NDR 2024: 10 Extra Weeks of Shared Parental Leave By April 2026

Parents-to-be will get another 10 weeks of shared leave on top of their current leave entitlement, bringing the total amount of government-paid parental leave to 30 weeks by April 1, 2026.

The two extra weeks of voluntary paternity leave will also be made mandatory from April 1, 2025, meaning that employers must grant such leave applications.

The changes are being made in response to feedback that parents would like more time with their children, and to encourage dads to play a bigger role, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong during his first National Day Rally speech on Aug 18. They are part of efforts to build a more family-friendly Singapore, he added.

In short: Mums get 16 weeks of maternity leave, while dads get four weeks of paternity leave. On top of that, parents will have 10 weeks of leave to be shared between them. This works out to around 7½ months of paid leave for parents of Singaporean babies.

To give employers time to adjust, changes to the shared parental leave scheme will be made in two phases, starting with six weeks of shared leave from April 1, 2025, then the full 10 weeks from April 1, 2026.

These moves were among the key announcements in PM Wong’s Aug 18 speech. An additional two weeks of voluntary paternity leave had been introduced in January 2024, with the intention of making it mandatory at a suitable time.

PM Wong spoke of changing attitudes and mindsets, noting that Singapore has come a long way in promoting women’s development. “But I think some of us still believe that fathers should be the exclusive breadwinners, and mothers the main caregivers. That has to change.

“Women these days have every opportunity to excel in their careers. It’s not possible for them to pursue their goals and still carry a heavier share of the caregiving and housework responsibilities. So fathers must play a bigger role.”

He gave the example of how a colleague at the Finance Ministry found time to take paternity leave despite being busy with Budget preparations two years ago. He now takes care of cooking and laundry for his son, PM Wong added.

PM Wong acknowledged that marrying and having children are deeply personal choices. While many Singaporeans aspire to these goals, they also have competing aspirations such as establishing their careers, he said.

“What the Government can and will do is to create a more family-friendly environment in Singapore. And hopefully this will motivate more Singaporeans to translate their aspirations into reality.”

The new shared parental leave scheme will replace the existing one, which allows women to share up to four out of 16 weeks of maternity leave with their husbands. The current scheme has a take-up rate of only 6 per cent, as working dads are hesitant to take maternity leave from their wives, said a spokesman from the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD).

In coming up with the changes, PM Wong said, the Government studied other countries that offer longer parental leave of a year or more. In these countries, part of the leave is provided at reduced pay or is entirely unpaid, he noted. In addition, employees may have to take on a different role when they return to work.

While Singapore’s leave provisions are shorter, most of the leave is fully paid and people can typically return to the same job, PM Wong said.

“I hope this move will go some way in reassuring young couples – we are building a Singapore made for families; and we will help you keep a good balance between your working and parenting responsibilities.”

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In a separate statement, the NPTD said the shared parental leave must be used within the first 12 months after the child’s birth, and after maternity and paternity leave has been consumed. It will be equally distributed between both parents by default, although parents can reallocate their leave to each other within four weeks after the child’s birth.

Parents will be required to serve a minimum notice period of four weeks before consuming leave under any of the parental leave schemes. They are encouraged to inform their employers as early as possible when expecting a child, so employers have time to make covering arrangements and operational adjustments.

All 10 weeks of the new shared parental leave will be paid for by the Government, up to a cap of $2,500 a week, or around $10,000 a month. The scheme will cost the Government about $400 million yearly when fully implemented from April 2026, said the NPTD.

Working parents with irregular employment arrangements, such as short-term contract workers, will also benefit from the changes. Eligible parents in this group will be able to claim reimbursement from the Government for time taken off work to care for their infants, under a new Shared Parental Leave Benefit scheme.

They will similarly be able to share the six-week entitlement with their spouses from April 2025, and the 10-week entitlement from April 2026.

Nee Soon GRC MP Louis Ng lauded the move to allocate shared leave equally between parents by default. “That sends a very strong signal that the childcare responsibility should be equal.”

He cited a National University of Singapore study showing that lower-income dads are less likely to take paternity leave, and said the Government could look into why this is the case.

For instance, lower-income workers paid by the hour might not be compensated for overtime work while they are on paternity leave, and their base pay may not be sufficient, he said.

Tampines GRC MP Desmond Choo, who is also Mayor of the North East District, added that the move will help parents, as they have given feedback that children tend to fall ill more frequently when they are very young.

Mr Sim Gim Guan, executive director of the Singapore National Employers Federation, said: “Employers that are able to better support their employees’ career and family aspirations will also find themselves in a better position to attract and retain talent.”

Lower pre-school fees

PM Wong also reiterated the Government’s commitment to keeping pre-schooling affordable and convenient by setting up more pre-school centres and lowering fees.

Fees for full-day childcare at government-supported pre-schools will be lowered to around $300 a month for families where both parents are working. This is on a par with what parents pay for primary school and after-school student care combined.

“Our aim is for the expenses at full-day childcare to be as affordable as those in primary school,” he said.

Those with lower incomes will have additional subsidies, such that their childcare expenses can be as low as $3 a month, he added.

Support for large families

PM Wong also said families thinking about having a third child, or parents who already have three or more young children, will get more help with the cost of raising them.

There are married couples with children who would like to have bigger families but worry about the additional costs, he said.

“As each child grows up, the demands on their resources and finances grow too. These can be expenses for activities outside school or even groceries for the family. These can all add up very quickly,” he noted.

“We are still working out the details of the scheme, and I hope to share the good news in the Budget next year,” he said.

This article was originally published on The Straits Times.