8 in 10 public sector dads take paternity leave here

About 84 per cent of eligible fathers in the public sector take their paternity leave, higher than the national rate of 53 per cent, said Manpower Minister Josephine Teo in Parliament yesterday.

The public sector utilisation rate is even higher than those in Nordic countries, which are well known for their family-friendly policies and strong support for parenthood, Mrs Teo added.

She did not elaborate on the higher rate in the public service over the private one, but noted that the 53 per cent utilisation rate across all sectors is a sign that Singapore is making very good progress.

The minister was responding to Mr Louis Ng (Nee Soon GRC), who asked whether Singapore can learn from countries such as Denmark and Britain to increase the take-up rate of paternity leave here.

Mrs Teo said that Denmark's paternity leave utilisation was about 70 per cent, and she was told by her Danish counterpart that "there are certain sectors where it is just not considered... to be very acceptable for the men to go on paternity leave".

Mr Ng had also asked whether the Government would consider increasing the period during which the two weeks of government-paid paternity leave could be taken - from within 12 months of childbirth to within 24 months.

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WITHIN 12 MONTHS

Responding to this, Mrs Teo said the Government has no plans to extend the period as the leave is meant to support working fathers in caring for their infants when they are younger and in need of care.

Similarly, maternity leave has to be used within 12 months of childbirth, she added.

After a child turns one, each parent can utilise six days of unpaid infant care leave until the child is two, on top of six days of paid infant care leave that parents can take yearly up till the child turns seven, she noted.

The Government also encourages employers to provide up to four weeks of unpaid leave if employees have children below two years old who need more care, such as for medical conditions.