THE government will double paid paternity leave from the current two weeks to four from January 2024, and extend unpaid infant care leave for each parent from six days to 12 annually.

The extra two weeks of paid parental leave will be on a voluntary basis for now, with employers who are ready to grant this additional leave to be reimbursed by the government, said Finance Minister Lawrence Wong in his Budget speech on Tuesday (Feb 14).

The voluntary arrangement will give employers more time to adjust, given the existing economic conditions and manpower and operational challenges that many of them face, he added.

“But we will review this over time and intend to make this mandatory in due course,” said Wong.

Married or divorced fathers, whose children are born from Jan 1, 2024, will be eligible to take on this additional two weeks of leave, if their employers allow it.

Those who are self-employed for a continuous period of at least three months will also be eligible for this extra two weeks of leave.

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As for the extension of unpaid infant care leave, each working parent will have 12 days of such leave per year in the child’s first two years. This will apply to eligible working parents with Singaporean children under two years old from Jan 1, 2024.

Employers will have to grant all parents of Singaporean children this additional time off if they have worked for them for a continuous period of at least three months.

The National Population and Talent Division, under the Strategy Group in the Prime Minister’s Office, said that these changes will increase parental leave for a working couple from 22 weeks currently, to up to about 26 weeks in their child’s first year. This includes 16 weeks of maternity leave, four weeks of paternity leave, 12 days of childcare leave and 24 days of unpaid infant care leave.