Childcare holds immense significance in maintaining a healthy work-life balance, particularly for parents. Recognising the importance of supporting parents, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in Singapore offers a range of leave options, including extended childcare leave. 

In this comprehensive guide, we will equip you with the essential knowledge and insights needed to navigate extended childcare leave in Singapore so that you can effectively extend your support to employees who are working parents and foster a conducive and caring work environment.

What is extended childcare leave?

Working parents in Singapore, whose youngest child is in primary school and holds Singapore citizenship, are entitled to an annual allocation of 2 days of extended childcare leave.

The government covers the cost of these 2 days of extended childcare leave, up to a maximum of $500 per day, inclusive of CPF contributions.

Who is eligible for extended childcare leave?

To qualify for extended childcare leave, your employee must fulfil the following criteria:

• Age of the Youngest Child: Your employee’s youngest child should fall within the age range of 7 to 12 years, both inclusive.
• Singapore Citizenship: Your employee’s child is a Singapore citizen.
• Length of Employment: Your employee must have completed at least 3 months of employment with your organisation.

This also applies to employees who are adoptive or step-parents, as long as they fulfil the above criteria.

Are part-time employees entitled to extended childcare leave too?

Yes, part-time employees in Singapore are also entitled to extended childcare leave, which is adjusted based on their number of working hours.

Here’s the formula to calculate extended childcare leave for part-time employees:

(Number of hours a part-time employee has to work per week × 52 weeks) / (Number of hours a similar full-time employee has to work per week × 52 weeks) x 2 days of extended childcare leave x Number of hours a similar full-time employee has to work a day

Example:

A part-time employee works 5 hours a day for 3 days per week, while a similar full-time employee works 8 hours a day for 5 days per week.

Number of hours the part-time employee works per week = 5 hours/day x 3 days/week = 15 hours/week

Number of hours the full-time employee works per week = 8 hours/day x 5 days/week = 40 hours/week

Using the above formula, we have:

(15 hours/week x 52 weeks) / (40 hours/week x 52 weeks) x 2 days x 8 hours/day

= 6 hours 

Therefore, the part-time employee would be eligible for 6 hours of extended childcare leave.

This provision ensures that part-time employees can still benefit from extended childcare leave in proportion to their working hours, allowing them to balance their childcare responsibilities effectively.

Tip: Looking to hire part-time employees? Learn everything you need to know in our guide to hiring part-time employees in Singapore!

How can my employee apply for extended childcare leave?

To apply for extended childcare leave, the employee must submit the completed declaration form (GPCL1) along with all required supporting documents to the employer. The application should follow the employer's designated leave application procedures.

How do I claim extended leave reimbursement as an employer?

1. Obtain the declaration form (GPCL1) and supporting documents from your employees and verify their eligibility for extended childcare leave.
   • The declaration form must be kept for 5 years from the last day of the relevant period for audit purposes.
2. Submit your claim for reimbursement online via the Government-Paid Leave (GPL) Portal no later than 3 months after the last day of the 12-month period.
3. Check your application status on the GPL Portal. A notification will be sent to you and your employee once your application is processed.

Tip: Find out how you can support your employees who are working parents in our guide “Maternity, paternity and childcare leave in Singapore - What every employer must know”

Simplify employee leave tracking with Payboy’s HR and payroll software!

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) often find leave management to be a pain point, and we can understand why:

• SMEs don’t have as much HR resources as larger businesses. As a result, they often have to rely on manual leave processes, which can be both time-consuming and error-prone.
• SMEs often have a more limited pool of employees to choose from when someone goes on leave. This can lead to disruptions in workflow and decreased productivity.

If leave isn't managed properly, it can have a negative impact on productivity and morale. Therefore, good HR software is an essential tool for any business that wants to stay on top of its leave entitlements and ensure its employees are getting the rest they deserve. 

Here are some benefits of using our leave management module:

Manage leaves digitally

Our leave management module is designed to streamline the leave management process, making it easy for employees to apply for leave and check leave balances, as well as for employers to approve and manage leave requests.

Employees can also easily submit supporting documents or certificates via the mobile app, so that all the documents are stored in a central database. No more missing documents!

Sync seamlessly with Shift Scheduling and Payroll Processing modules

Shift scheduling and payroll calculation can be time-consuming and stressful while managing different leave types and requests. With Payboy HR software, when leaves are approved, the employee’s availability will be automatically updated in the Shift Scheduling module, and any encashed or unpaid leave will be calculated in the Payroll Processing module. 

Customise the leave policy that best fits your business needs

We'll provide you with a MOM-compliant setup to start with, but we are also ready to assist you in customising your leave policy to fit your business requirements. Check out how to customise settings for each leave type with Payboy!

Our Payboy Support Centre also helps to address most of the FAQs regarding other statutory leave entitlements asked by our customers:

• Carry-Forward Leave & Leave Balance for the New Year
• How to encash leaves for resigned employee(s)?
• How does Payboy calculate leave encashment?

Introduce Payboy's enhanced leave management module for childcare leave

We are excited to announce the latest upgrade to Payboy's Leave module, specifically designed to simplify the process of granting this childcare leave benefit to your employees who are working parents while ensuring compliance with the prescribed guidelines by MOM.

With this new upgrade, you can now effortlessly assign:

• the number of childcare leave days to your employees based on their children's citizenship, and
• 2 days of extended childcare leave for employees whose youngest child’s age is between 7 and 12 years old (inclusive).

Say goodbye to manual calculations and paperwork and embrace the convenience of our upgraded leave module! Learn more about how you can assign childcare leave to your employees in our Payboy Support Centre!

Streamline your HR processes with Payboy today!

As a PSG-approved HRMS, Payboy provides a robust system to help you manage your HR tasks so that you can focus on your business and people!

With our wide range of modules, you can customise a solution to meet the specific needs of your business:

Payroll Processing | Leave Management | Claims Management | Applicant Tracking

Time Attendance | Shift Scheduling | Appraisal System | Inventory Management

Project Costing | Training Management | Benefits