Some also said they already provide flexible work arrangements so that their employees can better balance family and professional commitments.Employers can choose to grant the additional two weeks of leave on a voluntary basis and will be reimbursed by the Government, with the scheme to be made mandatory in due course, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said in his Budget speech.
“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. 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.
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. The company will begin providing four weeks of paid paternity leave from next year onwards, said its chief human resources officer Sheela Parakkal.