Why Increasing Childcare Leave Could Be A Gamechanger For Singapore’s Future

There has been plenty of discussion since the National Day Rally over the Government’s latest support for parents, particularly in the form of more childcare leave. While other measures, such as the new SG Child Support Package and additional ballot chances for families with young children, were largely welcomed or went relatively unnoticed, childcare leave proved more controversial. This led to discussions about whether employees without children may end up taking on more work.

While some of these concerns are valid, such as SME owners worrying about workforce shortages, it is worth taking a step back so we do not miss the bigger picture of what the Government is trying to achieve.

Read Also: 5 Under-The-Radar National Day Rally 2026 Changes Singaporeans You May Have Missed

More Childcare Leave For Parents With More Young Children

Let us start with the current childcare leave entitlements.

Today, working parents with young children receive six days of childcare leave each year under the Government-Paid Childcare Leave (GPCL) scheme if their child is below seven years old. Once the child is aged seven to 12, parents are instead entitled to two days of Extended Childcare Leave (ECL) per year.

These entitlements apply regardless of how many children you have and cannot be stacked. In other words, whether you have one child or four, the maximum childcare leave entitlement remains six days a year if your youngest child is below seven, or two days a year if your youngest is aged seven to 12.

Regardless of your personal views on having children, or whether additional childcare benefits affect equity in the workplace, it is difficult to ignore that the current maths does not quite add up. Having more children naturally increases the number of situations where a parent may need to take time off. There are more chances of a child falling sick, a school closing, or a parent needing to be present.

Thus, the first and most logical change is simply to increase the amount of childcare leave available to parents with more young children.

Moving forward, the new annual childcare leave entitlement per parent will be:

This better reflects the reality that childcare needs generally increase as the number of young children in a family grows.

Childcare Leave Is Really About Helping Parents Continue Working

One important thing to note about childcare leave: You only benefit from it if you are working. This means stay-at-home mothers (SAHM) do not benefit from having more childcare leave, even though they are obviously doing their part in raising children and contributing to Singapore’s fertility rate.

So why structure the benefit this way?

I think the answer is simple. At the risk of overgeneralising, I think the government’s ideal outcome is not just to encourage Singaporeans to have more children, but also to remain employed while having kids.

Many young couples today probably want this too. Most working fathers and mothers want to be involved in their children’s growing-up years while still succeeding in their careers as dual-income families. All else equal, a dual-income family is also likely to be in a better financial position to have more children.

This is why increasing childcare leave, along with childcare subsidies, is a low-key potential game-changer. If working parents can continue earning an income and contributing to the economy while still having enough time and support to raise more children, then part of the cost of these benefits effectively pays for itself. And that’s exactly the win-win situation the Singapore government hopes to achieve.

Could It Backfire?

No policy is foolproof, and there are obviously some considerations.

For years, the government’s approach has largely focused on giving parents more financial support, whether through a larger Baby Bonus, CDA grants or other subsidies. These measures help, but they mainly address one part of the problem: money. The government has also continued to address this through the new SG Child Support Package.

Time is the other major constraint. In Singapore, most of us already lead busy lives even before having children. Once children come along, finding enough time for them becomes even harder. The idea behind more childcare leave is therefore quite simple. If working parents are short on time, give them more of it with the hopes that this will help increase the birthrate.

Time will tell if this helps achieve the policy’s intended outcome of increasing the fertility rate.

Could More Childcare Leave Backfire At The Workplace?

The other way it could backfire is in the workplace.

We have already seen concerns about workforce shortages, as well as unhappiness among non-parents who may feel that they will end up doing more work when their colleagues with young children are away on childcare leave.

The concern is understandable. The fear is that if childcare leave becomes too generous, the workplace may eventually feel the impact.

I think two things can help counterbalance this.

First, moving forward, childcare leave, maternity leave, and paternity leave will be fully funded by the Government. This gives employers more financial support than they have today to manage these absences, including hiring temporary manpower if needed.

Of course, how employers use this support is another question. If they simply pass the extra work to existing employees, some people will naturally be unhappy. But if they use the support properly to bring in temporary help or plan manpower better, then the impact should be more manageable.

Secondly, I think the Government is also betting that employers, particularly in the private sector, will manage this balance themselves. Good employees will remain valuable regardless of whether they are parents. At the same time, leave cannot become so generous that people are technically employed but constantly away while everyone else covers for them. If that happens, then it becomes a moral hazard issue. Personally, I don’t think the current childcare leave entitlement is too generous. 12 days for a parent with three or more children seems reasonable, with parents getting lesser leaves if they have one or two children.

Ultimately, I think the success of more childcare leave will depend less on the number of extra days given, and more on whether workplaces can absorb them without creating resentment. If Singapore can reach a point where parents feel supported without non-parents feeling penalised, then childcare leave can become part of making work and parenthood more compatible for future generations of parents.

Read Also: If Singapore’s Fertility Rate Is An Existential Crisis, Why Must Working Mothers Still Choose Between Their Children And Their Career?

Photo Credit: iStock/AsianDream

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