Childcare Leave
Part IX of the Employment Act and Part III of the Child Development Co-Savings Act provide childcare leave entitlements for employees.
Eligibility & entitlement under the Child Development Co-Savings Act
An employee is entitled to six days of childcare leave per year if he/she is covered under the Child Development Co-Savings Act. The Child Development Co-Savings Act covers all parents of Singapore citizens, including managerial, executive or confidential staff if all four of the following conditions are met:
- The child (including legally adopted children or stepchildren) is below seven years of age on or after 31 October 2008;
- The child is a Singapore Citizen;
- The child's parents are lawfully married (including divorced or widowed parents); and
- The employee has worked for the employer for at least three months.
OR
The parent is self-employed and has been engaged in a particular business / trade / profession for a continuous duration of at least three months; and has lost income as a result of not engaging in the trade, business, profession or vocation during the childcare leave period
The first three days of childcare leave will be employer-paid and the last three days Government-paid (capped at $500 per day, including CPF). Regardless of the number of children, the total childcare leave entitlement for each parent is capped at six days per year until the year the child turns seven years old.
The number of days of childcare leave that a working parent can benefit from will add up to a total of 42 days over a seven-year period.
If an employee has worked less than a year
The leave year for childcare leave will be any 12-month period as agreed by both employer and employee. If there is no agreement, the leave year will be the calendar year by default.
Employers may pro-rate childcare leave based on the duration of employment, subject to a minimum of two days. The tables below indicate the number of childcare leave days an employee is eligible for if he/she serves for less than one year of service:
For new hires in the first year of employment:
| Number of completed months of service |
Eligible childcare leave (days) |
| 1 |
Not eligible |
| 2 |
Not eligible |
| 3 |
2 |
| 4 |
2 |
| 5 |
3 |
| 6 |
3 |
| 7 |
4 |
| 8 |
4 |
| 9 |
5 |
| 10 |
5 |
| 11 |
6 |
| 12 |
6 |
For termination of contract in the last year of employment
| Number of completed months of service in the last year of employment before termination |
Eligible childcare leave (days) |
| 1 |
0 (if employee has worked with employer for less than three months)
2 (if employee has worked with employer for more than three months) |
| 2 |
| 3 |
2 |
| 4 |
2 |
| 5 |
3 |
| 6 |
3 |
| 7 |
4 |
| 8 |
4 |
| 9 |
5 |
| 10 |
5 |
| 11 |
6 |
| 12 |
6 |
Part-time, temporary and contract employees
The childcare leave entitlement should be adjusted for part-time employees based on the number of working hours, so that their entitlement is equivalent to those of full-time employees and subject to a minimum of two days.
Average number of hours a week which the part-time employee is required to work
---------------------------------------------------
Average number of hours a week which a similar full-time employee is required to work |
x |
number of days of childcare leave that a similar full-time employee is subjected to, based on his duration of employment |
x |
Number of hours a day which a similar full-time employee is required to work |
Illustration
An existing part-time employee is required to work an average of four hours a week, and a similar existing full-time employee is required to an average of eight hours a day and 44 hours a week, the entitlement of the part-time employee to paid childcare leave is:
4/44 x 6 x 8 = 4.4 hours (subject to minimum of two days)
The part time employee will be entitled to two days of childcare leave, equivalent to four hours each day.
Eligibility & entitlement under the Employment Act
Parents of non-citizens or single (unmarried) parents covered under the Employment Act are entitled to two days of childcare leave per year if:
- The child (including legally adopted children or stepchildren) is below seven years of age; and
- The employee has worked for the employer for at least three months.
Childcare leave for each parent is capped at two days per year regardless of the number of qualifying children.
Part-time, temporary and contract employees
Fixed-term contract/temporary/part-time employees are entitled to childcare leave, provided an employee has served the employer for a period of not less than three months.
Part-time employees' childcare leave entitlement are calculated as follows:
Number of hours a week which the part-time employee is required to work x 52
-------------------------------------------------------
Number of hours a week which a similar full-time employee is required to work x 52 |
x |
2 days of childcare leave |
x |
Number of hours a day which a similar full-time employee is required to work |
Application of childcare leave
An employee has full flexibility to use the childcare leave to spend time with his/her child. A child medical certificate is not required. For example, the employee can use the leave to accompany a child on the first day of school, or care for the child personally should the usual care arrangements fall through.
An employee should give the employer early notice of his/her intention to take childcare leave. Leave is subject to the employer's approval.
The employer should discuss with the employee and mutually agree on a suitable time to take the childcare leave. If the employee needs the leave to attend to matters that cannot be postponed (e.g. child immunisation, school registration), the employer is strongly encouraged to grant the leave.
Childcare leave is not transferable between spouses. Unused childcare leave by any one party will lapse at the end of each agreed 12-month period.
If the employee changes employer, he will not be able to carry over any unused childcare leave to the new company. The new company should grant the employee childcare leave according to the statutory requirement after he has worked for him/her for more than three months.
Unused childcare leave at the end of the yearly entitlement period will lapse and cannot be encashed.
The childcare leave entitlement is six days per year if the employee has worked for at least three months with the employer. Employers may pro-rate childcare leave based on the duration of employment, subject to a minimum of two days. The two days of childcare leave under the Employment Act cannot be pro-rated.
Childcare leave cannot be used to offset the notice period for termination of employment. However, if an employee applies for childcare leave during the notice period, the employer is encouraged to grant the leave. The days of childcare leave taken will not add to the notice period.
Claims and reimbursement
For information on claims and reimbursement procedures, please refer to MCYS at the the Pro-family leave website.
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