How many days of childcare leave do I get in Singapore in 2026?

6 days per calendar year if you have at least one Singapore Citizen child below age 7 (Government-paid childcare leave). Plus 2 days of Extended Childcare Leave if you have a Singapore Citizen child aged 7 to 12. Both are entitlements per parent — both spouses can claim independently.

Who qualifies for the 6 days of childcare leave?

An employee with a Singapore Citizen child below age 7, who has worked for the same employer for at least 3 continuous months, and the parent is also Singaporean OR the parent is a foreigner whose employer participates in the Government scheme. Both biological and legally adopted children count.

Can I take childcare leave in half-days?

Yes, if your employer's leave system supports half-day applications. The 6 days are a maximum of 6 calendar days; half-day usage is allowed and counts as 0.5 days against the cap. Some employers require minimum increments (full day or half day) — check your HR policy.

What is Extended Childcare Leave?

An additional 2 days of paid childcare leave for parents whose youngest Singapore Citizen child is aged 7 to 12 (inclusive of the 12th birthday year). It's separate from the 6-day childcare leave and applies even if you don't have any child below 7. Like the 6-day leave, it's per parent, per calendar year.

Is childcare leave paid by the employer or the government?

Childcare Leave (CCL) days 1–3 are paid by the employer at full salary. Days 4–6 are paid by the employer and then reimbursed by the Government, capped at S$500/day (S$1,500/year). Extended Childcare Leave (ECL, 2 days for parents of children aged 7–12) is paid entirely by the employer with no Government reimbursement.

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Childcare Leave Singapore 2026: 6 Days + Extended 2-Day Eligibility & Pro-Rating

verifiedBy Smart Calculator Editorial·Verified against official .gov.sg sources·11 May 2026

Complete childcare leave guide for Singapore 2026 — government-paid 6 days, extended 2 days for kids 7–12, eligibility, pro-rating, and how to claim.

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Childcare leave is one of the most-used employee entitlements in Singapore — yet many parents miss out on the Extended 2-day leave because they don't realise their child's age band qualifies. The rules look complex but reduce to a simple per-calendar-year framework.

Use the Childcare Leave Calculator to model your exact entitlement based on your child's age and your job-tenure.

The two childcare leave entitlements

Entitlement	Days	Child age	Both parents claim?
Government-paid Childcare Leave (CCL)	6 per year	0 to under 7	Yes — 6 days each
Extended Childcare Leave (ECL)	2 per year	7 to 12 (inclusive)	Yes — 2 days each

If your youngest qualifying child is below 7, you get 6 days CCL. If your youngest qualifying child is 7–12, you get 2 days ECL — not the 6 days.

If you have one child aged 5 and another aged 9, you qualify for the 6-day CCL based on the youngest, plus the 2-day ECL based on the older child. Total: 8 days.

Eligibility requirements

You must satisfy all of these:

Have at least one qualifying child (Singapore Citizen, by birth or legal adoption)
Worked for the same employer for at least 3 continuous months
Be a Singapore Citizen or PR, OR an employee whose employer voluntarily participates in the Government-paid scheme

Foreigners on EP / S Pass: not entitled by default to Government-paid CCL. Some employers extend the entitlement contractually as a benefit, but the Government reimbursement only applies to citizens/PRs.

For ECL specifically: the 2 days are available regardless of citizenship, but the parent must be employed in Singapore.

What counts as a "qualifying child"?

Biological child of the parent (with NRIC of child showing Singapore Citizen / PR status)
Legally adopted child via Singapore court order
Child in legal guardianship of the parent

Step-children (your spouse's child from a prior marriage) generally do not qualify — only children where you are the legal parent or guardian.

Children on Long-Term Visit Pass (LTVP) — typically not Singapore Citizens — do not qualify for Government-paid CCL.

How the leave is paid

CCL Days 1–3: Employer pays at full normal salary. No Government cap on these days at the employee's salary level — the employer absorbs the cost.

CCL Days 4–6: Employer pays the salary, then claims reimbursement from the Government via the Government-paid Childcare Leave (GPCL) scheme. Government reimbursement is capped at S$500/day, so total annual GPCL reimbursement is S$1,500/year. If your daily wage exceeds S$500, the employer absorbs the difference for days 4–6.

ECL Days 1–2: Paid entirely by the employer at full salary. No Government reimbursement for ECL. The annual employer cap reference is S$500/day × 2 days = S$1,000, but this is the upper-bound for the leave's "imputed value" — the employer is contractually obligated to pay actual salary.

Net cost picture for a S$5,000/month employee with one child under 7:

CCL Days 1–3: Employer absorbs ~S$682 (3 × S$227/day)
CCL Days 4–6: Employer pays ~S$682, claims back S$1,500 max — actual reimbursement S$682
Net employer cost for 6 CCL days: ~S$682 (just the first 3 days)

Pro-rating for partial-year employment

If you join an employer mid-year, your CCL is pro-rated. The 6-day CCL pro-ration:

Months worked in calendar year	CCL days
3 months	1 day
4 months	2 days
5 months	2 days
6 months	3 days
7 months	3 days
8 months	4 days
9 months	4 days
10 months	5 days
11–12 months	6 days

The same pro-ration formula applies to ECL (rounded down to whole days).

If you change jobs mid-year, your CCL entitlement at each employer is pro-rated. The total across both employers may be slightly less than the full 6 days because of rounding, but most employers honour the spirit of the 6-day full-year benefit.

How to apply for childcare leave

Notify your employer in advance (most employers require 1–7 days' notice for non-emergency leave).
Submit through HR system — leave application with reason "Childcare Leave".
Your employer verifies the child's age (typically once at on-boarding) — no need to re-verify each application.
Leave is recorded in your annual leave balance.

For ECL, the same process applies. Your employer treats it as a separate leave type or as additional CCL days, depending on payroll system.

Common scenarios

Scenario 1: Both parents working, child age 4.

Father takes 6 days CCL: 6 days off
Mother takes 6 days CCL: 6 days off
Combined family CCL: 12 days

Scenario 2: Parent of child age 9 only.

0 days CCL (child too old)
2 days ECL
Spouse of same parent: also 2 days ECL
Combined: 4 days/year for ECL

Scenario 3: One child age 5, one child age 10.

6 days CCL (youngest is 5)
2 days ECL (older is 10)
Total: 8 days/year per parent
Both parents combined: 16 days/year

Scenario 4: Foreign EP holder, non-Citizen child.

0 days CCL (child not Singaporean)
0 days ECL (same)
May claim contractual childcare leave if employer offers it as a benefit

Year-end cliff

CCL cannot be carried forward to the next calendar year. Use it or lose it. The 6 days resets each 1 January.

This means a parent who hasn't used any CCL by November should plan to use the full 6 days in December — common practice is to take a week off around Christmas / New Year.

Childcare leave vs other leave types

Leave	Days	Government-paid?	Carry forward
Childcare Leave (CCL)	6	Days 4–6 reimbursed (cap S$500/day)	No
Extended Childcare Leave (ECL)	2	Employer-paid, no reimbursement	No
Annual Leave	7+ (per Employment Act floor)	No (employer-paid)	Often yes (max 21 days typical)
Sick Leave	14 (outpatient) + 60 (hospitalisation)	No	No
Maternity Leave	16 weeks	First 8 weeks employer; last 8 Govt-paid	No
Shared Parental Leave	Up to 4 weeks	Government-paid	No
Paternity Leave	4 weeks	Government-paid	No
Adoption Leave	12 weeks (mother)	Government-paid	No

CCL is one of the few that's "use it or lose it" with full pay — making it a practical priority for parents.

Common childcare leave mistakes

Trying to carry over. It's gone if you don't use it by 31 December.
Forgetting the 3-month qualifying period. New employees in their probation period don't qualify; pro-ration starts from month 3.
Not knowing about Extended CCL. Many parents whose only child is over 7 think they have no CCL — but ECL exists.
Assuming foreign children qualify. Government-paid CCL requires Singapore Citizen child for the citizenship-tier of the leave.
Combining CCL with sick leave. They're separate; if your child is sick, take CCL or sick leave (some employers allow).