Associate Professor Walter Theseira
Nominated Member of Parliament
Question
To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development in each of the last three years, what is the utilisation rate of Government-Paid
Childcare Leave (GPCL) among eligible employees, disaggregated by age group and gender.
Answer
1 Working parents with citizen children below 7 years of age are provided with 6 days of paid
child care leave. Employers absorb the cost for the 1st to 3rd days, and the Government reimburses employers for the 4th to 6th days under the Government-Paid Childcare Leave (GPCL) scheme.
2 The estimated utilisation
rates of GPCL among eligible working mothers and fathers, disaggregated by age group, for each of the last three years are in Tables 1 and 2 below. This data reflects eligible working parents who took at least four days of child care leave, but does
not include those whose employers do not submit claims for the 4th to 6th day of GPCL. These numbers do not reflect those who took 1 to 3 days of child care leave only.
Table 1. Utilisation* of GPCL by eligible working mothers, disaggregated by age group, 2016 – 2018
Claim Year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|
Age Group | |||
Below 30 | 51% | 45% | 48% |
30-39 | 55% | 56% | 58% |
40 & Above | 62% | 62% | 60% |
Table 2. Utilisation* of GPCL by eligible working fathers, disaggregated by age group, 2016 – 2018
Claim Year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|
Age Group | |||
Below 30 | 40% | 41% | 43% |
30-39 | 49% | 49% | 50% |
40 & above | 46% | 46% | 47% |