The amendments to the Child Development Co-Savings Act (CDCA) were passed in Parliament today. Enhanced provisions for Government-Paid Paternity Leave and a new Shared Parental Leave scheme will come into effect from 1 April 2025. These underscore the Government’s commitment to provide stronger caregiving support to parents of infants.
Changes from 1 April 2025:
2 The amendments to the Act cover the following areas:
- Enhanced Government-Paid Paternity Leave (GPPL): Currently, fathers are entitled to two weeks of GPPL, and may take an additional two weeks if their companies are ready to provide the additional leave. From 1 April 2025, the extra two weeks will be made mandatory. Hence, eligible fathers of Singaporean children born on or after 1 April 2025 will be entitled to four weeks of mandatory GPPL.
- New Shared Parental Leave (SPL): The new Shared Parental Leave scheme will replace the current scheme and will allow parents of children born on or after 1 April 2025 to share up to 10 weeks of paid leave. To manage the impact on employers and give them time to adjust their operational and manpower arrangements, this scheme will be rolled out in two phases, starting with six weeks from 1 April 2025 and increasing to 10 weeks from 1 April 2026.
New Notice Period Requirement and Stronger Employment Protection for Parents on Leave
3 Employees planning to take Government-Paid Maternity Leave (GPML), GPPL, Adoption Leave (AL), and the new SPL are encouraged to inform their employers of their leave plans as early as possible. To give employers time to make the necessary covering arrangements, employees will be legally required to provide their employers with a minimum of four weeks’ notice before taking parental leave. While employers do not need to agree to the leave arrangement if the minimum notice period is not met, employers and employees may mutually agree to a shorter notice period.
4 Currently, it is unlawful for an employer to dismiss or give a notice of dismissal to a female employee on maternity leave. Employers who contravene this protection may face prosecution and, upon conviction, fines, or imprisonment. Starting 1 April 2025, this protection will be extended to fathers and adoptive parents, making it illegal for employers to dismiss or give a notice of dismissal to employees on GPPL or AL[1] The new employment protections will provide greater assurance to both mothers and fathers when taking maternity, paternity, or adoption leave. Employers are encouraged to support their employees in taking parental leave, and to promote a supportive workplace culture.
Additional Administrative Amendments to Enhance Efficiency and Clarity
6 The Bill clarifies that the reimbursement limit of $2,500 per week will apply on a “per-parent” basis for parents with multiple employments, including self-employment. Parents with multiple jobs can take paid leave with each employer, but the total reimbursement a parent receives across all employments cannot exceed $2,500 per week.
7 The eligibility date for AL for a parent who adopts a child who is a Permanent Resident of Singapore is defined as the date on which the application to adopt the child is made.
Supporting Families at Every Stage of Parenthood
8 Minister of State for Social and Family Development, Sun Xueling said, “These changes reaffirm our commitment to supporting families in Singapore and promoting active fatherhood. By enabling both parents to take time off work to care for their newborns, we are building a society where caregiving is a shared responsibility.”
9 These leave enhancements, alongside other measures such as developing about 6,000 new infant care centre places from 2025 to 2029 and the upcoming launch of a new childminding pilot in December 2024, demonstrate the Government’s efforts to support marriage and parenthood, and build a Singapore Made For Families.
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[1] To take a balanced approach between allowing parents an extended period of leave to care for their child within the first year and considering employers’ manpower and business needs, this protection will not apply to employees on the new SPL scheme. However, employees who have been wrongly dismissed while on SPL may seek redress by filing a claim at the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM). If the wrongful dismissal claim cannot be resolved at TADM, it will be referred to the Employment Claims Tribunals.
Visual_MP Measures and Progressive Enhancements to Parental Leave