As part for his speech for the Child Development Co-Savings (Amendment) Bill, Louis delivered the following in support for paternity leave.

Louis: But this Bill does not just talk about mothers. It also emphases the important role fathers play. Research at the University of Bergen has shown that and I quote, "A sensitive and attentive father has a positive influence on a child's development, but only if he spends a considerable amount of time with his child during its first year". This research is part of a major project at The Norwegian Centre for Child Behavioural Development.

And the researcher's advice was simple and I quote again, "Try to get leave from work in order to spend as much time as possible with your child during its first year. But above all; make sure you spend high quality time with your child."

The amendments in this Bill seek to provide this by allowing employers to claim reimbursement from the Government for the extra week of paternity leave. Subsequent amendments to this Act, as the Minister has mentioned, where the second week of paternity leave will be legislated, will further strengthen this.

But I urge the Government to do more, to not just do more in providing financial grants which is important but also do more in helping to ensure that both fathers and mothers have the chance to spend more time with their children.

The Government is now writing this next and brand new chapter in this journey and we now need employers and fathers to join us.

Minister Tan had previously stated that in 2013, only 28% of fathers took up the Government-paid Paternity Leave; in 2014, the figure was 36%. These figures are clearly not encouraging.

And I sincerely hope that employers will not only grant the fathers their paternity leave but also actively encourage them to take it. My appeal for fathers, speaking up as a father, is that you will not regret spending time, quality time with your children in this amazing journey called parenthood. This is a journey that changes your life that makes you a better person and this is a journey your children need you to play an active role in.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development for each year in the past five years (a) what is the median number of days of paternity leave taken by fathers; and (b) what is the median number of days of shared parental leave taken by fathers.

Mr Desmond Lee (MSF): The median number of days of Government Paid Paternity Leave (GPPL) and Shared Parental Leave (SPL) taken by fathers who took at least one day of GPPL or SPL in the last five years is shown in Table 1 below.

In 2013, we introduced one week of GPPL and one week of SPL. To better support families, in 2015 the Government encouraged companies to offer eligible fathers a second week of GPPL. In 2017, it was made mandatory for companies to offer the second week of GPPL. SPL was also increased from one to four weeks.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development for each year in the past five years, what percentage of fathers did not take any Government-Paid Paternity Leave and Shared Parental Leave respectively.

Mr Desmond Lee (MSF): Government-Paid Paternity Leave (GPPL) and Shared Parental Leave (SPL) were both introduced in 2013 to support fathers in playing a bigger role in child-raising. Since 2017, fathers have been eligible for two weeks of GPPL (doubled from one week previously), and up to four weeks of SPL (increased from one week previously), shared from their spouse's Maternity Leave. 

The estimated percentages of fathers who did not take at least one day of GPPL or SPL in the last five years are shown in Tables 1 and 2 below. 

The percentages are based on records of employers who have submitted claims for the leave taken by their employees, and the pool of eligible fathers based on working status of fathers as declared at the point of application for Baby Bonus. 

The take-up of GPPL increased between 2013 and 2017. More than half of eligible fathers took GPPL in the 2017 cohort. The GPPL take-up for 2018 will likely increase further as fathers can take paternity leave up to one year after their child's birth, and employers then have up to three months after the leave was taken to submit claims. Consistent with the experience of other countries, fewer fathers take SPL than GPPL. Nevertheless, SPL provides parents the option to manage their caregiving arrangements flexibly.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis asked the Prime Minister whether the Ministry will consider implementing recommendations from the "Stay-at-home Fathers" study conducted by an Institute of Policy Studies researcher, especially the recommendation that exclusive, non-transferable paternity leave should be increased.

Mrs Josephine Teo (for the Prime Minister): Mr Speaker, fathers play an important role in their children's development. International studies have shown that when fathers are more involved, their children have better physical, cognitive and emotional developmental outcomes. Greater paternal involvement in the home also helps mothers to stay active in the workforce. Local research has shown that Singaporean fathers are playing a more active role in care-giving and family responsibilities. This is encouraging.

We have progressively increased parental leave for fathers over the years to better support working parents and help fathers to play an active role in caring for their children.

In 2017, we increased paternity leave and shared parental leave to two and four weeks respectively. This took into account feedback from some parents that shared parental leave was helpful in allowing fathers and mothers to decide flexibly how best to care for their child, based on their own family circumstances. Today, fathers can tap on eight weeks of leave in their child's first year, almost double the amount compared to five years ago.

We are glad to see that more fathers are using their paternity leave, with take-up rates increasing from 25% in 2013 to 53% for recent cohorts. Our priority should therefore be to encourage and enable more fathers to take their paternity leave before considering further enhancements. We are also mindful of the need to carefully balance the needs of parents with the concerns of employers over the needs at the workplace.

The Government will continue to identify ways to better support parents in managing their work and family responsibilities, such as by promoting the adoption of flexible work arrangements, and working with employers and community partners to strengthen attitudes and norms in support of fatherhood.

The study by the Institute of Policy Studies recognised that fathers' roles are also shaped by societal norms. MSF partners non-profit organisations such as the Centre for Fathering to promote the "Dads for Life" and "Mums for Life" movements in schools, workplaces and the wider community. These movements go a long way in driving mindset shifts among employers, colleagues, friends and families, to give greater recognition and support to the important roles fathers and mothers play in the lives of their children. The Government will continue to work with business and community partners to promote greater paternal involvement.

Louis: Can I just get the Ministry's response to the IPS study, which said that our policies actually continue to signal that childcare is a woman's responsibility and that they reinforce this gender stereotype. Two, whether we are going to review the Shared Parental Leave policy as well, which was one of the IPS recommendations? Third, the IPS was a very small scale study. I am wondering whether PMO or MSF can do a larger scale study to really look into this issue?

Mrs Josephine Teo: Thank you, Mr Speaker. I think the IPS researchers have done a serious piece of work. They are entitled to putting forward a point of view. We do not necessarily agree or disagree with them. But we can look specifically at their proposals and in that regard, the policies are never static. They are continuously being reviewed and continuously being enhanced where there are opportunities to do so. But at different junctures, we would have to look at what is of greater priority. And for these, the Government itself conducts surveys; the Government itself engages with different groups.

What the groups have told us very clearly is that in addition to all the things that we are doing on parental leave, it is also important to address workplace norms, and actually, more importantly, we have to make alternatives available to the families. The alternative that is available in today's context of nuclear families, smaller families and also because grandparents are working, is, "Please do more with regard to pre-school". And that is what we have put a lot of emphasis on.

As to what could change in the future, can we perhaps even strengthen it more, I think that would be a relevant question for further review.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis asked the Prime Minister whether the Government will consider increasing the period during which Government-Paid Paternity Leave may be consumed from within 12 months of childbirth to within 24 months of childbirth.

Mrs Josephine Teo (for the Prime Minister): Mr Speaker, fathers play an important role in their children's care and development. For this reason, we have progressively increased parental leave provisions to support fathers in caring for their children. Today, fathers can tap on up to eight weeks of leave in the year after their child's birth, including two weeks of paternity leave and four weeks of shared parental leave.  

Similar to maternity leave, paternity leave should be consumed within 12 months of childbirth, as it is meant to support working fathers in caring for their infants when they are younger and in need of more care. For this reason, we have no plans to extend it to 24 months of childbirth. This is also in line with international practice where parents are typically required to consume maternity and paternity leave within a few months or up to a year after the child's birth. This is the practice in many countries such as Denmark, United Kingdom and South Korea.

After the child turns one, parents can continue to tap on other forms of leave support. This includes six days of unpaid infant care leave per parent per year until the child turns two, on top of six days of paid childcare leave, which each parent can take annually until the child turns seven. Together with tripartite partners, we also encourage employers to provide up to four weeks of unpaid leave per year if their employees have children below two years old who need more care, for example, due to medical conditions. This is a provision under the Tripartite Standard on Unpaid Leave for Unexpected Care Needs, which I must thank the Member Mr Louis Ng for helping to bring about.

Beyond leave provisions, the Government will continue to work with employers to better support parents in managing their work and family responsibilities. This includes promoting the adoption of flexible work arrangements and encouraging more family-friendly practices at workplaces.

Louis: Thank you, Sir. I thank the Minister for the reply. I think what was shocking for me was that in 2018, 65% of fathers in Singapore did not even take one day of paternity leave. I am just wondering whether the Ministry is looking into this further, whether we are looking at Denmark, UK and South Korea – the three countries that the Minister mentioned – what is the take-up rates of paternity leave there and what are they doing that can help increase our take-up of paternity leave.

The second clarification is a suggestion, actually. I understand the default arrangement now is that the fathers have to take their paternity leave within 16 weeks of child birth and he has to take it in a two-week continuous block. For any other arrangement, they would need the employers' consent. I am just wondering whether we can make the default arrangement that the fathers can take it anytime within the 12 months of child birth and they do not need to take it in a continuous block. Maybe then, there will be an increase in the number of fathers taking up the paternity leave.

Mrs Josephine Teo: Mr Speaker, I thank the Member for his supplementary questions. The figure of 65%, if I recall correctly, is within a certain period of reporting. What happens is that you need the employers to have submitted the claims in order for the true picture to emerge. So, usually, fathers have one year after the child's birth to take leave and employers have three months after the fathers take leave to submit the claims. So, I would take that 65% in context.

The Member asked about the experience in other countries. It is actually very interesting. I still recall visiting Denmark, one of the Nordic countries that is very well-known for its family-friendly policies as well as, overall, very strong support for parenthood. If my memory serves me right, I was myself, quite surprised that their paternity leave utilisation was just about 70%, not higher than that. So, I asked my counterpart to explain to me why this was so. I recall quite distinctly being told that even in a country like Denmark, there are certain sectors, where it is just not considered at the workplace to be very acceptable for the man to go on paternity leave. That is the reason why, even for them, the paternity leave is not closer to 100%. 

It is quite the case for also a country like South Korea. Paternity leave utilisation is around 3%, very low.

What these countries experiences suggest to us is that workplace norms, how accepting the co-workers are and also the employers are, for paternity leave utilisation, that is still something that is being worked on. 

In the Singapore context, actually we have been making very good progress. Today, the paternity leave utilisation is about 53%, that is not too bad. Within the public sector, the utilisation rate is even higher, about 84%. So, within the public sector, the utilisation already surpasses some of the Nordic countries.

What can we do? I think a change of norms, which is something I see happening to a very large extent. You see very many more fathers are involved in the raising of their children. Can we encourage employers to be even more supportive? I think the answer is yes.

If I may just make an observation. This is, I think the fifth time you have asked the question about paternity leave in as many months. So, we are happy to answer your slightly different questions. I hope that you are equally happy with our slightly different answers. During the COS, where we get a chance to deal with marriage and parenthood in a more comprehensive manner, I think we can have a fuller exchange. So, I seek the Member's indulgence for us to take the rest of your questions together in the COS. 

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis asked the Prime Minister (a) whether the Government has conducted a study into why fathers are not taking their paternity leave; (b) if so, what are the results of the study; and (c) if not, whether it will consider doing so.

Mrs Josephine Teo (for the Prime Minister): The Government has studied the barriers to fathers using their paternity leave, which can be taken within a year of the child's birth, through focus group discussions and interviews with fathers from a range of backgrounds.

Our research showed that most fathers are keen to use their paternity leave and play a bigger role in child-raising. Across different types of jobs and companies, the key factor affecting fathers' utilisation of paternity leave is workplace support. This includes whether supervisors are adequately assuring that using paternity leave will not affect fathers' career prospects and that colleagues are willing to cover fathers' duties in their absence. The influence of workplace norms on paternity leave take-up is similar to other East Asian societies, such as South Korea and Japan, where take-up rates of paternity leave are less than 10%.¹

Even though workplace norms take time to change, we have seen encouraging progress. Our paternity leave take-up rate has risen from 25% in 2013² to 53% in recent cohorts. In the public sector, the majority of fathers (84%) take paternity leave. Even in Nordic countries where paternity leave has been implemented much earlier, the take-up rates are around 70% to 80%.³ More employers in Singapore are also adopting the Tripartite Standards on Flexible Work Arrangements and Unpaid Leave for Unexpected Care Needs, to support their employees in managing their work and family responsibilities.

A whole-of-society effort is needed for fathers to feel supported in taking time-off from work to spend time with their children. We will continue to work with employers and other community partners such as the Centre for Fathering to provide better support for parents and promote greater paternal involvement in child raising.

¹ Source: Statistics from South Korean and Japanese newspapers and national statistics websites.  
² Statutory Paternity Leave was introduced in 2013.  
³ Source: International Network on Leave Policies and Research (2019), OECD (2019).  

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Ministry will consider allowing Government-Paid Paternity Leave (GPPL) to be taken in shorter durations such as half-days or hours.

Mr Desmond Lee (MSF): Fathers play an important role in their children’s care and development, and paternity leave supports fathers in caring for their newborns. As fathers may have different work arrangements, the two weeks of paternity leave can already be taken flexibly, in durations shorter than one day, if there is mutual agreement between employers and employees.

Beyond leave provisions, the Government encourages and provides support for employers to implement the Tripartite Standards on Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs) and Unpaid Leave for Unexpected Care Needs, to develop a more family-friendly work culture. Parents may tap on such arrangements to care for their children as well. 

We will continue to work with tripartite partners to encourage companies to better support parents in managing their work and family responsibilities.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis asked the Prime Minister whether the Government will consider incentivising fathers to take their Government-Paid Paternity Leave (GPPL) by providing additional leave to couples which can be used by either the mother or father where the father has consumed his full entitlement of GPPL.

Mrs Josephine Teo (for the Prime Minister): Fathers play an important role in their children's care and development. As more fathers play an active role in raising their children, the take-up rate of paternity leave has risen from 25% when it was first introduced in 2013, to 53% for recent cohorts. 

As mentioned in a recent response to Mr Louis Ng's Parliamentary Question on barriers to fathers taking paternity leave, our research showed that fathers' utilisation of paternity leave is dependent on workplace support, especially from supervisors and colleagues. As such, giving fathers additional leave may not help to raise the take-up rate of paternity leave. Instead, it is especially important for us to work together to shape more supportive workplace norms and culture for parents. 

When considering further enhancements to leave schemes, we also have to balance support for parents with employers’ concerns over manpower needs at the workplace. This is especially so in times of business uncertainty. 

Beyond leave provisions, the Government encourages employers to adopt the Tripartite Standards on Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs) and Unpaid Leave for Unexpected Care Needs. The Ministry of Manpower's Work-Life Grant also provides funding support for employers to implement FWAs. These practices are helpful to parents in caring for their children and make for a more family-friendly workplace. We will continue to work with tripartite partners to encourage companies to better support parents in managing their work and family responsibilities. 

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Factors that Led to Higher Percentage of Eligible Fathers in Public Sector Taking Paternity Leave Compared to Private Sector

Louis asked the Prime Minister (a) what are the factors that have led to a higher percentage of eligible fathers in the public sector taking their paternity leave as compared to the private sector; and (b) how will the Ministry help the private sector achieve a higher uptake of paternity leave.

Mrs Josephine Teo (for the Prime Minister): A study commissioned by the National Population and Talent Division in 2019 found that most fathers in Singapore want to use their paternity leave and play a bigger role in child-raising. However, across different types of jobs and companies, a key factor affecting fathers’ utilisation of paternity leave is workplace support from supervisors and colleagues. 

 The healthy social norm in the Public Service where the majority of fathers (84%) already take paternity leave is self-reinforcing: it helps fathers feel assured about taking paternity leave, and contributes to the high take-up rates in the public sector.¹ One of the key reasons for this social norm is that fathers from the public sector generally have supervisors and colleagues who are supportive of them taking paternity leave.

 A whole-of-society effort is needed to support fathers to be more active in parenting, and to take time-off from work to spend time with their children. We will continue to work with tripartite partners, employers and community partners, to strengthen attitudes and norms in support of fathers taking paternity leave to care for their children.

¹ The take-up rate in the public sector was 84%, higher than the overall take-up rate of 53% for recent cohorts.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Default Arrangement for Fathers Taking Paternity Leave in Any Combination Within 12 Months After Birth of Child without Mutual Agreement from Employer

Louis asked the Prime Minister whether the Ministry will change the default arrangement of taking paternity leave so that fathers can split the two weeks of paternity leave into working days and take them in any combination within 12 months after the birth of the child without mutual agreement from the employer.

Mrs Josephine Teo (for the Prime Minister): Fathers play an important role in their children's care and development, as partners to their wives in raising the family. The default arrangement to consume two weeks of paternity leave within 16 weeks after delivery allows fathers to play their part in caring for their newborns, during this time when the family's caregiving load is higher. Without this default arrangement, it may be difficult for fathers to be excused from work for an extended period. The consumption of parental leave in a continuous block soon after birth is also practised in other countries such as France, Spain and the United Kingdom.

For those who wish to take it flexibly, the two weeks of paternity leave can already be taken in days within a year from the child's birth, if there is mutual agreement with their employers. This arrangement recognises that fathers have different work arrangements, and balances support for fathers to take their leave flexibly with employers' manpower needs.

Beyond leave provisions, the Government encourages and provides support for employers to implement the Tripartite Standards on Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs) and Unpaid Leave for Unexpected Care Needs, to develop a more family-friendly work culture. Parents may tap on such arrangements to care for their children as well. 

We will continue to work with tripartite partners to encourage companies to better support parents in managing their work and family responsibilities, including being understanding when fathers take paternity leave for their caregiving needs.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis delivered his budget cut on Provide All Fathers with Paternity Leave at Committee of Supply 2022.

Louis: Paternity leave is important for our nation. An NUS study found that children whose fathers take paternity leave are significantly less likely to have behavioural issues. The study also found that these families have less internal conflict, lower likelihood of maternal depression, more marital satisfaction and more father-child closeness. The case for paternity leave cannot be stronger. 

However, the study also found that fathers in more labour-intensive jobs such as machine operators and cleaners were half as likely to take paternity leave as fathers working as legislators, senior officials and managers. We need to do more to help lower-income fathers take their paternity leave. Why should they be denied the time to spend with their babies? 

Can the Government conduct a targeted study on the barriers to taking paternity leave for lower-income workers, look into policies to increase their usage of paternity leave and also look into incentivising employers who support their employees to take their paternity leave.

Ms Indranee Rajah (The Minister, Prime Minister's Office): Mr Louis Ng suggested incentivising employers to increase usage of paternity leave, particularly among lower-income workers and providing childcare sick leave for all working parents. 

I fully agree that parents need more flexibility and time away from work to care for their children. Our research on the experiences of fathers' use of paternity leave shows that across different types of jobs and companies, a key factor affecting the level of utilisation is workplace support. This includes whether supervisors are supportive of fathers taking leave and whether colleagues are willing to cover their duties.

In some labour-intensive jobs, employers may be less willing to let fathers go on extended leave due to the challenge of finding covering arrangements. In such situations, employers could exercise more flexibility in fathers' utilisation of paternity leave, such as taking the leave in more than one period within their child's first year, to minimise disruptions to business operations.

We will consider Mr Ng's feedback, continue to review the scope for more parental leave provisions and work with employers to encourage their utilisation.

However, supporting the caregiving needs of parents must be balanced with the manpower and operational needs of employers, particularly our Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), some of whom may still be grappling with the effects of the pandemic. Instead of legislating more childcare leave, the Government aims to lead by example and encourage employers to follow suit by exercising more flexibility and extending childcare leave where possible.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis asked the Prime Minister whether the Government will (i) study the doubling of paternity leave by several multinational companies in Singapore to examine the effect on employability, productivity and family relationships of the employees in these companies and (ii) consider doubling the paternity leave for all fathers.

Ms Indranee Rajah (for the Prime Minister): Madam Deputy Speaker, international research shows that paid parental leave, which includes paternity leave, benefits employers in terms of talent attraction, employee retention and productivity. Paternity leave is also associated with stronger relationships between fathers and their children, as well as with their wives.

The Government has progressively enhanced parental leave schemes to better support parents and particularly fathers in playing a bigger role in raising their children. In 2017, we made the second week of Paternity Leave mandatory and increased Shared Parental Leave from one to four weeks. Fathers can now take up to eight weeks of leave in total in their child’s first year, to bond with their newborns and care for their wives.

However, supporting the caregiving needs of parents must be balanced with the manpower and operational needs of employers, as I had explained in my Committee of Supply speech last week. A more sustainable approach is for companies to develop a family-friendly culture. We are heartened that some companies in Singapore are leaning forward to offer additional paternity leave, on top of legislated provisions. There are also other ways to provide more flexible leave options for staff; many companies have signed up to the Tripartite Standards on Unpaid Leave for Unexpected Care Needs.

We welcome these progressive companies to share their experiences and best practices with other companies. As the needs of companies vary, employers, in partnership with their employees, are best placed to assess and implement the family-friendly arrangements suited to the company’s context. We will continue to work with tripartite partners to review the scope for more parental leave provisions and build a Singapore that is Made For Families.

Louis: Thank you, Madam. I should first say we all welcome Leader of the House back to the House and we are glad she has recovered well. I have two clarifications. One is, I am just wondering whether the Government is going to review our parental leave policy, not overnight, but eventually, try to equalise it? I worry what message we are sending to our society when we say that mothers have 16 weeks of maternity leave and fathers have two weeks. Then, we are saying who is supposed to look after our children. And in line with that, the second clarification is, there are studies now that show that our policies reinforce the gender stereotype. So, I hope the Government can study some of these studies that are out there and also do additional studies to see whether our policies really do reinforce the gender stereotype.

Ms Indranee Rajah: Madam Deputy Speaker, I thank the Member for his clarifications. I would say that we agree that it is very important for fathers to be involved, especially at the early stage when the children are just born, for them to bond with the children and to be there for the wife and the family. As I had indicated at the COS and earlier, we will continue to work with the tripartite partners to review the scope for more parental leave provisions.

I think the key adjustment that we need to make is a mindset change. It is a mindset change partly on the part of fathers, partly on the part of employers. Employers are key. We have found, for example, if we look at the statistics for the taking of parental leave, that there has been an improvement, but it is still not where we want it to be. For example, in 2016, take-up rate was 47%; in 2017, it was 53%; in 2018, it was 53%; in 2019, it was 55%. You can see it is improving, but it is not where we would like it to be.

Firstly, we hope that more and more fathers will see themselves playing a vital role when their children are born and take up the paternity leave. The second part of the equation is also how the employers respond. This is very important because if someone applies for paternity leave and you find that the supervisor is not supportive or the colleagues are not willing to cover, it makes it very difficult for the father to take that paternity leave as well.

That mindset shift is something we are in transition because we see more fathers wanting to be involved; employers need to be on board. Which is why both at COS and now, I am reiterating, as indeed Mr Ng is, that it is actually better for your organisation if you are family-friendly. It is better for your organisation if you support fathers to take paternity leave, and of course, mothers as well. This is something that we need to work with the tripartite partners on. Mr Ng can be reassured that this is an area of work we will continue to look at.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)