Dr Robert Yap, president of the Singapore National Employers Federation, said that any enhancements to parental leave provisions should be “balanced with employers’ manpower and operational needs”.
“Taking a phased approach to the new parental leave provisions … would allow both employers and working parents time to adjust to the additional leave and make leave arrangements accordingly, subject to work exigencies,” he noted.
In his Budget speech, Mr Wong said that increasing government-paid paternity leave on a voluntary basis would give employers more time to adjust, especially considering the existing economic conditions as well as manpower and operational challenges.
Mr Wong further noted that take-up rates of Government-paid paternity leave were low when it was first introduced a decade ago. Today, more than half of fathers take it.
Mr Kurt Wee, president of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, said it is important for businesses to support their country’s national policy, especially since the Government is paying for the additional paternity leave.
He added: “For enterprises to support this, I don’t think it’s going to be an issue.
“From SMEs’ perspective, they tend to be family-centric with their HR policy, and give and take here and there to make that time.”
Ms Anna Low, head of personal tax and global mobility services at KPMG in Singapore, said that the extent to which employers take up the scheme will be influenced by developments in the talent market as well as economic circumstances.
She added: “The Government can also consider how to progressively introduce the paternity leave scheme, for example, first to mid- to large-cap companies that may have more manpower resources than smaller entities.”
WHAT SMALL FIRMS SAY
Mr KC Kwa, chief executive officer of HR software firm JustLogin, said that it will begin offering four paid weeks of paternity leave to employees from next year.
“We understand some companies may face challenges in implementing this policy from the start, in the context of the tight labour situation today,” he added.
“However, since it can be taken flexibly over 12 months, it should be acceptable to most SMEs given that the salary cost will be reimbursed by the Government.”
Mr Kwa said that as an HR software solution provider, his firm will also help its customers to adopt the new guidelines when they are ready to do so.
Training provider APACSMA said that on top of additional paternity leave, the Government should encourage and incentivise companies to adopt work-from-home and hybrid arrangements – something that the firm offers to its employees.
This will allow fathers to spend more time with their children and support their families, said its founder and CEO Zeenath Kuraisha.
“We follow the Ministry of Manpower’s stipulated rules regarding paternity leave regulations. The increase in paternity leave will be very helpful for fathers to not only support their wives but also allow more time to bond with their children,” he added.