Employer action code: Monitor
The government has announced a package of measures intended to support Singaporean families and family formation by, among other things, increasing annual paid childcare leave for working parents and government funding for the duration of all family leave entitlements (including maternity, paternity, adoption, parental and childcare leave) for the city-state’s citizens. A key driver of the initiative is the continuing drop in the total fertility rate from 0.97 in 2023 and 2024 to 0.87 in 2025, one of the lowest rates in the world.
Key details
- Paid childcare leave and extended childcare leave for working parents with children under age 12 who are Singaporean citizens would be consolidated as a single leave entitlement, with the duration linked to the number of eligible children, i.e., eight days per year (per working parent) for one child, 10 days for two children, and 12 days for three or more children
- Currently under the Children Development Co-Savings Act (CDCA), eligible parents are entitled to six days of employer-paid childcare leave (if the youngest child is under age seven, subject to a lifetime cap of 42 days per parent) and two days of extended childcare leave (for children age seven to 12 who are citizens). Both leaves are partially subsidized by the government
- The government would reimburse full costs for the duration of paid childcare leave as well as for maternity, paternity, adoption and parental leave under the CDCA (i.e., for children who are citizens of Singapore) subject to existing benefits caps. Currently, the government reimburses only a portion of family leaves under the CDCA for the most part
- The Baby Bonus and Large Families schemes would be replaced by a new SG Child Support Package, which would provide up to 62,000 Singapore dollars per citizen from birth to age 17 (regardless of birth order) to provide direct financial support for families. Additionally, the government provides a SG$5,000 Medisave Grant for newborns at birth and up to SG$2,500 of Edusave contributions per year during primary and secondary school years; the total government support would amount to SG$69,500 per child
Employer implications
According to the government, the SG Child Support Package would take effect on April 1, 2027. The start date for the enhanced childcare leave policy remains unconfirmed. The changes would simplify and enhance childcare leave for eligible parents and shift the bulk of the cost of leave from employers to the government. Virtually all surveyed companies (99%) provide statutory childcare leave only. Employers should monitor further developments and start assessing potential updates to their leave policies and payroll processes. It should be noted that temporary foreign workers (who account for around 40% of the workforce) are not covered by the CDCA but rather by the Employment Act, which provides for 12 weeks of maternity leave (with employers required to pay a minimum of 8 weeks) and two days of employer-paid childcare leave per annum.
