To allow a working mother (employee and self-employed), to have more time to recover from childbirth and care for her newborn, maternity leave will be extended from the current 12 weeks to 16 weeks with effect from 31 October 2008 for all births as long as the working mother meets all the eligibility criteria as stipulated in the Children Development Co-savings Act (CDCA).
For the first 2 confinements, the first 8 weeks of maternity leave will continue to be paid by the employer. For the third and subsequent confinements, the Government will pay for the full 16 weeks of salary. The reimbursement from the Government will be capped at $10,000 per 4 weeks ie $20,000 for the first 2 confinements and $40,000 for the third and subsequent confinements. The employer should continue to pay the mother for the duration of the maternity leave and claim reimbursement from the Government after the employee had fully consumed the 16 weeks of leave.
If there is mutual agreement between the employer and employee, the last 8 weeks of maternity leave (9th to 16th week) may be taken flexibly over a period of 12 months from the birth of the child. Otherwise, the last 8 weeks of leave must be taken as a block immediately after the first 8 weeks (continuous period of 16 weeks).
Similarly, for a self-employed mother, she may choose to go on 16 weeks of continuous maternity leave or take the first 8 weeks of leave continuously and the last 8 weeks of leave (9th to 16th week) flexibly over a period of 12 months from the birth of the child.
For more information on the scheme, please visit our website at http://www.profamilyleave.gov.sg.
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