Upcoming changes to Child Development Co-Savings Act 2001 on government-paid paternity leave and unpaid infant care leave

30 October 2023

On 19 September 2023, the Child Development Co-Savings (Amendment) Bill (“Bill”) was passed in Parliament. The Bill seeks to amend the Child Development Co-Savings Act 2001 to give effect to the enhancements to parental leave schemes announced at Budget 2023. These include the doubling of government-paid paternity leave and unpaid infant care leave from 1 January 2024.

The following is a brief summary of the changes:

  • Government-paid paternity leave (“GPPL”) and government-paid paternity benefit (“GPPB”): Enhancements to the GPPL and GPPB schemes will be introduced from 1 January 2024. GPPL will be doubled from two weeks to four weeks on a voluntary basis, whereby employers who are ready to grant the additional GPPL to their employees will be reimbursed by the Government. For fathers who are ineligible for GPPL due to their employment arrangements, the GPPB (which is a cash benefit in lieu of the paternity leave) will also be increased correspondingly. These enhancements aim to support fathers to be more involved in child-raising and encourage shared parental responsibilities. These enhancements will apply to fathers of children who are Singapore citizens and where the date of birth, estimated date of delivery, or formal intent to adopt falls on or after 1 January 2024.
  • Unpaid Infant Care Leave (“UICL”): Under the Bill, UICL will be increased from the current six days per parent per 12 months, to 12 days per parent per 12 months. This will apply to eligible parents who have a child who is a Singapore citizen below two years of age on or after 1 January 2024. The parents must have worked for their employers for a continuous period of at least three months.

Reference materials

The following materials are available on Singapore Statutes Online sso.agc.gov.sg and MSF website www.msf.gov.sg: