In my September 2015 General Election Social Justice Petition Paper, I highlighted the problem of self-employed persons / freelancers being possibly unduly prevented from claiming Government-paid leave. I have since obtained clarification from the Government that such persons will not be prevented from claiming Government-paid maternity leave.

Background

The Government pays self-employed persons for their maternity leave if they can prove they were earning income for at least 3 continuous months prior to delivery: section 9A(1)(d), Child Development Co‑Savings Act.

Problem

However, some self-employed / freelancer women are unable to meet this requirement of 3 continuous months. The reason is that their trade or work doesn’t allow them to reasonably take up work up to the month immediately prior to delivery. For instance, a theatre actress will not be able to procure work up to the month immediately prior to delivery given her pregnant status and appearance. This is a systemic bias against self-employed persons from such trade or industries.

Proposal

I wrote in to the Ministry of Social and Family Development to suggest that the requirement be amended to at least 3 months out of the 9 months preceding delivery. This would apply to other leave schemes, including adoption leave, paternity leave, extended childcare leave etc.

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MSF’s Reply

MSF replied to my email on 7 March 2016 as follows:

Thank you for views and suggestions to enhance Government-Paid Leave Schemes for self-employed persons.

2 We appreciate that there are a group of self-employed persons who may not be active in their trade or line of profession during their expectancy. They will not be perceived as being unable to meet the requirement to carry on their trade/profession for a period of at least 3 months preceding the child’s birth so long as they have not officially ended their trade/profession. We are still prepared to process their claims for Government-Paid Maternity Leave.

3 We also recognise that a self-employed person’s income may fluctuate throughout the year. Hence, the reimbursements of the claims are calculated based on the average monthly net trade income obtained from the Notice of Assessment and not based on the monthly income earned in the 3 months immediately preceding delivery.

Comment and Impact

The significance of this clarification from MSF is that freelancers and self-employed persons who may not be able to find employment opportunities in the 3 months immediately preceding the delivery of the child but have not left the trade, profession or industry may still be able to claim Government-paid maternity leave. This is good news for some freelancers. E.g. a freelance theatre actress or sports coach may not be able to secure jobs during the 3 months immediately preceding childbirth. Previously, it was not clear whether they would still be entitled to Government-paid maternity leave. Now, it is clear that this is not a necessary bar to such claim.

The salary amount which will be applied for the purposes of the Government paying the freelancer the maternity leave is the average monthly salary based on the IRAS Notice of Assessment for the previous year. N.B. maternity leave payment is capped at $10,000 per 4 weeks.

It’s important to record and keep a personal log of your Government-paid maternity leave dates. Submit your claims online within 3 months from the last day of your maternity leave. See more at: http://www.ecitizen.gov.sg/Topics/Pages/Maternity-leave-How-to-apply.aspx#sthash.FhRD0wSD.dpuf