Childcare Leave Singapore: What Employers Pay and What Changes

Childcare leave in Singapore is still 6 paid days a year for each working parent of a Singapore citizen child under 7, and 2 days of extended childcare leave when the youngest child is 7 to 12. The rise to 8, 10 or 12 days announced at the National Day Rally 2026 has no start date yet, so employers apply today's rules: pay the leave, claim back what the Government funds, and expect unused days to lapse on 31 December if the leave year is the calendar year. Plan for requests once school ends on 20 November.

How much childcare leave does an employee get now?

MOM's childcare leave eligibility page (updated 24 August 2026) sets out three cases:

1. Singapore citizen child below 7: 6 days a year of Government-Paid Childcare Leave after 3 continuous months of service, whatever the number of children, up to 42 days per child. The employer pays the first 3 days at the employee's gross rate of pay; the Government reimburses the last 3, capped at S$500 a day including CPF.
2. Youngest Singapore citizen child aged 7 to 12: 2 days of extended childcare leave after 3 continuous months of service, paid by the Government at up to S$500 a day including CPF, and never pro-rated. A parent with children in both age groups still gets at most 6 paid days a year in total.
3. Child who is not a Singapore citizen, below 7: 2 days a year under the Employment Act, paid by the employer, up to 14 days per child.

MOM points employers to the Government-Paid Leave portal for claims.

What happens to unused childcare leave on 31 December?

It lapses. MOM's page on taking childcare leave says unused leave cannot be encashed and "will lapse at the end of each agreed 12-month period". The default period is the calendar year unless employer and employee agree another, such as the financial year. Nor can the leave be:

• transferred to a spouse;
• carried to a new employer;
• used to shorten a notice period. If an employee asks for it while serving notice, the employer is encouraged to grant it, and the days do not extend the notice (see our guide to notice periods in Singapore).

Approval is the employer's call, but MOM strongly encourages granting leave for matters that cannot be postponed, such as immunisation or school registration. No medical certificate is needed.

New hires, leavers and part-timers

• New hires. MOM's pro-rating table lets an employer pro-rate the 6 days in a first year, minimum 2: 3 or 4 completed months give 2 days, 5 or 6 give 3, 7 or 8 give 4, 9 or 10 give 5, and 11 or more give 6.
• Leavers. After at least 3 months' service, the 6 days are pro-rated on completed months in the year of resignation or termination: leaving on 15 March counts two months, so 2 days. The Employment Act's 2 days are never pro-rated.
• Part-timers. Leave converts to hours in proportion to a comparable full-timer's, minimum 2 days for a Singapore citizen child (MOM's part-time formula).

Worked example: one small firm's year-end check (illustrative)

A fictional 12-person fit-out firm in Ubi, run by Siew Ling, works a 5-day week and uses the calendar year for leave. The children are Singapore citizens unless stated. MOM's gross rate of pay formula is 12 × monthly gross pay ÷ (52 × working days a week); gross pay includes contractual allowances but not overtime, bonuses or travel, food and housing allowances.

1. Nurul earns S$3,600 plus a S$300 contractual role allowance, and her only child, a son, is 5. Her daily gross rate is 12 × S$3,900 ÷ 260 = S$180. She has 6 days and has used 2. The firm bears 3 days, S$540 in salary plus its CPF; the last 3 days are paid by the firm and reimbursed, since S$180 a day plus CPF sits well under the S$500 cap. If she does not use them, her 4 remaining days lapse on 31 December.
2. Kumar earns S$5,200; his youngest child is 9. He has 2 days of extended childcare leave, Government-paid up to S$500 a day. At S$240 a day plus the firm's CPF, his pay sits within the cap.
3. Wei Jie joined on 1 August and his daughter is 3. He qualifies from 1 November. If pro-rated, his 5 completed months by 31 December give 3 days, all to be used within two months.
4. Zhang Min earns S$3,250 and her son, 4, is not a Singapore citizen. She has 2 days under the Employment Act, paid by the firm at S$150 a day: S$300, with no reimbursement.

If Kumar and Zhang Min have not used theirs, that is 4 + 2 + 3 + 2 = 11 possible days before 31 December, most likely after 20 November. Siew Ling asks for dates now, not in mid-December.

What did the National Day Rally 2026 change?

The gov.sg summary of the family measures says working parents with children up to 12 years old will each receive more childcare leave: 8 days for one child, 10 for two, and 12 for three or more. The NDR 2026 page lists the related National Population and Talent Division media release as dated 23 August 2026.

For employers the cost matters as much as the days. MOM's childcare leave pages say the Government will reimburse employers for the full duration of childcare leave for parents of Singapore citizen children, up to the reimbursement limit. Its maternity leave page says the same of maternity leave, where today the employer pays the first 8 of the 16 weeks for a first or second child and the Government reimburses the last 8, capped at S$10,000 per 4 weeks. Paternity leave for a child born on or after 1 April 2025 and shared parental leave are already reimbursed for every week, capped at S$2,500 a week.

What MOM has not yet published: the start date, the eligibility criteria and the reimbursement limit that will apply. MOM says details including the implementation date and eligibility criteria "will be released at a later stage". If the new scheme applies as announced, Nurul in the example, with one child, would have 8 days, and her employer could claim back the days it now bears, up to that limit; until MOM confirms the details, neither applies.

Checklist before 31 December

1. Confirm each employee's leave year: calendar year unless you agreed otherwise in writing.
2. Send each parent their balance and a reminder that unused days lapse and cannot be paid out.
3. Plan cover from 23 November, the first working day of the MOE schools' year-end holidays.
4. Grant leave for matters that cannot wait, and record the dates.
5. Check the Government-Paid Leave portal for how and when to claim the reimbursed days.
6. Reset entitlements on 1 January; expect requests for the first school days, 4 and 5 January 2027.
7. Keep 2027 handbooks on the current 6 and 2 days until MOM publishes the new scheme.

See also our guides to public holidays in 2027 and flexible work arrangement requests, and more under operations.

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