If you have been on your toes wondering if Polling Day, which falls on a Friday on Sep. 1, will be a public holiday, wonder no more.

Following the naming of three presidential candidates, Singapore will be heading to the polls on Sep. 1.

This means Sep. 1 will be a public holiday, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) announced in a press release on Aug. 22.

This is in accordance with Section 17 of the Presidential Elections Act.

According to MOM, the Sep. 1 Polling Day public holiday should be treated like any other public holiday.

All employees covered by the Employment Act are entitled to paid public holidays.

"If an employee is required to work on a public holiday, the employee is entitled to an extra day’s salary for the day’s work, or should be given a day off," MOM wrote.

MOM added that employers also have the additional option of granting time-off-in-lieu, based on a mutually agreed number of hours, for working on a public holiday.

This additional option applies to employees such as:

• Workmen earning more than S$4,500 a month
• Non-workmen earning more than S$2,600 a month
• Managers and executives

Why got holiday?

If this comes as a pleasant surprise to you and you have no idea why there is a public holiday on Sep. 1, here's what's been going on:

Thinking of starting your trip on Thursday night instead and skipping the vote? Read this first.

Top image via MCI, Canva