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Shared Parental Leave

Shared Parental Leave (SPL) is a pool of Government-paid leave that can be shared between both working parents. It is designed to support parents in caring for their child during infancy, and must be taken within 12 months of the child's date of birth.

The total SPL entitlement depends on the child's date of birth:

Child's Date of Birth Total SPL Entitlement
Between 1 Jul 2017 and 31 Mar 2025 (both dates inclusive) Up to four weeks of the mother's Government-Paid Maternity Leave, shared with the father – see 2013 SPL scheme
Between 1 Apr 2025 and 31 Mar 2026 (both dates inclusive) Six weeks, shared between both parents
From 1 Apr 2026 onwards Ten weeks, shared between both parents

Children born before 1 April 2025 with an EDD on or after that date

Parents of children with an Estimated Date of Delivery (EDD) on or after 1 April 2025, but who were born before 1 April 2025, are also eligible for the new SPL scheme.

Eligibility

Click below to read more about the requirements:

For the child.

An employee qualifies for SPL if their child:

  • Is born on, or has an Estimated Date of Delivery (EDD) on or after 1 April 2025; and
  • Is a Singapore Citizen (SC) at birth, or becomes an SC within 12 months of the date of birth (inclusive).

SPL and Singapore Citizenship

SPL may be taken only on or after the date the child obtains Singapore Citizenship.

For the parents.
  • Mothers: All mothers are eligible for SPL, including widowed and single mothers.
  • Fathers: A father is eligible if he is, or had been, lawfully married to the child's mother at any point between conception and birth, or within 12 months of the child's date of birth (inclusive).
For employment.
  • Employees: The employee must have served their employer for a continuous period of at least three months before the birth of their child.
  • Self-employed: The employee must have been engaged in their work for a continuous period of at least three months before the birth of their child, and have lost income during their SPL period.
For adoptive parents.

Adoptive parents are also eligible for SPL, provided that:

  • The date of the formal intent to adopt is on or after 1 April 2025;
  • The child is below 12 months old on the date of formal intent to adopt;
  • The child is a Singapore Citizen (if not, at least one adoptive parent must be a Singapore Citizen); and
  • Employees: The adoptive parent has served their employer for at least three continuous months before the date of formal intent to adopt.
  • Self-employed: The adoptive parent has been engaged in their work for at least three continuous months before the date of formal intent to adopt, and has lost income during their SPL period.

Thresholds for adoptive parents

For adoptive parents, the six-week and ten-week thresholds apply based on the date of formal intent to adopt, not the child's date of birth.

If the employee does not meet the eligibility criteria

If an employee does not qualify for SPL, they may still be entitled to benefits under the Shared Parental Leave Benefit (SPB) scheme, administered by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF).

Sharing Arrangement

By default, SPL is split equally between both parents:

  • Six-week entitlement: three weeks per parent
  • Ten-week entitlement: five weeks per parent

Parents can choose a different arrangement to suit their family's caregiving needs. The preferred sharing arrangement should be set when registering the child's birth on LifeSG.

Changes to the sharing arrangement can be made up to four weeks after the child's birth via the "Manage SPL sharing arrangement" service on LifeSG. After this four-week period, any changes require mutual agreement between each parent and their respective employer.

Taking the Leave

Notice: Employees must give at least four weeks' notice before taking SPL, unless the employer agrees to a shorter notice period.

How it can be taken:

  • By default, SPL is taken as one continuous block within the first 26 weeks of the child's birth.
  • By mutual agreement with the employer, SPL can be taken non-continuously (i.e. split into separate periods) within 12 months of the child's birth.

Order of leave: SPL should be taken after Government-Paid Maternity Leave (GPML) or Government-Paid Paternity Leave (GPPL) has been fully utilised.

Pay and Reimbursement

Employers pay the employee's regular salary during SPL. The Government reimburses employers for the SPL weeks allocated to the employee, capped at $ 2,500 per week (inclusive of CPF contributions).

If the employee holds multiple jobs, this cap applies across all their jobs combined.

Employers and self-employed parents can submit reimbursement claims via the Government-Paid Leave (GPL) Portal, no later than three months after the last day of SPL taken.

Setting Up SPL in SimplePay

To learn how to set up SPL as a leave type in your company, see the Company-Wide Leave Settings help page.

Further Information