Bill to amend Child Development Co-Savings Bill introduced towards family-friendly policies at the workplace
29 July 2021
On 5 July 2021, the Child Development Co-Savings (Amendment) Bill (“Bill”) was introduced for first reading in Parliament. The changes in the Bill seek to ensure that more working parents with Singaporean children benefit from family-friendly policies at the workplace.
This Bill seeks to amend the Child Development Co-Savings Act for various purposes including:
- Allow parents of a stillborn child who satisfy certain eligibility criteria to qualify for certain Government-paid leave and benefits (except for childcare leave, extended childcare leave and unpaid infant care leave);
- Introduce Government-paid adoption benefits and Government-paid paternity benefits to enhance support for parents with children who are Singapore citizens and satisfy certain eligibility criteria;
- Enhance financial support for working parents with children by providing certain Government-paid benefits if their employment is terminated on the ground of redundancy or by reason of any reorganisation of an employer’s profession, business, trade or work;
- Streamline the administration of payments and reimbursements under the Child Development Co-Savings Act by simplifying how some of the limits on such payments and reimbursements are determined;
The Bill also makes related amendments to the Employment Act.
By way of background, the Ministry of Social and Family Development conducted a public consultation on these changes in July 2021.
Reference materials
The Child Development Co-Savings (Amendment) Bill is available on Singapore Statutes Online sso.agc.gov.sg.