14 Types of Leave Every HR in Singapore Should Know
Click here for the Malaysia version of this guide.
No matter the reason, we need a break from time to time. This is why leave from work is so important. Certain types of leave are mandated by law, while others are offered at the employer’s discretion.
It is important to note that leave policies in Singapore are regulated by the Ministry of Manpower and employers are required to comply with these regulations. Employees who have questions or concerns about their leave entitlements should raise these with their employer or contact the Ministry of Manpower for advice.
In this article, we describe 14 types of leave that every HR practitioner in Singapore should know. Not all of these types of leave are mandated by law. Nevertheless, having a clear, defined leave policy plays a huge role in attracting talent, retaining employees, and promoting a positive work environment.
Annual Leave
Employees who have completed three months of service are entitled to annual leave. This allows them to take time off work for rest and recreation. The statutory minimum entitlement for annual leave is 7 days a year during an employee’s first year of service. As their length of service increases, they are entitled to more days of annual leave.
If an employee takes a half-day of leave, strictly speaking it is still considered a full-day’s leave under Singapore law. However, employers do have the discretion to treat it as half-day leave under company policy.
Replacement Leave
If an employee has to work on weekends or on a public holiday, employers may elect to provide the employee an additional day's pay in lieu of the holiday, or to grant them an additional day’s holiday to be taken at any time. This is known as replacement leave or off in-lieu.
Sick Leave
Sick leave, or medical leave is provided to employees who are unable to work due to illness or injury. Employees who have been employed for at least 3 months are eligible for 14 days of outpatient medical leave per year, while those who have been employed for more than two years are eligible for up to 16 days per year.
To claim sick leave, employees have to notify their employer within 48 hours of their absence from work. Upon returning to work, a medical certificate (MC) issued by a registered doctor or dentist certifying the employee to be unfit for work should be presented.
If an employee falls sick while on annual leave, they can discuss with their employer whether to cancel their annual leave and take sick leave instead. This is at the employer’s discretion and is not mandatory.
Hospitalization Leave
Aside from outpatient sick leave, employees are also entitled to 60 days of paid hospitalization leave. This also includes the 14 days of outpatient sick leave.
An employee is entitled to paid hospitalization leave when the employee:
- Is undergoing day surgery and has to be warded
- Requires bed rest (e.g. post-pregnancy)
- Needs further medical treatment post-discharge (e.g. after a serious accident resulting in physical injury)
- Is quarantined under law (e.g. during an infectious pandemic)
Maternity Leave
In Singapore, the government not only mandates a minimum period for parental leave, it also reimburses employers through the Government-Paid Leave program for giving employees parental leave. This generous support for working parents is the result of concern over work-life balance and stresses on young families.
Thus, new mothers are eligible for a minimum of 12 weeks of maternity leave. But if the child is a Singaporean citizen, the mother is entitled to 16 weeks of government-funded leave through the Government-Paid Maternity Leave (GPML) programme. This entitlement also applies to single or unmarried mothers.
Paternity Leave
Paternity leave was introduced to recognize the important role that fatherhood plays in a newborn’s life.
Similar to new mothers, working fathers are also entitled to two weeks of government-funded leave through the Government-Paid Paternity Leave (GPPL) programme. The baby must be a Singaporean citizen, and father in question must be married to the child’s mother.
Adoption Leave
Similar to maternity and paternity leave, adoptive parents are entitled to up to 12 weeks of government-funded adoption leave.
For an adoptive mother to be eligible for adoption leave, the adopted child must be a Singaporean citizen below the age of 12 months. If the child is a foreigner, one of the adoptive parents must be a Singaporean citizen, and the child must become a Singaporean citizen within six months of the adoption.
Adoptive fathers are also eligible for GPPL if the adopted child is a Singaporean citizen.
Childcare Leave
Under the Government-Paid Childcare Leave (GPCL) policy, eligible working parents can get six days each of childcare leave per year, per child. To be eligible for GPCL, the following requirements must be fulfilled:
- The child is below seven years old.
- The child is a Singaporean citizen.
Childcare leave cannot be encashed or carried forward to the following year.
There is also the option of taking extended childcare leave of two days per year if the youngest child is between seven to 12 years old.
National Service Leave
According to the Enlistment Act, all male Singapore citizens and permanent residents are obligated to perform national service (NS) unless they are exempt. After completion of full-time NS, they may be called up at any time to perform several days’ worth of training to remain operationally ready, until the age of 50 years (for officers) or 40 years (for other ranks).
This of course entails an absence from work which the employer must grant.
Emergency Leave
For work planning and approvals, a leave request is typically needed several days in advance. In the event that this is not possible, emergency leave is designed to allow workers to take a brief absence from their jobs in order to attend to urgent personal matters.
Naturally, companies discourage such absences. Therefore, they can only grant two or three days of emergency leave each year. Any additional absences will probably result in unpaid leave or a reduction in the employee's allotted annual leave.
There is no legal requirement to give emergency leave.
Compassionate Leave
Compassionate leave is granted to employees who need time off work due to the death of a close family member or for other compassionate reasons. The amount of compassionate leave available to employees depends on their length of service and the circumstances of their leave.
There is no legal requirement to give compassionate leave.
Study Leave
When an employee is enrolled in a brief course that is deemed to be useful to the company, study leave is typically offered. If an employee is pursuing a certification that will advance their knowledge and/or professionalism in their line of work, such leave might also be approved.
There is no legal requirement to give study leave.
Volunteer Leave
Volunteering time off is becoming more and more common among employees who wish to help the community and give back to society. At the same time, companies also seek to emphasise their social ideals and commitment to improving the world.
In light of this, an increasing number of businesses now offer paid time off for employees to participate in charitable endeavours. To encourage more employees to engage, such initiatives can also be incorporated into the company’s corporate social responsibility plan.
There is no legal requirement to give volunteer leave.
Unpaid Leave
Employees may need to take time off for myriad reasons, even if they don't have enough paid leave days available. Or, they might choose to take a sabbatical from work.
In this situation, the employer can provide the employee the option of taking unpaid leave. There is a lot of flexibility in how the unpaid leave policy is carried out, depending on the employer. Some employers may offer up to six months of unpaid leave, while others may not grant this option.
Manage Leave Easily with BrioHR
If you’re looking to manage leave policies for your business, BrioHR helps you get started in a fuss-free, user-friendly way. BrioHR’s leave function is mobile-ready so employees can apply for leave wherever they are, and managers can also approve them easily.
With a secure, scalable, user-friendly platform, BrioHR covers the entire employee journey from recruitment to onboarding, payroll and claims, to performance and analytics, and more.
This enables business owners and HR teams to truly focus on what matters most – people.
Visit briohr.com and get a free demo now.
