Employment 2025

SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Kelvin Tan, Benjamin Gaw and Lim Chong Kin, Drew & Napier LLC

• the employee has worked for her employer for a continuous period of at least three months before the birth of her child; and • the child is a Singapore citizen at the time of birth or becomes one within 12 months from the date of birth. If an employee is not entitled to maternity leave under the CDCA, she will be entitled to 12 weeks of mater - nity leave provided that: • the employee is covered under the Employment Act; and • the employee has worked for her employer for at least three months before the birth of her child. Eight of those 12 weeks of maternity leave will gener - ally be paid leave unless, at the time of delivery, the employee has two or more living children and those children were born during more than one previous confinement. Paternity Leave Under the CDCA, male employees with children born on or after 1 April 2025 are entitled to four weeks of government-paid paternity leave. A natural father will be eligible, provided that: • the child is a Singapore citizen at the time of birth or becomes one within 12 months from the date of birth; • the employee has worked for his employer for at least three months before the birth of the child; and • the child’s mother is lawfully married to the child’s natural father at the time the child is conceived, or becomes lawfully married to the child’s natural father before the child’s birth, or becomes law - fully married to the child’s natural father within 12 months from the date of the child’s birth. An adoptive father will be eligible, provided that: • the employee’s Formal Intent to Adopt (FIA) date is on and after 1 January 2017; • the child is below 12 months of age on the FIA date;

• the employee has worked for his employer for at least three months before the FIA date; and • the child is a Singapore citizen, or either the adop - tive father or his wife has been a Singapore citizen since the date on which the dependant’s pass is issued. Shared Parental Leave Under the CDCA, parents of children born on or after 1 April 2025 are entitled to six (from 1 April 2025) or ten (from 1 April 2026) weeks of shared parental leave (SPL). This replaces the previous scheme where a working mother can share up to four weeks of her government-paid maternity leave with her husband. By default, the SPL will be equally distributed between the parents. Working parents can choose to reallocate their SPL according to their needs. Natural parents will be eligible if: • the child is born on or after 1 April 2025; • the child is a Singapore citizen or becomes one within 12 months from the date of birth; • they have worked for their employer for at least three months before the birth of the child; and • in the case of natural fathers, if they are married to the mother when the child was born, or at some point between conception and the child’s birth, or within 12 months from the child’s birth. Adoptive parents will be eligible if: • their FIA date is on or after 1 April 2025; • the child is below 12 months old on the FIA date; • they have worked for their employer for at least three months before the FIA date; and • in the case where the child is not a Singapore citi - zen, either the adoptive mother or father has been a Singapore citizen since the date on which the child’s dependant’s pass is issued. Paid Childcare Leave Under the CDCA, both male and female employees are entitled to up to six days of paid childcare leave within a period of 12 months depending on their length of service, provided that:

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