Leave in Singapore

Managing employee leave entitlements is a crucial aspect of workforce management in Singapore. The country’s robust labor laws, primarily governed by the Employment Act, set out clear guidelines for various types of leave, ensuring fair treatment and work-life balance for employees. Understanding these statutory requirements is essential for employers to remain compliant and foster a positive working environment. While the Employment Act provides minimum standards, many companies choose to offer more generous leave benefits as part of their employee value proposition.

Navigating the specifics of annual leave, public holidays, sick leave, and parental leave requires careful attention to detail, especially as entitlements can vary based on factors like length of service and employee type. For companies operating in Singapore, whether local or international, adhering to these regulations is not just a legal obligation but also key to effective talent management and operational efficiency.

Annual Vacation Leave

Employees covered by the Employment Act are entitled to a minimum number of days of paid annual leave. This entitlement increases with the employee’s length of service with the same employer.

Years of Service	Minimum Annual Leave Entitlement (Days)
1	7
2	8
3	9
4	10
5	11
6	12
7	13
8 or more	14

Annual leave entitlements are pro-rated for employees who have not completed a full year of service. Employers and employees should agree on when leave is to be taken. Unused annual leave can typically be carried forward or encashed based on company policy or mutual agreement, subject to the Employment Act’s provisions on forfeiture if not taken within a specified period (usually 12 months after the end of the year in which the leave is earned).

Public Holidays

Singapore observes 11 gazetted public holidays each year. Employees are entitled to a paid day off on these holidays. If a public holiday falls on a rest day, the following working day is a paid holiday. If an employee is required to work on a public holiday, the employer must pay them an extra day’s salary or grant them a day off in lieu, depending on the agreement or collective agreement.

Here are the public holidays for 2026:

Date	Day of the Week	Holiday Name
January 1	Thursday	New Year’s Day
February 17	Tuesday	Chinese New Year
February 18	Wednesday	Chinese New Year
April 3	Friday	Good Friday
May 1	Friday	Labour Day
March 21	Saturday	Hari Raya Puasa
May 31	Sunday (observed Mon, Jun 1)	Vesak Day
May 27	Wednesday	Hari Raya Haji
August 9	Sunday (observed Mon, Aug 10)	National Day
November 8	Sunday (observed Mon, Nov 9)	Deepavali
December 25	Friday	Christmas Day

Note: When a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday is observed as the public holiday instead. In 2026, this applies to Vesak Day (May 31, observed Monday, June 1), National Day (August 9, observed Monday, August 10), and Deepavali (November 8, observed Monday, November 9).

Sick Leave Policies

Employees are entitled to paid sick leave if they have served the employer for at least three months and have obtained a medical certificate from a registered doctor or dentist. The number of paid sick leave days an employee is entitled to depends on their length of service.

Years of Service	Paid Sick Leave (Non-hospitalisation)	Paid Sick Leave (Hospitalisation)
3 months	5 days	15 days
4 months	8 days	30 days
5 months	11 days	45 days
6 months or more	14 days	60 days

The entitlement for paid sick leave (hospitalisation) includes the entitlement for paid sick leave (non-hospitalisation). For example, an employee with one year of service is entitled to a total of 60 days of paid sick leave, of which up to 14 days can be for non-hospitalisation.

Parental Leave

Singapore provides various types of parental leave to support working parents.

Government-Paid Maternity Leave (GPML)

Eligible mothers are entitled to 16 weeks of GPML if their child is a Singapore citizen and they meet eligibility criteria (e.g., employed for a continuous period before birth). The government co-funds the maternity leave pay, with the employer paying the employee their gross rate of pay during the leave period and then claiming reimbursement from the government. For the first two confinements, the government pays for the 9th to 16th week, capped at a certain amount per week. For the third and subsequent confinements, the government pays for all 16 weeks, also capped.

Government-Paid Paternity Leave (GPPL)

Eligible fathers are entitled to 4 weeks of GPPL if their child is a Singapore citizen and they meet eligibility criteria (e.g., married to the child’s mother, employed for a continuous period before birth). This leave is fully paid by the government, capped at a certain amount per week. Fathers can take this leave within 12 months from the child’s birth.

Government-Paid Shared Parental Leave (GPSPL)

Eligible working fathers are entitled to Government-Paid Shared Parental Leave (SPL) of 6 weeks (children born 1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026) or 10 weeks (children born from 1 Apr 2026). SPL is a standalone government-paid entitlement and is no longer drawn from the mother’s maternity leave. Eligibility conditions apply.

Government-Paid Adoption Leave (GPAL)

Eligible adoptive mothers are entitled to 12 weeks of GPAL if the adopted child is below 12 months old at the point of formal intent to adopt, and other eligibility criteria (including citizenship and service length) are met. The government co-funds the adoption leave pay for the 9th to 12th week for the first two adoptions, capped at a certain amount per week. For the third and subsequent adoptions, the government pays for all 12 weeks, also capped.

Other Types of Leave

Beyond the statutory entitlements, employers in Singapore may offer additional types of leave based on company policy or collective agreements. These can include:

Bereavement Leave: Provided to employees upon the death of a family member. The duration varies by company.

Study Leave: Offered to employees pursuing further education or training relevant to their job. Sabbatical Leave: Longer periods of leave, often unpaid, granted to employees after a significant tenure with the company.

Marriage Leave: Provided to employees getting married. Childcare Leave: Parents of Singapore citizen children below 7 years old are entitled to 6 days of paid childcare leave per year per parent, capped at a certain number of days depending on the child’s age and the parent’s length of service. This is a statutory entitlement.

Extended Childcare Leave: Parents of Singapore citizen children aged 7 to 12 years old are entitled to 2 days of paid extended childcare leave per year per parent, subject to eligibility. This is also a statutory entitlement.

National Service (NS) Leave: Employers are required to grant leave to male employees for National Service duties, such as In-Camp Training (ICT). Employees receive their usual salary from the employer during ICT, and the employer can claim reimbursement from the government. This is a statutory requirement.

While some of these, like childcare and NS leave, have statutory backing, others like bereavement, study, marriage, and sabbatical leave are typically discretionary benefits offered by employers.