Government-Paid Shared Parental Leave

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If there is mutual agreement between husband and wife, a wife can share up to four weeks of her 16-week Government-Paid Maternity Leave (GPML) or 12-week Adoption Leave (AL) for Mothers, with her husband. 

Shared Parental Leave (SPL) must be taken within 12 months from the day your child is born. The leave should be taken in one continuous block or in blocks of weeks. If there is mutual agreement between you and your employer, you can take SPL non-continuously.

SPL is paid by the Government. Reimbursement is capped at $2,500 per week i.e., total of $10,000 for four weeks. The caps include CPF contributions.

[New] New Shared Parental Leave from 1 Apr 2025

The existing SPL scheme above will be replaced with a new SPL scheme from 1 April 2025. The new SPL scheme will provide eligible parents with 10 weeks of paid parental leave to be shared between both parents, on top of existing GPML, AL and Government-Paid Paternity Leave (GPPL) entitlements. This will be implemented in two phases:

  • Eligible working parents with SC children born on or adopted on or after 1 April 20251 will be eligible for six weeks of SPL.
  • This will be increased to 10 weeks of SPL for eligible working parents with SC children born on or adopted on or after 1 April 2026.

Note: Parents of children with an Estimated Date of Delivery (EDD) that is on or after 1 April 2025, but were born before 1 April 2025, will also be eligible for the new SPL scheme.

With the new SPL taken after GPML and GPPL, working parents will have a total of 30 weeks of paid leave to care for their children during the infancy stage, when care needs are the greatest. The 30 weeks comprise 16 weeks of GPML, four weeks of GPPL and 10 weeks of the new SPL.

Key features of the new SPL scheme:

  • Employees planning to take the new SPL must provide their employers with a minimum notice period of four weeks. This notice period allows employers to make covering arrangements for employees on leave. Notwithstanding the notice period, we encourage employees to inform their employers of their parental leave plans as early as possible. Employers and employees can also mutually agree on a shorter notice period if needed. These apply to GPML, GPPL and AL too.
  • The new SPL will be equally allocated between parents (i.e. three weeks per parent from 1 April 2025 – 31 March 2026, five weeks per parent from 1 April 2026). However, parents have the flexibility to discuss and reallocate their share of the leave to each other, based on the caregiving arrangement that is most suited for their families’ needs. Parents who wish to change their leave sharing arrangement should do so within the first four weeks of their child’s birth via LifeSG, after they have obtained their employers’ agreement.
  • The new SPL should be consumed within the first 12 months of the child’s birth. Parents and their employers should come to a mutual agreement on the leave arrangement. In the absence of a mutual agreement, parents can take SPL in a continuous block (after GPML, AL or GPPL) within the first 26 weeks of the child’s birth.
  • All 10 weeks of SPL will be paid by the Government, up to the prevailing reimbursement cap.
  • Adoptive parents who meet the eligibility criteria for GPAL will also be eligible for the new SPL scheme.

Eligibility criteria: You are eligible for SPL if you are a working father (or self-employed), and meet all the following criteria:

  1. Your child is a Singapore Citizen (SC) at birth;
  2. You are legally married to your child’s mother within 12 months from your child’s date of birth.
  3. Your wife qualifies for GPML and she agrees to share her leave with you;
  4. You are lawfully married to the child's mother sometime between conception and birth.

If you are an adoptive father and are working or self-employed, you are eligible for SPL if you meet all the following criteria:

  1. You have made a joint application with the child’s adoptive mother to adopt the child.
  2. Your wife qualifies for AL for Mothers and she agrees to share her leave with you.
  3. You are lawfully married to the child's mother on or before she declares her intention to share her AL for Mothers with you.
  4. If your child is not a SC, either you or your child’s adoptive mother is a SC on the Dependent’s Pass issue date.
  5. You are not the biological father of the child.

Visit the Pro-Family Leave page for more details on the application process.

 

Note: The FAQs below apply for the current SPL scheme, where a wife can share up to four weeks of her 16-week Government-Paid Maternity Leave or 12-week Adoption Leave for Mothers with her husband. Please visit Pro-Family Leave page for information on the new SPL enhancement, which will take effect from 1 April 2025 for eligible working parents with SC children born on or after 1 April 2025.

  • FAQ
    • 1. How do I apply for Shared Parental Leave?

      Click on the Pro-Family Leave website for more details on the application process.

    • 2. What is the duration within which I must use my Shared Parental Leave? Must I take it immediately when my child is born?

      The Shared Parental Leave must be taken within 12 months from the child's birth. You can start from the day your child is born (for fathers), or any time before he or she turns 12 months old.

    • 3. Will the father be paid at his salary or the mother's salary when he takes Shared Parental Leave?

      The father will be paid at his salary, capped at $2,500 per week.

    • 4. My spouse and I work different numbers of days per week. How is one week of Shared Parental Leave defined?

      The leave allocation of “one week” follows the work week of the respective working parent.

       

      For example, let's consider how a mother with a five-day work week will share a week of Government-Paid Maternity Leave with her husband who has a six-day work week:

       

      Work WeekMum with a five-day work weekDad with a six-day work week
      Duration of leave after sharing one week of Government-Paid Maternity Leave16 weeks – 1 week = 15 weeks of Maternity Leave based on a five-day work week+ 1 week of Shared Parental Leave based on a six-day work week (i.e. six days)

    • 5. Can I take Shared Parental Leave flexibly on different days, rather than as a continuous block or blocks of weeks?

      The leave is to be taken within 12 months from your child's date of birth (inclusive of date of birth), and in a continuous block or blocks of weeks. If there is mutual agreement between the employer and employee, it can be taken flexibly e.g. on a daily basis.

    • 6. Can the mother and father take Government-Paid Maternity Leave/Adoption Leave for Mothers and Shared Parental Leave respectively at the same time?

      Yes, both parents can take Government-Paid Maternity Leave/Adoption Leave and Shared Parental Leave at the same time.

    • 7. I have just started work with a new employer. Can I apply for Shared Parental Leave?

      There is no minimum employment duration that the father has to meet before he is eligible for Shared Parental Leave.

       

    • 8. If my child is not a Singapore Citizen at birth, but obtains citizenship subsequently, can I qualify for Shared Parental Leave?

      If your child is not a Singapore citizen at birth, you may still qualify if he or she obtains Singapore citizenship within 12 months from the date of birth (inclusive of date of birth), and you meet the other criteria. Shared Parental Leave can only be taken after your child obtains Singapore citizenship and within 12 months from your child's date of birth (inclusive of date of birth).

    • 9. Can Shared Parental Leave be shared in days instead of week(s)?

      Shared Parental Leave can only be allocated in 1,2,3,4 blocks. Once it is allocated, you can choose to take the leave in a continuous block, or in days, as long as you and your employer are in mutual agreement. 

    • 10. Why are parents not allowed to change the number of Shared Parental Leave weeks shared once it is submitted?

      Couples have the flexibility to declare allocation of Shared Parental Leave to the father, any time before the child turns 12 months old. This enables them to discuss and decide on an arrangement that suits their needs. Couples should consult their respective employers before deciding on the allocation. If fathers are unsure whether they can commit to taking the leave, they can wait until they have more certainty before making the declaration, within 12 months from the day the child is born.

      Given that this leave scheme involves multiple parties, this approach takes into account parents' needs for flexibility, and considers the business needs of employers.

      Shared Parental Leave election can only be amended/cancelled in the following circumstances:

      1. The child’s caregiving arrangements are, or are to be changed; 

      2. The child’s father is unable to consume his entitlement due to exigencies of his work;

      3. The election was made in error, or;

      4. Termination of father’s employment.

      Please note that for revocations, only whole week(s) of unconsumed leave is returned to the mother. Any leave less than whole week(s) will be forfeited.

      If you wish to make a cancellation, please e-mail contactus@profamilyleave.gov.sg.

    • 11. I made a declaration to share my Government-Paid Maternity Leave or Adoption Leave with my husband. However, he has resigned/was retrenched/terminated and is unable to take the Shared Parental Leave. Can I cancel the declaration?

      If the father's employment is terminated, any whole weeks of unutilised Shared Parental Leave will be returned to the mother. To return the revoked leave to your spouse, please e-mail contactus@profamilyleave.gov.sg with the following documents:

      1. Letter of resignation/retrenchment/termination;
        and
      2. E-mail/letter from your employer to show the unused Shared Parental Leave

    • 12. How does an employer check if his employee's wife has agreed to share a portion of her Government-Paid Maternity Leave or Adoption Leave with him?

      Employers can check whether the employee’s wife has made a declaration to share her leave on the Pro-Family Leave website.

    • 13. How do employers and the self-employed claim for reimbursement of Shared Parental Leave?

      Employers and self-employed persons can make reimbursement claims at the Pro-Family Leave website.

    For more answers to frequently asked questions by employers or about specific employment arrangements, please refer to the MOM website.