IMPACT OF EXTENDED MATERNITY LEAVE BENEFITS

IMPACT OF EXTENDED MATERNITY LEAVE BENEFITS

44.

Assoc. Prof. Paulin Tay Straughan asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether he has received feedback from employers, especially SMEs, on how they have managed to provide for the 16-week maternity benefits; (b) what proportion of employers engage temporary staff to augment staff strength when employees are on maternity leave; (c) where no temporary staff are engaged, how do employers distribute the workflow and compensate staff who have to cover for colleagues on maternity leave; and (d) what concerns have been raised by employers or employees about the extended maternity benefits.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: My Ministry does not have specific data on the proportion of employers who engage temporary staff to cover employees on maternity leave. Nevertheless, we have received feedback from employers and from the Singapore National Employers' Federation (SNEF) on the challenges faced by companies in managing the 16-week maternity leave and how they manage such challenges.

Employers are mainly concerned about the operational disruptions arising from the absence of the employees who are on maternity leave. They are also concerned about the increase to business costs as a result of the enhanced maternity leave.

While some companies, particularly the smaller ones, have difficulty in distributing the work to co-workers and may need to hire temporary staff, the majority have been able to manage the absence through distributing the work to co-workers. For example, a small accounting firm with 20 employees shared with us that it had two employees who went on maternity leave during the past year. To minimise work disruptions, the company practised "job rotation" before the employees went on maternity leave so that their colleagues were able to familiarise themselves with the portfolio well enough to take over the role of the employees when they go on leave. This arrangement also helped to ensure continuity in the services provided to their clients.

Companies also implement flexible work arrangements, such as flexibility in the consumption of maternity leave, which appears to be the most prevalent practice by companies according to a survey conducted by SNEF. For example, employees may consume up to eight weeks of their maternity leave flexibly by working fewer number of days per week, so that they could return to work earlier and at the same time enjoy their maternity leave. An IT outsourcing and manpower placement company, Xcellink Pte Ltd, which has some 300-400 employees, shared with us that such flexible consumption of maternity leave enables their employees to adjust back to work gradually and at the same time cope better with family responsibilities. Flexible work arrangements have allowed employers and employees to meet their mutual needs, especially among SMEs.