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Among the biggest announcements made by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong was the introduction of an additional 10 weeks' shared parental leave starting 1 April 2025.
Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong delivered his first National Day Rally (NDR) on Sunday (18 August 2024).
In his speech, he talked about working towards a "refreshed Singapore Dream", one where everyone can "thrive and flourish on our own terms", in ways that are "less prescribed and determined, more open and adventurous."
"Realising our new ambitions will require a major reset – a major reset in policies, to be sure; but also a reset in our attitudes", he affirmed.
Against this backdrop, the PM laid out a few changes and updates that Singapore can expect to see taking place in the coming months and years, to them themes of: the economy, families, housing, and education.
Highlights for employers and HR leaders to note are as follows:
10 additional weeks of shared leave for working parents
As part of Singapore's current parental leave scheme, fathers are eligible for four weeks of paternity leave, while mothers receive 16 weeks of maternity leave. Current arrangements also allow husbands to share up to four weeks of their wife's maternity leave.
However, PM Wong acknowledged that such an approach is "not so ideal", seeing that if fathers take more days, the mothers end up with fewer. To address this, he introduced a new Shared Parental Leave scheme that will replace the current arrangement. With this scheme, parents will be provided with 10 additional weeks of shared leave, which either parent will be able to take.
These additional weeks will be paid for by the government. PM Wong commented: "This is a big change. We have engaged employers and they have asked us for some time to adjust to it."
The scheme will be rolled up in two steps:
- It will start with six weeks provided for babies born from 1 April 2025.
- This will then be increased to 10 weeks one year later.
PM Wong noted: "In other words, fathers have four weeks. Mothers have 16 weeks. On top of that, both have 10 weeks to share between them.
"That is 30 weeks, or about 7.5 months, of paid leave, which parents can take to spend time with their children."
The PM added that he hopes this move will "go some way in reassuring young couples – we are building a Singapore made for families; and we will help you keep a good balance between your working and parenting responsibilities."
On a similar note, effective 1 April 2025, it will be mandatory for employers in Singapore to offer four weeks of paternity leave, up from the current two weeks.
For context, the additional two weeks announced in Budget 2024 are, at the moment, voluntary. With it becoming mandatory, employers will be required to agree if fathers apply for four weeks of paternity leave from1 April next year.
Read the full update on the new schemes here.
New training allowance under the SkillsFuture Level-Up programme
Under the ongoing SkillsFuture Level-Up programme, which was introduced in Budget 2024, mid-career Singaporeans aged 40 and above will receive a SkillsFuture Credit (Mid-Career) top-up of SS$4,000 effective 1 May 2024. This can be used to defray out-of-pocket fees for selected courses that have better employability outcomes.
Building on this, starting in 2025, Singapore will provide a new training allowance under the programme, wherein workers who need to take time off from work to attend full-time training will receive an allowance of up toS$3,000 a month.
According to PM Wong, this will be applicable to every Singaporean aged 40 and above taking full-time courses — and will equal to up to S$72,000 per recipient, each year.
PM Wong added that some of the training allowance will be extended to those taking part-time training, to cover expenses such as fees and book prices. The Ministry of Education is working on this, and more details will be shared once ready.
Launch of SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme
Another new move announced by the PM, also under SkillsFuture, will be to help those who become involuntarily unemployed, for example when they are retrenched or when their companies have been shut down.
He explained: "We have been studying this for some time. Some countries have unemployment insurance.
"But the experience has not always been positive – because after getting a generous benefit, the person might find it more attractive to stay unemployed than to go back to work.
"That is why the government has always been wary about such schemes. But we also know that losing a job is a major setback, which can seriously destabilise workers and their families. And we have to do something – to lessen the strain on those who are affected."
Thus, following a discussion with the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Labour Movement, there will be a new SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme coming up with the focus to support lower- and middle-income workers.
Under this scheme, workers who lose their jobs and who fall into the relevant categories will be provided with temporary financial support of up to S$6,000, over a period of six months. PM Wong stressed: "So we will help you get through the setback and bounce back stronger.
"But you must do your part too! What should you do? Go for training, career coaching, as well as job matching services. These are essential investments that you need to make in yourself to find better jobs."
Manpower Minister Tan See Leng will go into detail about the new scheme in due course.
Photo: Screenshot of live telecast on PMO Singapore's Youtube
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