General Information » Facts & Figures » Social & Business Hours

Singapore is moving towards a Monday to Friday week although about 50% of companies (the more traditional ones) still tend to work a half-day on Saturday mornings too. Sunday is the official day off for everyone, although this is not mandated by law or religious imperative. And because Sunday is the free day for Singaporeans, for whom eating and shopping are favourite leisure activities, many retail, hospitality and entertainment outlets remain open. For these businesses, Monday usually becomes their day off. Some organisations, including the civil service and public services, are open for a half day every Saturday, with employees taking turns to work alternate weekends. The official working day is eight hours with a one-hour lunch break, but working one or two hours overtime a day is commonplace. Government offices operate from 08:00 to 17:00 and private companies vary their start time between 08:00 and 09:00. Retail outlets, in particular the large department stores and supermarkets, usually open at 10:00 and close at 21:30. Banking hours differ slightly between banks and vary between opening at 08:30 to 09:30 and closing at 15:30 to 16:30. Office hours for embassies usually start between 08:30 and 09:30 and end at 16:30 or 17:30. Most have specific times for handling passport and visa matters, so check before going.

Food and beverage hours vary considerably between outlets with restaurants tending to close by 23:00 and bars closing between 24:00 and 04:00. Food is the ranking passion among Singaporeans and there is no lack of shops serving food 24 hours a day. Typically, most Chinese and Malay families have their evening meal around 19:00 or 19:30, whereas Indian families eat later at around 21:00.