As a working parent, you are entitled to 12 days of unpaid infant care leave a year if your child is a Singapore citizen.
Eligibility
You are eligible for infant care leave without pay if you meet all the following requirements:
- Your child is below 2 years of age at any time during the 12-month relevant period mutually agreed upon between you and your employer. This includes legally adopted children or step-children.
- Your child is a Singapore citizen (or obtains Singapore citizenship at any time during the relevant period).
- You have served your employer for a continuous period of at least 3 months.
Entitlement
From 1 January 2024, unpaid infant care leave has been raised from 6 days to 12 days per parent per year for each eligible parent. This means that each parent will have 12 days of unpaid infant care leave per year, in the child's first 2 years, regardless of the number of children.
If your child is a Singapore citizen and below the age of 2, you are entitled to 6 days of paid childcare leave in addition to 12 days of unpaid infant care leave.
A parent is not eligible for more than 24 days of unpaid infant care leave in respect of any child.
The 12 days of unpaid infant care leave can be taken in the 12-month
relevant period mutually agreed upon between you and your employer. If there is no mutual agreement, the default 12-month relevant period will be the calendar year (1 January to 31 December of the year).