Complete Leave & Workforce Rights Guide for Singapore 2026

Singapore's Employment Act covers most rank-and-file and managerial employees earning up to certain salary thresholds, and a separate set of protections under Part 4 covers workmen earning up to $4,500 and non-workmen up to $2,600. For everyone else not covered by the Act, your contract governs. But Singapore's labour framework goes well beyond the Employment Act — government-paid leave schemes administered by MOM and IRAS cover maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, and childcare leave, and these apply to a much wider pool of working parents. Knowing what you are entitled to, when it kicks in, and how to claim it is the difference between leaving money and time on the table.

The Three Tiers of Leave in Singapore

Singapore organises leave into three tiers, each with its own legal source and funding mechanism.

Statutory leave under the Employment Act. Annual leave, sick leave, hospitalisation leave, and public holidays. The Employment Act sets the floor; contracts can offer more. The employer pays the cost.

Government-paid leave schemes. Maternity (16 weeks), paternity (4 weeks from April 2025), adoption (12 weeks), shared parental (1–6 weeks, phased in 2024–2026), and childcare (3 days employer-paid, 3 days government-paid). MOM and IRAS administer the funding; eligibility requires Singapore Citizen child and continuous service criteria.

Contractual leave. Anything else your employer offers — exam leave, marriage leave, compassionate leave, sabbaticals, birthday leave. Not legally mandated. Read your contract.

The interaction between tiers is where most disputes happen — for example, can you take annual leave to extend government-paid maternity leave? Yes, with employer agreement. Can the employer force you to use annual leave during a slow period? Generally yes, with reasonable notice, but they cannot prevent you from taking statutory paid leave.

Annual Leave: The Employment Act Floor

Annual leave entitlement under the Employment Act starts at 7 days in the first year of service and scales up by one day for each additional year of service, capping at 14 days from year 8 onwards.

Years of completed service	Statutory minimum days
1	7
2	8
3	9
4	10
5	11
6	12
7	13
8+	14

Qualifying period. You must complete 3 months of continuous service to qualify for annual leave. Leave earned in your first incomplete year is pro-rated based on completed months.

Accrual mechanics. Annual leave is earned ratably across the leave year. If your company runs a 1 Jan–31 Dec leave year and you join on 1 July with a 14-day entitlement, you earn 7 days for that calendar year. Use the Annual Leave Calculator to model pro-rated entitlement based on join date or resignation date.

Carry-forward. Up to 12 months of unused leave can be carried forward, after which it lapses unless your contract says otherwise. Many MNCs allow longer windows or unlimited carry-forward with encashment.

Encashment on resignation. Unused leave at the date of resignation must be paid out at your gross daily rate. Use the Incomplete Month Salary Calculator to verify your final paycheck calculation.

Most professional and managerial roles in Singapore offer 14 to 21 days, with senior management often receiving 25 to 28 days. The Employment Act minimum is just that — a minimum.

Maternity Leave: 16 Weeks Government-Paid

Working mothers of Singapore Citizen children are entitled to 16 weeks of paid maternity leave under the Government-Paid Maternity Leave (GPML) scheme administered by MOM.

Eligibility requirements:

• Child is a Singapore Citizen at birth
• Mother is legally married to the child's father (or is a single unwed mother — separate scheme applies)
• Mother has served at least 3 months of continuous service with the employer immediately before delivery (or has been self-employed for at least 3 months and lost income during maternity)

Funding breakdown. For the first two confinements:

• Weeks 1–8: Employer pays full salary (capped at $10,000 per 4-week tranche)
• Weeks 9–16: Government reimburses the employer (subject to cap)

For the third and subsequent children, the entire 16 weeks are government-funded from week 1.

Taking the leave. The 16 weeks can be taken in one continuous block, or split with employer agreement: 8 weeks before/around delivery and the remaining 8 weeks within 12 months post-birth (in single-week blocks). The Maternity Leave Calculator models claim amounts and tax treatment.

Non-citizen child. If your child is not a Singapore Citizen at birth, you fall back on the Employment Act's 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave (8 of which are paid if you have served the employer for at least 3 months). This is materially less generous than GPML.

Paternity Leave: 4 Weeks from April 2025

Government-Paid Paternity Leave (GPPL) doubled from 2 to 4 weeks for births on or after 1 April 2025. This was one of the most significant family-policy expansions in years.

Eligibility:

• Child is a Singapore Citizen
• Father is or was legally married to the child's mother (between conception and birth)
• 3 months continuous service before child's birth

Structure. Default is 4 continuous weeks, taken within 12 months of the child's birth. With employer agreement, the leave can be split into shorter blocks (typically by working week). The Paternity Leave Calculator shows reimbursement amounts.

Funding. All 4 weeks are reimbursed by the government to the employer (capped at $2,500 per week including CPF). Employers must continue paying CPF on the leave wages.

The shift in policy. Pre-April 2025, paternity leave was 2 weeks default with an optional Shared Parental Leave week. From 2025, paternity leave was simplified to 4 weeks default and Shared Parental Leave became a separate scheme (see below).

Shared Parental Leave: Phasing in 2024–2026

Shared Parental Leave (SPL) allows working parents of Singapore Citizen children to share a portion of leave between them. The scheme is being rolled out in phases:

• April 2025: 6 weeks of SPL available to parents of children born on or after 1 April 2025 — shared between the mother and father, each parent entitled to default 3 weeks (transferable with mutual agreement).
• April 2026: Full SPL entitlement increases to the planned 10-week target.

How it works. SPL is government-paid. Either parent can use their share within 12 months of the child's birth. The father can use his portion in addition to his 4 weeks of paternity leave — so a father can effectively take up to 7 weeks of paid leave (4 paternity + 3 SPL default) in the child's first year.

Practical effect. A working couple with a 2025 newborn can now access roughly 16 (mother) + 4 (father) + 6 (shared) = 26 weeks of combined government-paid parental leave — among the most generous in Asia.

Always check the latest MOM guidance, as the SPL roll-out timetable and reimbursement caps continue to be refined.

Childcare Leave and Extended Childcare Leave

Working parents of Singapore Citizen children below age 7 are entitled to 6 days of paid childcare leave per year — capped per parent, not per child.

Funding: 3 days are paid by the employer; 3 days are reimbursed by the government (capped at $500/day including CPF for the government-paid portion).

Extended Childcare Leave (ECCL): Parents of children aged 7 to 12 (inclusive) get 2 days per year, fully government-paid (also capped at $500/day).

Combined leave for parents of multiple children. Even if you have several children under 7, the cap is 6 days per parent per year. The Childcare Leave Calculator shows entitlement and reimbursement breakdowns.

Single mothers / fathers. Unwed parents with a Singapore Citizen child below 7 receive 6 days of paid childcare leave (4 government-paid, 2 employer-paid).

Unused childcare leave does not carry forward — use it or lose it within the calendar year.

Notice Period and Termination

The Employment Act prescribes minimum notice periods based on length of service, applicable when no notice period is stated in the contract:

Service period	Minimum notice
Less than 26 weeks	1 day
26 weeks to less than 2 years	1 week
2 years to less than 5 years	2 weeks
5 years and above	4 weeks

In practice, most contracts override these with longer fixed periods — 1 month is standard for non-executive roles, 2–3 months for managerial, and 3–6 months for senior leadership.

Payment in lieu of notice (PILON). Either party can waive the notice period by paying the equivalent salary. If you resign and want to leave immediately, you must pay your employer the value of the notice period; if your employer terminates you and waives notice, they pay you. CPF is payable on PILON. Use the Notice Period Calculator to compute the gross PILON amount.

Termination with cause (gross misconduct, criminal acts) requires no notice — but the employer must conduct due inquiry. Wrongful dismissal claims also go through TADM.

NS Make-Up Pay and ICT Leave Protections

NSmen called up for In-Camp Training (ICT), Mobilisation, or Operations are protected under the Enlistment Act. Your employer cannot dismiss you for performing NS duties.

Make-Up Pay (MUP). If your civilian salary exceeds your NS pay for the ICT period, the government tops up the difference — paid via the employer through the NS Portal. Employers reclaim the top-up amount, so the cost to the company is effectively only the lower of the two.

Leave treatment. ICT days do not deduct from annual leave. Your employer must allow you to attend NS duties; refusal is a criminal offence.

The ICT Leave Calculator shows expected Make-Up Pay for any rank and ICT duration.

Bottom Line

Singapore's labour framework rewards employees who know what they are entitled to. The Employment Act sets the floor — 7 to 14 days of annual leave, 14 days of sick leave, and statutory notice periods — but the more valuable benefits sit in the government-paid leave schemes: 16 weeks of maternity, 4 weeks of paternity, 6 weeks of shared parental, and 6 days of childcare leave for SC children.

Start with the Annual Leave Calculator for your accrual and pro-ration, the Maternity Leave Calculator and Paternity Leave Calculator for parental claim modelling, and the Notice Period Calculator for resignation math. For final-month payroll, the Incomplete Month Salary Calculator handles pro-rated salary and unused leave encashment. If a dispute arises, file with TADM within the statutory time bar — and verify the latest scheme rules at mom.gov.sg before submitting any claim.