Singapore to double paternity leave, raise cash gifts for babies

(Feb 14): Singapore will double paternity leave to four weeks that will be paid for by the government in an attempt to make it attractive to start families.

This will be applied to fathers of Singaporean children born from Jan 1 next year, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said in his Budget speech on Tuesday. Employers can grant the additional two weeks of leave on a voluntary basis, which will be reimbursed by the government. This is to allow employers to adjust their manpower needs, he said.

“We will review this over time and intend to make this mandatory in due course,” Wong, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, said. “We want paternal involvement to be the norm in our society.”

Here are other support measures for families:

• Singapore to increase unpaid infant care leave for each parent in the child’s first two years, to 12 days a year from the current six days
• So-called baby bonus cash gift will go up by S$3,000 (US$2,260) for eligible Singaporean children born from Tuesday onwards
• Eligible first and second born children will receive S$11,000 instead of S$8,000
• For the third child onwards, parents will receive S$13,000 from S$10,000

The city-state’s move comes amid an increasing take-up rate in paternity leave and shifting social norms that support fathers playing a bigger role at home, Jean Yeung, a sociology professor at National University of Singapore, said in an interview. It reduces the “great imbalance” between maternity and paternity leave, she said. “This is another signal from the government that fathers have just as important a role during this child-rearing age.”