PATERNITY LEAVE AS PART OF EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

PATERNITY LEAVE AS PART OF EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

22.

Assoc. Prof. Paulin Tay Straughan asked the Minister for Manpower if he can provide data on (a) the proportion of employers aside from the Civil Service that offer paternity leave and unrecorded childcare leave as part of employee benefits; and (b) the proportion of unrecorded childcare leave that is taken by fathers.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: Even though paternity leave is not specifically legislated, MOM’s survey showed that about 48% of private sector establishments with at least 25 employees provided paternity leave last year.

In addition, all working fathers of Singaporean children enjoy six days of paid childcare leave for children aged up to seven years old and six days of unpaid infant care leave for children aged up to two years old as provided for under the Children Development Co-Savings Act (CDCA). On the proportion of paid childcare leave taken by fathers, in 2009, there were more than 25,000 claims made in respect of Government-paid childcare leave taken by fathers, just slightly below the 27,000 claims for mothers. Last year, about two in 10 (about 19%) private sector establishments also provided childcare sick leave beyond the legal requirements.

Anecdotally, companies may also provide flexible work arrangements or allow working parents to take time-off on an informal basis for them to attend to the needs of their children. However, as such work arrangements are non-statutory, and usually arranged under mutual agreement between the employer and employee, we do not have data on the take-up by working fathers.

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