Welcoming a new child into the family can be an exciting and life-changing experience, but it can also bring about a lot of changes and adjustments.
For adoptive parents in Singapore, one of the most crucial things to consider is the leave and pay entitlements that they are eligible for. Most people are familiar with maternity and paternity leave, but adoption leave and pay can be a bit more complicated to understand.
Regardless of whether you’re an employee looking to better understand your rights, or an employer looking to support your employees during this transition, we hope that this information will help you navigate the process with ease. Let’s get started!
What is adoption leave?
Adoption leave is a type of leave granted to employees who have just adopted a child. It allows adoptive parents to take time off from work to care for and bond with their new child, as well as make necessary arrangements for the new addition to their family.
In Singapore, adoption leave is granted to eligible employees under the Child Development Co-Savings Act (CDCA), which outlines the eligibility criteria, duration of leave, and amount of pay that adoptive parents can receive during their leave.
What is a ‘formal intent to adopt’?
The ‘formal intent to adopt’ is an important date used to determine one’s eligibility for adoption leave.
If the child is a Singapore citizen, it is defined as the date when an application for adoption is submitted to the Family Court.
If the child is a foreigner, it is defined as the date when the in-principle approval is granted for the child’s Dependant’s Pass.
How does adoption leave work in Singapore?
Eligible adoptive working mothers (including self-employed mothers) are entitled to the Adoption Leave for Mothers (AL) scheme, while eligible adoptive working fathers can enjoy Government-Paid Paternity Leave and Government-Paid Shared Parental Leave.
There’s also Government-Paid Adoption Benefits, which is aimed at supporting eligible adoptive working mothers (including self-employed mothers) who do not qualify for the Adoption Leave for Mothers (AL) scheme due to their employment arrangements. It applies to those on short-term employment contracts, or in situations where their employment contracts had expired before the adoption of their child.
How much adoption leave are employees entitled to in Singapore?
1. Adoption leave for mothers
Adoptive mothers are entitled to adoption leave if they meet the following criteria:
- The adopted child is below the age of 12 months at the point of the formal intent to adopt;
- The adopted child is a Singapore citizen;
- If the child is a foreigner, one of the adoptive parents must be a Singapore citizen, and the child must become a Singapore citizen within 6 months of the adoption;
- They must have served their employer or been self-employed for a continuous period of at least 3 months immediately before their formal intent to adopt; and
- The adoption order must be passed within 1 year from the formal intent to adopt.
Eligible working mothers are entitled to 12 weeks of adoption leave in total. They can start their adoption leave from the date of the formal intent to adopt, and the adoption leave must be used before the child’s first birthday.
Take note: it’s not mandatory for mums to take the entire adoption leave entitlement in one continuous stretch. They can take their leave as follows:
| Arrangement | 12 weeks entitlement |
| Default, without any mutual agreement | Taken as a continuous stretch, from the date of formal intent to adopt. |
| Flexibly, by mutual agreement | The first 8 weeks must be taken in one continuous stretch, starting any time between the date of formal intent to adopt and the date when the Adoption Order is granted, including both dates.The last 4 weeks can be taken flexibly in days before the child’s first birthday. |
| Calculating working days | 4 weeks X number of working days in the week. Capped at 6 working days per week. |
Employers are required to pay eligible adoptive mothers their usual monthly salary during the leave period, and then claim reimbursement from the government accordingly.
| Child order | Paid by | Cap for Government-paid portion of adoption leave |
| First and second | First 4 weeks paid by employer, last 8 weeks paid by government | $10,000 per four weeks (inclusive of CPF contributions) |
| Third and subsequent | All 12 weeks paid by government | $10,000 per four weeks (inclusive of CPF contributions) |
You can use the Government-Paid Leave calculator to estimate the total amount of reimbursement.
2. Government-paid paternity leave
Adoptive fathers who meet the following requirements are entitled to 2 weeks of government-paid paternity leave (but from Jan 2024 onwards this will be doubled to 4 weeks):
- The adopted child is a Singapore citizen; and
- For employees: they have served their employer for a continuous period of at least 3 months before the date of formal intent to adopt; or
- For the self-employed: they have been engaged in their work for a continuous period of at least 3 months before the date of formal intent to adopt, and have lost income during the paternity leave period.
Take note: it’s not mandatory for dads to take the entire adoption leave entitlement in one continuous stretch. They can take their leave as follows:
| Arrangement | 12 weeks entitlement |
| Default, without any mutual agreement | Taken as a continuous stretch, from the date of formal intent to adopt. |
| Flexibly, by mutual agreement | Taken continuously any time before the child’s first birthday. Split the 2 weeks into working days and take them in any combination before the child’s first birthday. |
| Calculating working days | 2 weeks X number of working days in the week. Capped at 6 working days per week. |
Similar to the reimbursements for adoption leave for mothers, the total reimbursement amount for government-paid paternity leave is capped at $2,500 per week, inclusive of CPF contributions.
3. Government-paid shared parental leave
If a husband and wife mutually agree, the husband can share up to 4 weeks of his wife’s 12-week adoption leave. It must be taken before the child’s 1st birthday, and should be taken in one continuous block or in blocks of weeks.
If the employer and employee mutually agree, the employee can also opt to take the 4 weeks of shared parental leave non-continuously.
An adoptive father who is working or self-employed is eligible for Shared Parental Leave if he meets all the following criteria:
- He has made a joint application with the child’s adoptive mother to adopt the child;
- His wife qualifies for Adoption Leave for Mothers, and she agrees to share her leave with him;
- He is lawfully married to the child’s mother on or before she declares her intention to share her Adoption Leave for Mothers with him;
- If his child is not a Singapore Citizen, either he or his child’s adoptive mother is a Singapore citizen on the Dependent’s Pass issue date; and
- He is not the biological father of the child.
Similar to the reimbursements for adoption leave for mothers, the total reimbursement amount for government-paid shared parental leave is capped at $2,500 per week, inclusive of CPF contributions.
How do employers submit claims for reimbursements?
You have to first obtain the declaration form for adoption leave (AL1) or declaration form for government-paid paternity leave (GPPL1) and supporting documents from your employee, as well as verify their eligibility. The declaration form or records must be kept for 5 years from the last adoption leave or paternity leave date for audit purposes.
Next, submit your claim for reimbursement online via the Government-Paid Leave Portal, no later than 3 months after the last date of your employee’s adoption leave or paternity leave taken.
Lastly, check your application status on the portal. Both you and your employee will receive a notification once the application has been processed.
What if adoptive fathers and mothers don’t qualify for the leave schemes?
If their employment arrangements disqualify them from paternity or adoption leave, such as short-term employment contracts or employment contracts that expired before the adoption of their child, adoptive fathers and mothers will be given cash benefits in lieu of paid leave. This is known as the Government-Paid Paternity Benefit and Government-Paid Adoption Benefit.
The Government-Paid Paternity Benefit is equivalent to 2 weeks of Government-Paid Paternity Leave, based on the father’s average income earned over the 12-month period preceding the formal intent to adopt.
The Government-Paid Adoption Benefit on the other hand, is equivalent to 8 weeks of Adoption Leave for Mothers for the first and second child order, and 12 weeks for the third and subsequent child order, based on the adoptive mother’s average income earned over the 12-month period preceding the formal intent to adopt.
How can employers prepare for employees going on paid adoption leave?
1. Understand the legal requirements
When an employee plans to go on adoption leave, it’s crucial to understand what your obligations as an employer are. You should be familiar with the laws related to paid adoption leave, and ensure that the company is compliant with all relevant laws and regulations.
Ensure that your HR team is aware of the employee’s leave dates to process salary payments accordingly. They should also prepare the necessary documents involved for submission to the relevant government bodies, if applicable.
You should also review and update your policies and procedures related to adoption leave to ensure that they align with legal requirements, and are clear and consistent. They should outline the eligibility criteria, the length of the leave, the amount of pay the employee is entitled to, and any other relevant details.
2. Outline the employee’s duties and responsibilities
Since the employee will be absent from work for a period of time, it’s crucial to outline the tasks they are responsible for, so nothing falls through the cracks when they leave.
Collaborate with the employee to create a detailed handover document or checklist with all their daily tasks and frequent contacts. This helps to provide transparency over their workload and facilitates easy reference when needed. Should you need to contact someone in their absence, this handover document will serve as a source of truth.
3. Create a transition plan
Whenever there are changes within the team, it’s best to create a transition plan to make the entire process as seamless as possible. You need to decide whether you want to hire a new employee to take over the workload temporarily, or redistribute the workload to other team members for the duration of the adoption leave.
This will then determine whether you need to put out a job ad, or create briefing documents and training sessions for the rest of the team to ensure that they are up to speed with everything.
4. Communicate with the team
Communication is everything. It’s best to give the affected team ample notice so they know what to expect, and have enough time to adjust to the new workload, or the new employee.
Be clear about the dates the adoptive mother or father will be absent for, and what changes that entails for the rest of the team. It’s vital to assuage any concerns and answer any pressing questions the team might have, to prevent any frustration or discontentment.
5. Establish a return-to-work plan
Coming back to work after a long period of leave is never easy, so a return-to-work plan with clear, defined steps is incredibly important and beneficial for both the employer and employee.
Include any new updates within the company that they need to be aware of, the resources available for them should they require any help, their employee rights to childcare needs, and the relevant colleagues they should reach out to with regards to reclaiming tasks relevant to their role.
3 ways to support your employees through the adoption process
Check-in with them regularly
Adopting a child is a deeply personal and complex transition for everyone. It may change the new parent’s priorities with regards to career and family. Some employees may also require or request for a more flexible work schedule.
It’s key to check in regularly, to show them that the company is supportive of them and concerned for their wellbeing. Similarly, it also provides employees with an avenue to have open and honest conversations about the new changes in their life, and how well they are coping with it. 1:1 sessions are the perfect way to do so.
Provide flexible working arrangements
When your employee has kickstarted the adoption process, offer flexibility in work hours and schedules to allow them to attend appointments, meetings, and court hearings related to the adoption process.
And if their adoption application is successful, it goes without saying that taking on childcare is a whole new ball game. New parents in particular will be struggling to settle into a new rhythm of doing things, trying to incorporate childcare responsibilities into their daily routine.
Give them the option of working flexibly as much as possible, so they don’t get burnt out or overwhelmed with the stress of having to balance both work and childcare. As the pandemic has shown us — remote working is extremely helpful in empowering parents with the ability to balance parenting obligations whilst developing their careers at the same time.
Create a supportive community and culture within the workplace
Providing parental benefits and having family-friendly policies sets the tone for a more supportive work environment.
Acknowledge and celebrate important milestones in the adoption process, such as when the adoption is finalised, to show support and recognition for your employee’s journey. You can also provide resources such as employee assistance programs (EAPs) or access to counselling services to help employees navigate any challenges they are facing.
Being a working parent is a full-time juggling act. It can be incredibly stressful, difficult and lonely at times. Do you have a working parents support group in the company? If you don’t have one already, it’s about time you started one. It’s always helpful for working parents to share tips, advice, and support each other, so they feel that they have a solid community they can always fall back on.
By creating a caring and supportive culture in the workplace, you allow your employees to enjoy a better work-life balance, feel more comfortable at work, and in turn lead to greater productivity, engagement and work satisfaction.
Employment Hero can help you manage employee leave more effectively
With so many types of employee leave available — maternity leave, paternity leave, adoption leave, compassionate leave and more, it can get overwhelming to keep track of all your employees’ leave entitlements and dates.
But managing leave doesn’t have to be complicated or confusing. All you need is a great software that does the work for you while you reap the benefits of structure, efficiency and productivity. Employment Hero does all that and more for you and your business, with the click of a button.
Say goodbye to mindless admin work — you’ll never be short-staffed again or lose leave requests again!
With our platform, you’ll get notified whenever someone from your team requests leave, view requests for leave, see every employee’s leave balance, see all your team’s leave requests in a calendar view, approve or decline requests with notifications automatically sent to your employee, and have a digital source for all employee leave documentation.
It’s leave management made easy.
