Work

Some Companies in S’pore Give More Than 6 Months Paid Leave for New Parents

2019-05-31 , 8:00 am

Last Updated on 2022-09-18 , 2:47 pm

Is there really work-life balance in Singapore?

It’s very likely you’d be scoffing at this very thought, “Nah…all companies want to do is to earn some profits, who cares about employees?”

That’s true to some extent. After all, we are living in Singapore. All we know is work, work and work.

But young employees are getting educated about their rights.

Work-life balance quickly becomes one of the most in-demand benefits that young employees look out for when out hunting for new jobs.

These companies are smart enough (and rich enough, of course) to recognize this trend by rolling out very very very attractive work-life balance packages for its employees in Singapore.

(Boss you reading this?)

Diageo

Employees in Diageo, a British alcoholic beverage firm, have been getting excited about the new parental leave package that is to be launched very soon.

And they have the right reasons to be as with effect from 1 July, new mothers and fathers can all take 26 weeks off.

26 weeks, for your info, is 6.5 months.

Currently, the company gives 16 weeks of maternal leave and 2 weeks of paternal leave, which is required by the Ministry of Manpower. (And according to MOM, you’ll get even lesser leave if your child is not Singaporean or if you are not legally married. But these are additional information)

From 2 weeks to 26 weeks for new fathers? As Singaporeans would put it

Bloomberg

Another company that recently upped their game in work-life balance. Previously already offering 18 weeks of leave to both mothers and fathers, the financial data and media company now provides 8 more weeks of leave.

Instead of taking 26 consecutive weeks off, employees of the financial data and media company can opt for 10 transition days in lieu of the last 2 weeks.

A brilliant plan that allows parents to ease back comfortably into the working life and enjoy their family life at the same time.

Aviva

Insurance giant offers 16 weeks of parental leave for every parent, with no limit on the number of new children. Interestingly, the policy covers unmarried parents and non-Singaporean kids.

Simply put, the more children you have, the more leave you’ll get. Luckily for Aviva, these parents are probably paying back through child insurance plans.

Prudential

Less generous than the three abovementioned companies, but nonetheless better than the majority of the companies in Singapore. In Prudential, female employees and male employees may take 6 months and 3 weeks off respectively.

They were even considerate enough to backdate the policy, which was launched in Nov 2018, to Jan 2018, allowing 34 fathers to enjoy the enhanced paternity leave.

Kudos to Prudential for their kindness towards their employees. In my very own personal HR experience in some other company, “too bad” is the answer to employees’ disappointment over missed benefits.

Societe Generale

The French bank rolled out its new policy in beginning 2019. New mothers have 20 weeks of paid maternity leave, while new fathers have 3 weeks.

The forward-looking company also recognizes mothers in same-gender relationships who do not claim maternity leave. These mothers have the same entitlement to new fathers.

Netflix

The very definition of “spoil market”. Netflix daringly supports an “unlimited leave” systems, where employees are empowered to take as much time off as they liked.

For new parents, especially, it must be a dream come true working at Netflix.

Win-win situation

The above companies have proved that their generosity and genuine concern for employees generates win-win situations for both the company and parents.

Then again, working in a well-known, multinational company, that offers such high-level perks almost guarantees stressful times and crazy responsibilities.

But hey, no pain no gain.

You might also want to watch this video to know more about annual leave in Singapore, lest that’s the only leave you can take:

Featured Image: August Phunitiphat / Shuttlestock.com