How are Singapore companies implementing new maternity leave for fathers? 0
(Dan Tri) – Some companies in Singapore are considering adopting an additional 2-week maternity leave policy for fathers, citing the need to balance employee benefits and economic considerations.
Singapore is witnessing a decline in birth rate (Illustration: CNA).
In order to encourage families to have children in the context of falling birth rates, Singapore in September 2023 passed a law allowing to increase government-paid maternity leave from 2 to 4 weeks for fathers with children.
Accordingly, the 4-week leave period for fathers can be implemented flexibly.
When the above law was announced in Budget 2023, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong noted that more than half of fathers in the country take maternity leave.
The current extra leave regime is still applied on a voluntary basis and by agreement between employees and employers, but the Singapore government said it will make it mandatory although no specific date has been set.
Surveying the implementation of the new policy, Channel News Asia (CNA) news agency said that one company proposed an agreement suitable for both employees and employers, while other companies proposed an agreement that was suitable for both employees and employers.
Companies point to a lean workforce as the main challenge in allowing fathers four weeks of paternity leave.
Mr Ronald Soh, chief executive of consulting firm Win-Pro, said the extra time off, coupled with national military obligations, could keep some men out of work for longer periods.
Mr. Soh’s small and medium-sized business, which specializes in providing information technology solutions, has 14 employees in Singapore.
Mr. Soh said that maternity leave should be implemented flexibly according to the needs of both the employee and the company, and should consider factors such as whether the family has received support from grandparents or not,
Being a small company means Mr Soh also has to take more flexible measures and may have to give fathers more than four weeks off if necessary.
`Imagine if you have personnel on military leave, maternity leave, regular sick leave, annual leave…, you will likely encounter a situation where all employees are absent,` he said.
Another small company said it may have to hire part-time workers to make up for staff shortages if a father takes maternity leave.
Cruise rental company Wanderlust Adventures often hires captains, who are often not easily replaced if they go on maternity leave.
Therefore, Mr. Quek still leaves open the option of taking an additional 2 weeks of maternity leave if allocated for a period of time.
`Maternity leave is very important`
Meanwhile, Mr. Lim Ye Sen, co-founder of a technology company, said his company is waiting to see how 4-week maternity leave arrangements are implemented at other companies in the technology sector.
Several multinational and large-scale companies, including IHH Healthcare Singapore, a healthcare provider that operates four hospitals, have pledged to increase maternity leave benefits for fathers.
`We believe that a better maternity leave policy can improve employee satisfaction and help attract and retain employees in the long term, thereby benefiting the company itself,` said a statement.
Fathers who have had children in recent years told CNA that longer maternity leave could help them better adapt to the pressures of having young children.
`Maternity leave is very important because it is an opportunity for me to support my wife and young children during this meaningful period,` said 30-year-old father Looi Qin En.
Data analyst Jared Koh says increasing maternity leave allows fathers time to take their children for checkups and gives mothers a little more breathing room.
Beyond the workplace, experts also say that to help Singapore become more family-friendly and improve its falling birth rate, there also needs to be a change in people’s thinking about
