Paternity Leave

Under the Child Development Co-savings (Amendment) Bill 2016, employers and self-employed individuals, who voluntarily exercise the option to grant to employees or take a second week of paternity leave respectively, will be reimbursed by the Government for this additional week of leave granted or taken.

The second week of paternity leave may be taken on or after 24 Aug 2015, and applies to:

i. children born on or after 1 Jan 2015;
ii. children born before 1 Jan 2015, but whose estimated delivery date (EDD) was on or after 1 Jan 2015;
iii. adopted children where the application to adopt is on or after 1 Jan 2015 (for child who is a Singapore citizen); or,
iv. adopted children whose dependant’s pass is issued on or after 1 Jan 2015 (for a child who is not a Singapore citizen).

It allows employers and self-employed to seek reimbursement from 1 Jul 2016.

It will also be mandatory for employers to provide two weeks of paternity leave to fathers of citizen children born from 1 January 2017 onwards. Amendments to the relevant statutes will follow.

CDA for Unwed Parents

Children of unwed parents would be eligible for Child Development Account (CDA) benefits, including the $3,000 CDA First Step grant. This applies to eligible children born from September 2016 onwards.