Debated in Parliament on 5 Apr 2021.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Prime Minister whether there are any specific studies conducted in Singapore that show that increasing a person’s childcare leave entitlement will lead to a decrease in their employability.
The Government has enhanced childcare leave provisions over the years to provide more support to working parents. In 2008, we increased Childcare Leave from two to six days per year for parents with children aged below seven years of age. In 2013, we introduced two days of Extended Childcare Leave per year for parents with children aged 7 to 12. Parents continue to receive their pay when they take childcare leave, with the Government reimbursing employers for three out of six days of Childcare Leave1 and all of the Extended Childcare Leave.
Many factors affect the employability of working parents, and it would be challenging to isolate childcare leave as the only variable. It is especially challenging to prospectively assess the impact of future childcare leave enhancements on the employability of parents. Nonetheless, feedback we have received through consultations with the tripartite partners suggests that we need to be cautious about the potential impact of enhancing leave schemes. Employers have expressed concerns that more mandatory leave provisions will affect business costs and operations, and reduce the employability of those workers who are more likely to use these leave provisions. Therefore, we must carefully examine the impact on parents and employers, when considering whether to enhance legislated parental leave schemes.
Beyond legislation, it is important for employers to provide a work environment that helps all employees to manage their work and family responsibilities. In the past year, 93% of employers have provided some form of flexible work arrangement (FWA). Working from home during the pandemic has helped workers meet both their work and family needs, and enabled more employers to recognise that FWAs are workable. During public consultations by the Ministry of Health on support for caregivers of seniors, caregivers have also indicated that FWAs were more sustainable than leave provisions in helping them meet their work and caregiving commitments.
The Government, together with unions and employers, introduced a Tripartite Standard on Flexible Work Arrangements in 2017, and a Tripartite Standard on Unpaid Leave for Unexpected Care Needs in 2018, to establish good practices that all employers should implement to support their employees’ personal or caregiving responsibilities. As employers and employees become more accustomed to FWAs, the tripartite partners will look into ways to further entrench FWAs in our workplaces, to better support all employees, including working parents with caregiving responsibilities.
PAPERCUTS