Last Updated on May 29, 2022 by Parentology

It’s imperative that fathers spend time with their children alongside their mothers, and to offset the heavy load on mothers before, during, and after childbirth paternity leave has also been implemented in Singapore to allow fathers to get to know their children as well as to help new mothers around the house.

Unlike maternity leave, however, paternity leave for men is much shorter as traditionally it is thought that fathers should return to the workforce earlier. While your individual company may have different policies on this, the government does still provide a certain amount of leave for parents to bond with their family after the birth. This article covers leave under the government-reimbursed Government-Paid Paternity Leave Singapore (GPPL); no paternity leave is accommodated under the Ministry of Manpower’s Employment Act, unlike maternity leave.

Government-Paid Paternity Leave is different from Government-Paid Paternity Benefits; the latter supports working fathers who do not qualify for GPPL due to employment arrangements (e.g. short contracts, expired contracts).

A summary table is attached as follows:

	Government-Paid Paternity Leave (GPPL)	Government-Paid Paternity Benefits (GPPB)
Eligibility	– For births, the child is a Singaporean Citizen or is to become one within 12 months from the date of birth.   – For births, you are/were married to the child’s mother, or are planning to be wedded to them within 12 months from the date of birth.   – For stillbirths or adoptions, either parent must be Singaporean Citizens.   – You have been working for your employer continuously for at least 3 months.	– Child born or after 1 Jan 2021.   – Child is a Singaporean Citizen or to become one within 12 months from birth.   – For adoptions, FIA after 1 Jan 2021. Child <1 year on FIA date. Either you or your child must be a citizen.   – Employed by one or more employers, or were self-employed, for at least 90 days in the 12 months prior to birth.   – Are/were lawfully married to the child’s mother.   – Do not qualify for GPPL
Benefits	– 2 weeks of leave. Starts no earlier than the date of birth or Formal Intention to Adopt (FIA). Ends no later than 12 months from the date of birth or FIA date. Can be taken in one go or non-continuously.   – Government will reimburse up to $2,500 per week or $5,000 in total. The amount is pro-rated based on salary. Use this calculator.	– 2 weeks of leave. Starts no earlier than the date of birth or Formal Intention to Adopt (FIA). Ends no later than 12 months from the date of birth or FIA date. Can be taken in one go or non-continuously. – Government will reimburse up to $2,500 per 7 working days. The amount is pro-rated based on past earnings and CPF. Calculation found here.
Applying for the scheme	Submit the GPPL1 form to your employer alongside any supporting documents.	There is no paternity benefit form to be submitted.
Claims	Employer to file for reimbursements on the Government-Paid Leave (GPL) Portal once GPPL has been completed. To be done within 3 months of the last GPPL date.	Fathers to submit online here.

 

Maternity Leave in Singapore will be covered in a different article.

 

Paternity Leave Eligibility

Government-Paid Paternity Leave (GPPL)

In the case of live births (natural births and C-sections), your child should be a Singaporean Citizen or should become one within 12 months from the day of birth. You should also either be married or have been married to the child’s mother (in the latter case, during the period of pregnancy). In the cases of stillbirth, either you or the child’s mother or both should be Singapore Citizens.

GPPL also covers adoptions after 1 January 2017 if your child is a Singapore Citizen. If not, either you or your wife (if she is a joint applicant for adoption) should be Singapore Citizens.

For all three cases, you should also have been working for your employer for at least three continuous months. Additionally, there are optional stipulations under the GPPL that your employer may choose to enact:

• Your child should be born after 1 November 2021.
• You have served your current employer at the point of your child’s date of birth.
• You have not claimed GPPB (as below) with respect to the same child order.

That is, your employer may choose to submit GPPL with or without these conditions being fulfilled in regards to paternity leave in Singapore.

If you are self-employed, you should have been working in your particular line of work for at least three months to qualify for a claim as well.

 

Government-Paid Paternity Benefits (GPPB)

Under GPPB, your child should be born on or after 1 January 2021, and should also be a Singapore Citizen. GPPB also covers stillbirths as long as either parent was a Singapore Citizen.

For adoptions, GPPB requires you to have a Formal Intent to Adopt after 1 January 2021, for the child to be under a year old on the FIA date, and for either you or your child to be a citizen.

For all three, you must have been employed by one or more employers or were self-employed for at least 90 days in the 12 months before your child’s birth, are/were lawfully married to the child’s mother, and do not qualify for GPPL.

 

Employment Act

Paternity leave MOM generally refers back to the provision of the GPPL Scheme. Unfortunately, for employees or those who are self-employed in Singapore who are not eligible for the GPPL scheme, the Employment Act does not grant leave for fathers.

 

Benefits

 

Government-Paid Paternity Leave (GPPL)

Under the GPPL, new fathers and new adoptive fathers are allowed a total of two weeks of leave. It can be taken in one block or taken non-continuously as long as arrangements are agreed upon with your employer. The leave will start no earlier from the child’s date of birth or from the date on your Formal Intent to Adopt (FIA) form, for adoptive fathers, and it must be completed no later than 12 months from the date of birth or the FIA date.

Your employer will be reimbursed for all 2 weeks of Government-Paid Paternity Leave up to $2,500 per week or a total of $5,000, regardless of what your gross salary is.

 

Government-Paid Paternity Benefits (GPPB)

The government will pay for 14 days of your income up to $2,500 for every 7 days – that is, paternity benefit is 2 weeks. The calculation can be found here and is based on your pay and CPF income in the last 12 months.

 

How do the payments work?

 

Government-Paid Paternity Leave (GPPL)

Like with maternity leave, your employer will pay you as usual during your leave period. The government reimbursement will be filed for and will come in later after the leave has been completed and approved. Your employer will pay you directly, and the government will in turn provide the reimbursement to your employer – that is, there is nothing for you to submit directly to the government in this case.

 

Government-Paid Paternity Benefits (GPPB)

You will be reimbursed directly from the government.

 

Application, Claims, and Reimbursement

 

Government-Paid Paternity Leave (GPPL)

There is an application form that you will need to fill out, the GPPL1, but it will be handed to your employer instead of being submitted directly to a government agency. Obtain any supporting documentation for the live birth or adoption and get approval from your company (or make personal arrangements if you are self-employed) at least 1 week before the planned date of your leave. If there are additional internal procedures for you to use, fill those out too.

A paternity leave claim is done by the employer, not the employee. Once your leave has been completed, your employer will then file for reimbursement with the government on the Government-Paid Leave (GPL) Portal. This must be done within 3 months of your last day of GPPL, and the agency will take around 14 weeks to review the application and return with a decision. If approved, additional instructions may be provided for the reimbursement process.

For those who are self-employed, you will need to submit the claim directly on the Government-Paid Leave (GPL) Portal like the employer above. Similarly, the application will take around 14 weeks to be processed.

 

Government-Paid Paternity Benefits (GPPB)

You will submit your GPPB reimbursement here. To apply for paternity benefit is a little more straightforward. You will be required to fill out relevant information, and an official will then contact you to guide you through the rest of the process.

 

Additional Resources

To help plan and to calculate how much you are eligible for, check out the Paternity Leave Reimbursement Calculator and Paternity Benefit Contact Number.