Q: One of our employees says that his wife is pregnant and he wants to share four weeks of her maternity leave. I thought he could only share one week. What is the truth of the matter?
You are quite correct that current legislation only entitles fathers to share one week of the mother’s government-paid maternity leave. But for children who are citizens and born after 1 July, 2017, fathers will be able to share up to four weeks, with the mother’s agreement.
The details of the new regulations have yet to be published, although we can assume that they will be broadly in line with existing rules around paternity and shared parental leave. The current week of leave entitlement needs be taken within 16 weeks of the baby’s birth - although it can be broken down and/or the period extended to up to 12 months if the father and his employer mutually agree.
Employees need to have worked for their employer for three months immediately before the child’s birth to be eligible. But eligibility for leave is based on the baby’s citizenship, not on that of its parents, so a father may not necessarily be a Singaporean citizen but still qualify for the payment - as long as they meet the other criteria too.
Leave is paid for by the government at a capped rate, although organisations are free to offer company schemes to their employees as well. It is up to each employer to decide how such schemes fit around government-defined leave and payments.
Payment rules
Employees are paid as normal when they go on leave, although (if the company offers no enhancements) payment should be capped at $2,500 for the first week, including offers no enhancements) payment should be capped at $2,500 for the first week, including payments from the ER Central Provident Fund (CPF) social security savings plan. Employers need to ask for reimbursement from the CPF Board.
Current shared parental leave rules stipulate that there is no minimum length of service required for workers to be eligible for a week of shared parental leave assuming the mother has qualified for maternity leave and pay.
However, she needs to register her intention to share her leave on the “Shared Parental Leave Allocation System” (SPLAS), which is available on the Pro-family Leave website. Fathers must also give their employers advance notice of their intention to take shared parental leave, although because there are no current guidelines on notice periods, it is necessary to refer to your organisation’s own policies in this area. Fathers likewise need to provide you with a copy of their partner’s printout from the website. Further details are available here.
The Global Payroll Association’s director of education and research Jeanette Hibbert explores what the truth is behind shared parental leave entitlement in Singapore.
Q: One of our employees says that his wife is pregnant and he wants to share four weeks of her maternity leave. I thought he could only share one week. What is the truth of the matter?
You are quite correct that current legislation only entitles fathers to share one week of the mother’s government-paid maternity leave. But for children who are citizens and born after 1 July, 2017, fathers will be able to share up to four weeks, with the mother’s agreement.
The details of the new regulations have yet to be published, although we can assume that they will be broadly in line with existing rules around paternity and shared parental leave. The current week of leave entitlement needs be taken within 16 weeks of the baby’s birth - although it can be broken down and/or the period extended to up to 12 months if the father and his employer mutually agree.
Employees need to have worked for their employer for three months immediately before the child’s birth to be eligible. But eligibility for leave is based on the baby’s citizenship, not on that of its parents, so a father may not necessarily be a Singaporean citizen but still qualify for the payment - as long as they meet the other criteria too.
Leave is paid for by the government at a capped rate, although organisations are free to offer company schemes to their employees as well. It is up to each employer to decide how such schemes fit around government-defined leave and payments.
Payment rules
Employees are paid as normal when they go on leave, although (if the company offers no enhancements) payment should be capped at $2,500 for the first week, including offers no enhancements) payment should be capped at $2,500 for the first week, including payments from the ER Central Provident Fund (CPF) social security savings plan. Employers need to ask for reimbursement from the CPF Board.
Current shared parental leave rules stipulate that there is no minimum length of service required for workers to be eligible for a week of shared parental leave assuming the mother has qualified for maternity leave and pay.
However, she needs to register her intention to share her leave on the “Shared Parental Leave Allocation System” (SPLAS), which is available on the Pro-family Leave website. Fathers must also give their employers advance notice of their intention to take shared parental leave, although because there are no current guidelines on notice periods, it is necessary to refer to your organisation’s own policies in this area. Fathers likewise need to provide you with a copy of their partner’s printout from the website. Further details are available here.
The Global Payroll Association’s director of education and research Jeanette Hibbert explores what the truth is behind shared parental leave entitlement in Singapore.
