Utilisation Rate of Government-paid Childcare Leave by Eligible Employees

Assoc Prof Walter Theseira asked the Minister for Social and Family Development in each of the last three years, what is the utilisation rate of Government-Paid Childcare Leave among eligible employees, disaggregated by age group and gender.

Mr Desmond Lee: Working parents with citizen children below seven years of age are provided with six days of paid childcare leave. Employers absorb the cost for the first to third days, and the Government reimburses employers for the fourth to sixth days under the Government-Paid Childcare Leave (GPCL) scheme.

The estimated utilisation rates of GPCL among eligible working mothers and fathers, disaggregated by age group, for each of the last three years are in Tables 1 and 2 below. This data reflects eligible working parents who took at least four days of childcare leave, but does not include those whose employers do not submit claims for the fourth to sixth day of GPCL. These numbers do not reflect those who took one to three days of childcare leave only.