5 Types of ‘Parents’ Leaves That Exist in S’pore You Probably Didn’t Know About

Last Updated on 2020-12-13 , 10:45 am

Annual leave is the best thing next to vacations, because you need your annual leave in order to go for a vacation!

However, do you know that there are other forms of special leaves that exist in Singapore, and they’re catered just for parents?

Here are 5 of them!

Maternity Leave

Before you go on a rampant, let us explain. The maternity leave mentioned here are meant for those who are self-employed, or those who have unfortunately give birth to a stillborn child or a child who dies shortly after birth.

For the self-employed, you are entitled to 16 weeks of paid maternity leave if you have been engaged in your work for at least 3 months and have lost income during the maternity leave period. You can claim the average income from the Government by applying on this page.

For the unfortunate mothers who have lost a child, you can still claim for the full 16 weeks of maternity from your employer or the Government if you are self-employed.

Adoption Leave

For adoptive mothers, you can claim up to 12 weeks of adoption leave to bond and care for your adopted child provided that the child is below the age of 12 months at the point of your formal intent to adopt. This is kind of tricky because there are certain criteria that you must meet. They are:

(a) The adopted child must be a Singaporean. If it is a foreign child, one of the adoptive parents must be Singaporean and the child must become a Singaporean within 6 months of the adoption.

(b) The adoptive parents must be legally married. This is not applicable for unwed adoptive mothers whose formal intent to adopt is on or after 1 January 2017.

(c) The adoptive mothers must have worked for a company or be self-employed at least 3 months before their formal intent to adopt is filed with the court.

(d) The adoption order must be approved within 1 year after the formal intent to adopt.

Childcare Leave and Extended Childcare Leave

Everyone knows that working parents each get 6 days of childcare leave if your child is below 7 years old and 2 days of extended childcare leave if your child is between the age of 7 to 12 years old.

However, do you know that part-time employees and the self-employed are also entitled to childcare leave?

For part-time employees, the number of days that they are eligible to take is entirely up to the number of working hours. Find out how it is calculated here.

If you are self-employed for at least 3 months and has lost income during the childcare leave, you can claim up to $500 from the Government by applying here.

Paternity Leave

If you think there is nothing special about paternity leave, you will be surprised that there are some people who do not know it exists! Paternity leave is 2 weeks but it is calculated based on the number of days you work in a week. For example, if you work 5 days a week, you will get 10 days of paternity leave.

Shared Paternal Leave

A working father is entitled to share up to 4 weeks of his wife’s maternity leave (subject to his wife’s agreement) if the baby is born or has an estimated delivery date on or after 1 July 2017.

The leave needs to be allocated in blocks of full weeks, which means that the wife can allocate 1 to 4 weeks to the husband.

Shiok right? Especially if your wife hopes to get back to work sooner!

Featured Image: joyfull / Shutterstock.com