Singapore Further Updates: Enhanced Parental Leave and Mandatory Paternity Leave

On 18 August 2024, the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lawrence Wong (“PM Wong”), had, in his National Day Rally 2024 speech, raised various upcoming employment-related changes including a new enhanced shared parental leave and mandatory 4 weeks paternity leave for eligible parents.

Read our legal update summarising the upcoming employment-related changes announced by PM Wong in his National Day Rally 2024.

The Child Development Co-Savings (Amendment) Bill covering the new enhanced shared parental leave and mandatory 4 weeks paternity leave was introduced in the Singapore Parliament in October 2024.

On 13 November 2024, the Singapore Parliament passed the Child Development Co-Savings (Amendment) Bill.

The upcoming amendments to the Child Development Co-Savings Act include the following:

1. Mandatory 4 weeks Paternity Leave for Eligible Fathers

• Current entitlement: Eligible fathers are entitled to 2 weeks of government paid paternity leave with the option for employers to grant an additional 2 weeks of government paid paternity leave on a voluntary basis.
• Upcoming changes with effect from 1 April 2025: The additional 2 weeks of government paid paternity leave (which employers currently have the option to offer this on a voluntary basis) will be made mandatory. As such, eligible fathers will be entitled to 4 weeks of government paid paternity leave.

2. Additional Shared Parental Leave

• Current entitlement: Eligible fathers may share up to 4 weeks of their spouse’s government paid maternity leave.
• Upcoming changes:
  • With effect from 1 April 2025: An additional 6 weeks of government paid shared parental leave will be provided on top of maternity leave to be shared between the parents.
  • With effect from 1 April 2026: The additional 6 weeks of government paid shared parental leave (to be in effect from 1 April 2025) will be increased to 10 weeks of government paid shared parental leave.

3. Minimum 4 weeks’ Notice Period to use Parental Leave

Employees who wish to use their parental leave in a continuous block will need to provide their employers with a minimum of 4 weeks’ notice. This would help employers to make the necessary covering arrangements and operational adjustments.

4. Employment Protection for Fathers and Adoptive Parents

Employment protection will also be extended to fathers and adoptive parents who take government-paid paternity leave and adoption leave from 1 April 2025.

Currently, such employment protection only applies to female employees who take maternity leave.

The changes are anticipated to be well-received by both employers and employees. They aim to support employees in balancing work and family caregiving responsibilities, while helping employers foster a more motivated and stable workforce.