniority, the company said.

In addition, SP Group will make a one-time payment of S$1,500 to about 400 frontline officers, in recognition of their dedication and to encourage them during this period.

The group will also match dollar-for-dollar for all staff donations towards the SP Heartware Fund. Started in 2005, the SP Heartware Fund supports programmes for senior citizens from low-income families. To date, it has raised more than S$14 million and reached out to over 25,000 beneficiaries, SP Group said.

Among the other major employers that have recently announced pay cuts for its senior management are Temasek, SMRT Corp, Singapore Airlines (SIA) and SingPost.

In its compensation exercise this April, Temasek will freeze all salaries and promotion increases, and partially cut annual bonuses for the senior management team this year. The state investment firm has also asked senior management to voluntarily reduce their base salaries by up to 5 per cent.

Over at SMRT, group CEO Neo Kian Hong had noted that the transport operator is implementing a salary reduction of up to 5 per cent, and a 0.5-month reduction in bonus for its management staff this year.

With the virus outbreak hobbling travel demand, national carrier SIA will be cutting salaries of senior management by 10 to 15 per cent starting March 1, and offering a voluntary no-pay leave scheme to employees.

Separately at SingPost, staff who are at senior vice-president level and above will see a pay reduction of 5 per cent, while staff who are at assistant vice-president level and above will have their pay and promotion increment frozen.