Paternity Leave In Singapore
From 1 January 2017, eligible working fathers, including those who are self-employed, are entitled to 2 weeks of paid paternity leave funded by the Government.
Eligibility
As a working father, you are entitled to Government-Paid Paternity Leave (GPPL) for all births if you meet the following requirements:
- Your child is a Singapore citizen.
- You are or had been lawfully married to the childโs mother between conception and birth.
- For employees:ย you have served your employer for a continuous period of at least 3 months before the birth of your child.
- For self-employed:ย you have been engaged in your work for a continuous period of at least 3 months before the birth of your child, and have lost income during the paternity leave period.
Adoptive fathers who meet the following requirements are also entitled to GPPL for all births:
- Your child is a Singapore citizen.
- For employees:ย you have served your employer for a continuous period of at least 3 months before the birth of your child.
- For self-employed:ย you have been engaged in your work for a continuous period of at least 3 months before the birth of your child, and have lost income during the paternity leave period.
Entitlement
You getย 2 weeksย of GPPL.
Your GPPL entitlement per week depends on your number of working days in a week.
If you work 6 days a week, then you will get 12 days of GPPL.
For fathers of citizen children born (or with EDD) on or after 1 January 2017, as a working father, you are entitled to 2 weeks of GPPL.
Each week of GPPL is capped at $2,500, includingย CPFย contributions.
You can take your leave as follows:
Arrangement | 2 weeks GPPL. |
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You may also be able to take another 4 weeks ofย shared parental leave.
Cash benefits in lieu of paternity leave to parents without paternity leave in Singapore
Some parents presently do not qualify for the benefits, as they may be on multiple short-term contracts or their employment contracts may have expired before the birth or adoption of their child.
These cash benefits under the new law are similar to the current government-paid maternity benefit for working mothers, but with cash given in lieu of the government-paid share of leave.
- This is if their employment circumstances do not qualify them for leave.
- Natural or adoptive fathers can receive cash benefits equivalent to two weeks of paternity leave under the new law.
- Reimbursement is capped at $2,500 per week, inclusive of Central Provident Fund contributions.
- Adoptive mothers can receive cash benefits equivalent to eight or 12 weeks of maternity leave, with reimbursement capped at $20,000 or $30,000, depending on how many children they have. The amount also depends on their average income.
Similar benefits were previously given only to natural mothers who are working, via the existing government-paid maternity benefit.
It provides them with up to $40,000 for each child, depending on their birth order as well as the mother’s income.
- The new law applies to parents whose formal intent to adopt or whose child’s date of birth or estimated date of delivery is on or after 01-January-2021.
- To qualify, parents must have worked for at least 90 days in the 12 months before their child’s birth or formal intent to adopt. Eligible parents may apply from 01-December-2021.
- Parents who have been retrenched, but who have unconsumed parental leave, will also be granted cash benefits.
How to apply
For instructions on applying for leave or claiming reimbursement, you can use any of the following:
- Visitย www.profamilyleave.gov.sg
- Callย 1800 253 4757
- Emailย contactus@profamilyleave.gov.sg
Find out more
To find out more about pro-family leave measures, you can:
- Visit theย Hey Baby website at www.heybaby.sgย for more on other enhancements to the Marriage and Parenthood Package.
- Read theย guides for employees and employersย on the Marriage and Parenthood leave measures.
Source of Information for Employment, all Work Passes & their related matters is from the Ministry Of Manpower & TAFEP.
You may wish to visitย Ministry Of Manpower (MOM)ย onlineย for detailed information and current updates.