Law passed to increase parental leave, including increasing mandatory paternity leave to 4 weeks

SINGAPORE – Amendments to the bill allowing for more government-paid parental leave and compulsory paternity leave were passed in Parliament on Nov 13.

Under the amendments made to the Child Development Shared Savings Act, Parents-to-be will receive 10 more weeks of shared leave It will increase the total amount of parental leave paid by the government to 30 weeks by 1 April 2026, in addition to existing leave entitlements.

From 1 April 2025, eligible fathers of Singaporean children will be entitled to four weeks of mandatory Government-supported paternity leave.

The new shared parental leave scheme will be rolled out in two phases, starting from six weeks from 1 April 2025 and increasing to 10 weeks from 1 April 2026. This joint leave will be taken within 12 months of the birth of the child and Employees must notify the employer at least four weeks before taking leave in a continuous block.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong first announced the plan in his National Day Rally speech in August.

Twelve MPs spoke about the changes in the debate on 13 November, raising issues such as protection against discrimination for those taking parental leave and employers’ concerns about the impact of more leave provisions on their business.

An additional two weeks of voluntary paternity leave will also be made mandatory from 1 April 2025, meaning employers must accept applications for such leave.

Minister of State for Social and Family Development Sun said that anyone who dismisses or gives notice of dismissal to employees on State-paid paternity leave or adoption leave will be committing an offense and will be subject to a fine, imprisonment, or both, if convicted. Xueling.

MPs welcomed the bill but cited the need to encourage parents to exercise their leave rights, citing fear of punishment from companies that do so.

They called for stronger protection against discrimination for those on parental leave, with Ms Mariam Jaafar (Sembawang GRC) suggesting they could be included in upcoming workplace fairness legislation.

Mr Louis Ng (Nee Soon GRC) said the Government could explore more targeted support, citing a National University of Singapore study showing that low-income fathers in particular are less likely to take paternity leave because they fear losing their jobs. This is for fathers.

MPs also talked about the importance of flexible working arrangements to support parents.

NTUC deputy general secretary Yeo Wan Ling (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC) said a meeting of 40,000 workers at NTUC’s #EveryWorkerMatters Conversations found that 85 per cent of those with caring responsibilities cited flexible working as their most preferred form of support. Paid care leave ranked second with 64 percent.