Rate of Uptake of Parent-care Leave in Public and Private Sectors from 2014 to 2016

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Prime Minister (a) what is the rate of uptake of parent-care leave by public servants for each year in the past three years; and (b) what is the number of private companies that currently offer parent-care leave.

Mr Teo Chee Hean (for the Prime Minister): Civil servants can take up to two days of parent-care leave a year. In the past three years, 39% (2014), 40% (2015), and 42% (2016) of civil servants took parent-care leave.

Parent-care leave is not legislated. Based on a Ministry of Manpower survey in 2016, only 19% of employers offer parent-care leave.