Social Security
The Central Provident Fund (“CPF”) is a mandatory social security savings scheme funded by contributions from employers and employees, that enables working Singapore Citizens and Singapore Permanent Residents to set aside funds for retirement and addresses healthcare, home ownership, family protection and asset enhancement.
CPF contributions are payable when there is an employer-employee relationship, i.e. a contract of service in Singapore. The amount of CPF contributions would vary depending on the type and the age group of the employee.
Employers are required to pay both the employer’s and employee’s share of CPF contributions every month, and are entitled to recover the employee’s share from the employee’s wages.
Healthcare and Insurances
Employers are required to obtain work injury compensation insurance for:
- all employees doing manual labour, regardless of salary; and
- all employees doing non-manual work, earning a salary of S$2,100 or less a month (this will be increased to S$2,600 or less a month from 1 April 2021).
Additionally, employers who employ work permit and S Pass holders are required to buy and maintain medical insurance coverage of at least S$15,000 per year for each work permit and S Pass employee.
For employees who are not covered by the abovementioned insurance requirements, employers have the flexibility to decide whether to buy insurance for them. However, it should be noted that if those employees make a valid work injury claim under the Work Injury Compensation Act of Singapore, the employer will have to compensate them, regardless of whether they are insured or not.
Required Leave
Holidays and Annual Leave
Employees are entitled to paid public holidays in accordance with section 88 of the Employment Act. An employee who has served an employer for a period of not less than 3 months is entitled to a minimum of 7 days of paid annual leave for the first 12 months of continuous service with the same employer, and an additional 1 day of paid annual leave for every subsequent 12 months of continuous service with the same employer, up to 14 days of paid annual leave.
Maternity and Paternity Leave
A female employee may be entitled to either 16 or 12 weeks of maternity leave, depending on which eligibility criteria is met.
16 weeks of paid maternity leave
To be entitled to 16 weeks of paid maternity leave, a female employee would have to meet the following requirements:
- her child is a Singapore citizen;
- the female employee has served the employer for a period of at least 3 months before the day of her confinement; and
- has given the employer at least 1 week’s notice before going on maternity leave, and informed them as soon as possible of the delivery. Otherwise, the employee is only entitled to half the payment during maternity leave, unless the employee has a good enough reason for not giving the notice.
12 weeks of maternity leave
A female employee who does not meet the requirements for the 16 weeks of paid maternity leave, may be entitled to 12 weeks of maternity leave, if she meets the following requirements:
- the female employee has served the employer for a period of at least 3 months before the day of her confinement; and
- has given the employer at least 1 week’s notice before going on maternity leave, and informed them as soon as possible of the delivery. Otherwise, the employee is only entitled to half the payment during maternity leave, unless the employee has a good enough reason for not giving the notice.
The first 8 weeks of maternity leave will be paid by the employer pursuant to section 76(1A) of the Employment Act, while the remaining 4 weeks of maternity leave will be unpaid if the female employee has less than 2 living children, or if the female employee has 2 or more children (i.e. twins or triplets. etc.) during the first pregnancy.
For the avoidance of doubt, if the female employee has 2 or more living children and the children were born during more than one previous confinement (i.e. not twins or triplets, etc.), the female employee’s 12 weeks of maternity leave will be unpaid.
Male employees may be entitled to 2 weeks of government-paid paternity leave if the following requirements are met:
- his child is a Singapore citizen at birth or a Singapore citizen within 12 months from the date of birth;
- he is, or had been, lawfully married to the child’s mother between conception and birth; and
- he has served the employer for a period of at least 3 months before the birth of his child.
Sickness and Disability Leave
Employees are entitled to paid sick leave if they have worked for at least 3 months with the employer. Where the employee is between 3 to 6 months of service, the sick leave entitlement is pro-rated as follows:
| Months of Completed Service |
Days of Paid Sick Leave (outpatient) |
Days of Paid Hospitalisation Leave |
| 3 |
5 |
15 |
| 4 |
8 |
30 |
| 5 |
11 |
45 |
| 6 and thereafter |
14 |
60 |
Disability leave is not provided for under the laws of Singapore, however the Work Injury Compensation Act may provide for additional medical leave wages in the event of injury.
- Any Other Required or Typically Provided Leave(s)
Employees may also be eligible for adoption leave, shared parental leave, infant care leave, childcare leave and extended childcare leave.
Pensions: Mandatory and Typically Provided
Apart from the CPF, Singapore’s mandatory social security savings scheme (see above), there is no other mandatory pension scheme in Singapore, nor are these typically provided.
- Other Required Or Typically Provided Benefits
Other typically provided benefits include dental coverage and medical insurance coverage, where such coverage is not otherwise required (as listed above).
