The Child Development Co-Savings (Amendment) Act 2024 was passed in Parliament on 13 November 2024, introducing a new Shared Parental Leave (“SPL”) scheme and mandatory four-week Government-Paid Paternity Leave (“GPPL”) for eligible fathers. Both measures took effect from 1 April 2025.
From 1 April 2026, eligible working parents will collectively have access to 30 weeks of paid parental leave in the first year of their child’s life.
Employers should review their existing leave policies, employment contracts, and human resources systems to ensure compliance with the revised statutory framework and to manage the operational impact of increased leave availability.
Policy Objectives Behind the Enhanced Parental Leave Reforms
Singapore has progressively strengthened its parental leave framework to better support working parents and create more family-friendly workplaces. Despite existing parental leave entitlements, many working families continue to face challenges in balancing employment with caregiving responsibilities during a child’s first year. In practice, mothers have traditionally assumed a greater share of early childcare, while fathers have had more limited opportunities to take on caregiving responsibilities. Families also had relatively little flexibility in deciding which parent should take leave based on their individual work and caregiving arrangements.
Accordingly, the enhanced parental leave reforms seek to promote shared caregiving by enabling both parents to play a more active role in their child’s care from birth, while strengthening support for working families in Singapore.
Encouraging Shared Caregiving Between Parents
A key policy reform objective is to encourage both parents to play a more active role in caring for their child during the first year of life. By expanding parental leave entitlements and introducing a shared leave framework, parents are better able to divide caregiving responsibilities according to their family’s needs.
The child’s first year is often the most demanding period for new parents. The enhanced parental leave framework seeks to provide greater support during this stage by giving eligible parents more time to care for and bond with their newborn.
Building More Family-Friendly Workplaces
The enhanced parental leave schemes also complement wider workplace initiatives aimed at helping employees balance work and caregiving responsibilities. Together with measures such as the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests, the reforms encourage employers to foster more family-friendly and supportive workplaces.
Strengthening Singapore’s Family Support Ecosystem
In announcing the reforms, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong observed that while many countries provide parents with longer periods of parental leave, these are often unpaid or only partially paid. Singapore has therefore adopted a phased approach to expanding paid parental leave, seeking to strengthen support for working parents while providing employers with sufficient time to adjust to the enhanced leave framework.
At a Glance: Summary of Changes to Shared Parental Leave, Maternity Leave, and Paternity Leave in Singapore
| Leave Scheme | Before 1 Apr 2025 | From 1 Apr 2025 (Phase 1) | From 1 Apr 2026 (Phase 2) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shared Parental Leave (SPL) | Mothers could share up to 4 weeks of Government-Paid Maternity Leave with the father | 6 weeks SPL shared between both parents (3 weeks each by default) | 10 weeks SPL shared between both parents (5 weeks each by default) |
| Government-Paid Paternity Leave (GPPL) | 2 weeks mandatory + 2 weeks employer-discretionary |
4 weeks mandatory (fully government-paid) | 4 weeks mandatory (unchanged) |
| Government-Paid Maternity Leave (GPML) | 16 weeks | 16 weeks (unchanged) | 16 weeks (unchanged) |
| Total Paid Leave (eligible parents) | 18 to 20 weeks | 26 weeks | 30 weeks |
Shared Parental Leave
Entitlement
The SPL scheme introduces a shared pool of additional paid leave to be allocated between both parents, on top of their individual entitlements under the Government-Paid Paternity Leave and Government-Paid Maternity Leave (“GPML”) schemes. Employers should note that the scheme is being rolled out in two phases:
- Phase 1: children born between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026 —
6 weeks of Shared Parental Leave applies. - Phase 2: children born on or after 1 April 2026 —
10 weeks of Shared Parental Leave applies.
Salary and Reimbursement
Employers are required to pay the employee’s salary during the Shared Parental Leave. Reimbursement may be sought from the Government subject to a cap of S$2,500 per week (approximately S$10,000 per month). Employers are to submit claims within 3 months after the last day of the Shared Parental Leave via the GPL Portal.
Eligibility
Parent(s) are eligible for Shared Parental Leave if:
- The child is a Singapore Citizen born on or after 1 April 2025;
- The mother is eligible for Government-Paid Maternity and has fully utilised her Government-Paid Maternity Leave entitlement;
- The father is eligible if he is lawfully married to the child’s mother between conception and birth, or within 12 months from the child’s birth; and
- Each parent meets the applicable employment or self-employment qualifying period of at least three continuous months immediately before the child’s birth;
- Adoptive parents of children below 12 months old, and the date of your formal intent to adopt is on or after 1 April 2025.
Sharing Arrangement
Shared Parental Leave (SPL) is allocated between parents on the following basis:
- By Default, Shared Parental Leave is divided equally, three weeks per parent under Phase 1, and five weeks per parent under Phase 2.
- Parents may mutually agree to transfer part or all of their allocation to the other parent, based on their caregiving needs.
- Changes to the default allocation must be made within four weeks of the child’s birth. Changes requested after this window require mutual agreement from both parents and their respective employers.
To submit or amend the sharing arrangement, parents must use LifeSG either during birth registration, or through the ‘Manage Shared Parental Leave sharing arrangement’ service. Employers should verify the arrangement via the Government-Paid Leave (GPL) Portal once the child’s birth is registered.
When Shared Parental Leave May Be Taken
Shared Parental Leave must be used within 12 months of the child’s birth, after Government-Paid Maternity Leave or Government-Paid Paternity Leave has been fully utilised, with employees providing at least four weeks’ notice given to the employer.
The parties are encouraged to reach a mutual agreement on timing and whether leave is taken flexibly or in a block. In the absence of a mutual agreement, Shared Parental Leave must be taken as a continuous block within the first 26 weeks of the child’s birth.
Government-Paid Paternity Leave
Entitlement
From 1 April 2025, eligible fathers are entitled to four weeks of mandatory Government-Paid Paternity Leave. This replaces the previous structure of two mandatory weeks and two employer-discretionary weeks.
Eligibility
A working father is eligible for four weeks of Government-Paid Paternity Leave if:
- His child is a Singapore Citizen born on or after 1 April 2025;
- He is lawfully married to the child’s mother from the time of conception and child’s birth, or within 12 months from the child’s birth; and
- He has served the employer for a continuous period of at least three months immediately before the child’s birth, or has been self-employed for at least three continuous months preceding the birth.
Salary and Reimbursement
Employers are required to pay the employee’s salary during the Government-Paid Paternity Leave. Reimbursement may be sought from the Government subject to a cap of S$2,500 per week (approximately S$10,000 per month). Employers are to submit claims within 3 months after the last day of the Shared Parental Leave via the GPL Portal.
When Government-Paid Paternity Leave May Be Taken
By default, Government-Paid Paternity Leave must be taken as a single continuous block of four weeks within 16 weeks of the child’s birth.
Where the employer and employee reach a mutual agreement, greater flexibility is available. The employee may take the four weeks as a continuous block at any time within 12 months of the child’s birth, or split the entitlement into individual working days taken in any combination within the same 12-month period.
What Employers Should Do
The amendments to the Child Development Co-Savings Act imposes a number of practical obligations that employers should address across their human resources, payroll, and internal compliance functions.
Employers should review employment contracts, employee handbooks, and leave policies to ensure they reflect the mandatory four-week Government-Paid Paternity Leave entitlement. Any provision characterising the additional two weeks as discretionary or subject to approval should be removed. Employers should also ensure timely submission of reimbursement claims through the Government-Paid Leave Portal in accordance with the prescribed timelines.
In relation to Shared Parental Leave, employers should ensure that their leave management systems and internal processes reflect the enhanced 10 weeks entitlement for children born on or after 1 April 2026. As leave is allocated equally between parents by default, employers may also wish to implement internal procedures for handling requests to vary the allocation through the Government-Paid Leave Portal.
The Amendment Act also extends dismissal protections to employees on Government-Paid Paternity Leave and shared parental leave. Employers should ensure that no dismissal notices are issued during the relevant leave periods, and that human resources personnel and managers involved in employment decisions are aware of these protections.
Employers should further note that Government reimbursement for parental leave pay remains capped at SGD 2,500 per week. Any excess above the cap is borne by the employer, which may have cost implications for higher-income employees.
Finally, employers should remain mindful of the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests, which came into effect on 1 December 2024. Requests submitted by employees returning from parental leave must be properly considered and responded to in writing within two months. While employers may reject requests on legitimate business grounds, the reasons should be appropriately documented.
Latest Singapore Employment Law Developments: Key Dates at A Glance
| Key Dates | Employment Law Developments |
|---|---|
| 1 December 2024 |
|
| 1 January 2025 |
|
| 1 April 2025 |
|
| 1 January 2026 |
|
| 1 April 2026 |
|
| 1 July 2026 |
|
| 2nd Half of 2026 (Expected) |
|
| 1 January 2027 |
|
| End 2027 (Expected) |
|
Key Dates and Employment Law Updates
- Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests (TG-FWAR) took effect. Employers must have a formal process for handling FWA requests.
- CPF Ordinary Wage ceiling continues its phased increase to SGD 7,400 per month (as announced in Budget 2023).
- Four weeks of mandatory Government-Paid Paternity Leave took effect.
- New Shared Parental Leave scheme commenced at six weeks (Phase 1).
- CPF Ordinary Wage ceiling reached SGD 8,000 per month (final step of a four-phase increase announced in Budget 2023).
- CPF contribution rates increased for employees aged 55–65 (ages 55–60: total 34%; ages 60–65: total 25%).
- Platform workers’ CPF operator contributions rose to 7% across all age groups.
- Shared Parental Leave increased to ten weeks (Phase 2).
- Statutory retirement age rises to 64; re-employment age rises to 69.
- Senior Employment Credit extended to December 2027.
- Tripartite Working Group to submit recommendations on Employment Act review, covering annual leave entitlements, overtime thresholds, and protections for PMEs.
- Minimum qualifying salary for new Employment Pass applications will increase, ranging from SGD 6,000 for applicants aged 23 to SGD 11,500 for applicants aged 45 and above.
- For the financial services sector, the corresponding range rises from SGD 6,600 for applicants aged 23 to SGD 12,700 for applicants aged 45 and above.
- Minimum qualifying salary for S Pass will increase to SGD 3,600.
- Workplace Fairness Act 2025 expected to come into full effect.
How We Can Assist
Yuen Law LLC advises employers on employment law compliance, leave policy design, and employment contract review. If you require assistance in reviewing your existing parental leave policies, updating employment agreements, or navigating specific leave management scenarios, please contact our Corporate Practice.
References
- Ministry of Social and Family Development Press Release: Amendments to Child Development Co-Savings Act: Enhanced Paternity Leave and New Shared Parental Leave Scheme from 1 April 2025 to Strengthen Support for Working Parents.
- National Population and Talent Division, Strategy Group Singapore Prime Minister’s Office: Stronger Support for Working Parents with Enhanced Parental Leave Schemes from 1 April 2025.
