Singapore boosts 30 weeks of parental leave for childbirth

SINGAPORE: There is great news for expectant families in Singapore as the government will extend shared parental leave from six to ten weeks starting April 1, 2026. Paired with existing maternity and paternity leave, this new adjustment brings the total leaves to up to 30 weeks of support for childbirth.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) detailed the policy shift—shared parental leave change to ten weeks, now as fully additional time separate from the mother’s 16-week maternity leave. The new ten ten weeks additional will be implemented only after the mother’s 16 weeks and father’s 4-week paternity leave is made. Parents can split or take the additional leaves together flexibly within 12 months of birth, given that they have coordinated the leaves to their employers.

As reported by Yan.sg, this change marks another key update in Singapore’s family policies aimed at countering the ongoing birth rate decline, as well as encouraging fathers to have a more active and present role in raising their children.

The government splits the ten weeks of shared parental leave equally by default—5 weeks for each parent. However, couples can tweak this schedule through the LifeSG app within four weeks of birth with no employer approval needed. If further changes in schedule are needed, parents should now need their employer’s approval.

Who is eligible for this?

To be eligible with this shared parental leave, the child must be a Singapore citizen (or become one within 12 months), working parents need 3+ months of continuous employment pre-birth, self-employed must have 3+ months of business history and income loss during leave.

Furthermore, fathers must be legally married to the mother from conception to birth, or marry within 12-months post-birth. Adoptive parents qualify if adoption intent is from  April 1, 2026, for kids under 12 months old.

This paid leave also requires employers to pay normal wages during the period, and then they may claim reimbursement from the government for up to S$2,500 per week. Employers will cover any excess salary, and for those people with lower wages, they pay actual amounts and get full reimbursement.

The Singapore government declared that change is a way for the government to build a family-friendly Singapore, having a balance between work and family, giving children the presence of their own parents in their growth process.