Planning maternity leave in Singapore is easier once you know which scheme applies to you, how many weeks you get, who pays for them and how much notice your employer needs. This guide sets out the current rules from the Ministry of Manpower, then looks at the practical side: how to arrange support at home for the newborn weeks, including a live-in helper or confinement nanny.
The answers depend on a few facts: whether your child will be a Singapore citizen, how long you have worked for your employer, and whether you are an employee or self-employed. We go through each in turn and link to the official pages so you can check your own case.
This is general information, not legal advice. MOM updates these pages, and a change announced in 2026 is still being finalised, so confirm the details with your HR department and the official sources before you plan around them.
Maternity leave Singapore rules at a glance: 16 weeks or 12 weeks
MOM’s page on maternity leave eligibility and entitlement explains that a working mother is entitled to either 16 weeks of Government-Paid Maternity Leave (GPML) or 12 weeks of maternity leave, depending on her situation.
16 weeks of Government-Paid Maternity Leave
You qualify for the 16 weeks if all of these apply:
- your child is a Singapore citizen;
- as an employee, you have served your employer for a continuous period of at least 3 months before the birth;
- if you are self-employed, you have been engaged in your work for at least 3 continuous months and have lost income during your maternity leave.
12 weeks of maternity leave under the Employment Act
If your child is not a Singapore citizen, the 12-week entitlement under the Employment Act applies instead, provided you are covered by the Act and have served your employer continuously for at least 3 months immediately before the birth.
If you are thinking of changing jobs during pregnancy, count the months to your due date first.
Who pays for the leave
Under GPML you are paid at your gross rate of pay. How that cost is split between your employer and the Government depends on birth order:
- First and second child: your employer pays the first 8 weeks, and the Government reimburses the employer for the last 8 weeks, capped at $10,000 per 4 weeks, or $20,000 in total.
- Third and later children: the Government reimburses all 16 weeks, capped at $10,000 per 4 weeks, or $40,000 in total.
For the 12-week Employment Act leave, your employer pays your usual salary for the first 8 weeks if you meet the service condition, have fewer than 2 living children at the time of delivery, and gave the required notice. The last 4 weeks are unpaid unless your employment contract says otherwise.
There is a change coming. MOM’s page states that the Government will reimburse employers for the full duration of maternity leave for parents of Singapore citizen children, up to the reimbursement limit. This was announced at the 2026 National Day Rally, and the implementation date and criteria have yet to be released.
Giving notice and choosing when to start
Notice
For GPML, give your employer at least 4 weeks’ notice before you start your leave, or inform them as soon as possible of your delivery. Without this, you are entitled to only half the payment during maternity leave unless you have a good enough reason. For the 12-week Employment Act leave, you need to give at least 1 week’s notice and also inform your employer as soon as possible of your delivery, or the same half-pay rule applies.
How the 16 weeks can be taken
MOM’s guide to planning your leave sets out two options:
- Default: one continuous block of 16 weeks, starting 4 weeks before the birth.
- By mutual agreement with your employer: start any time within 4 weeks before the birth, take the first 8 weeks continuously, and take the last 8 weeks flexibly over the 12 months after the birth.
MOM gives an example of the start window. If your expected delivery date is 7 July, you can start your leave between 9 June and 7 July.
The flexible portion is counted in working days. For the 16-week case it is 8 weeks multiplied by your working days per week, capped at 48 working days. On a 5-day week that is 40 working days, which could be taken as 2 days a week over 20 weeks.
What to agree with your employer
If you plan to take leave flexibly, agree the details with your employer before you go; putting it in writing is sensible. MOM suggests covering how your work performance will be assessed, whether you can switch back to a continuous block, and what happens to flexible leave if you resign.
Your protections during pregnancy and leave
MOM’s page on maternity protections and obligations sets out the key safeguards:
- If you have worked for your employer for at least 3 months and a medical practitioner certified your pregnancy before you received a notice of dismissal or retrenchment, you are protected from dismissal without sufficient cause and from retrenchment during pregnancy. An employer who breaks this must pay the maternity benefits you would have received.
- Your employer cannot dismiss you while you are on maternity leave. Doing so is an offence.
- Your employer must pay your salary during leave as if you had kept working, and must not ask you to work during the first 4 weeks of your confinement.
There is also an obligation on you. You cannot work for another employer during your maternity leave. If you do, you forfeit your maternity benefit and may be dismissed. If you are unsure what maternity benefit Singapore law gives you in your situation, ask MOM directly.
What fathers get, and shared parental leave
Newborn support is easier to plan when you know the whole family’s leave. Under MOM’s paternity leave rules, eligible fathers get 4 weeks of Government-Paid Paternity Leave for children born, or due, on or after 1 April 2025. By default these 4 weeks are taken continuously within 16 weeks of the birth. By mutual agreement with the employer, they can be taken any time within 12 months, as a block or as separate working days.
On top of that, MOM’s shared parental leave page gives 10 weeks of shared parental leave for Singapore citizen children born on or after 1 April 2026. According to MSF’s announcement, it is split equally between both parents by default, the parents can agree to adjust the allocation, and it is taken within 12 months of the birth after the primary leave schemes are used up. MSF says eligible parents can receive up to 30 weeks of paid leave in the child’s first year when all three schemes are combined.
Some couples stagger these weeks so that one parent is home for longer overall, which shapes how much outside help you need and when.
Planning newborn support at home
Leave covers time. It does not cover the nights, the laundry, the meals and the second pair of hands. Many families add help at home, and the main options are a live-in helper, a confinement nanny for the first weeks, or a confinement centre. Our comparison of a confinement lady versus a confinement centre covers the trade-offs.
Start early if you want a live-in helper
Hiring a helper involves several MOM steps, so begin well before your due date rather than in the last month:
- Attend the Employers’ Orientation Programme if you are a first-time employer, at least 2 working days before the Work Permit application. An expectant mother due within 1 month may send a representative.
- Apply for the Work Permit. MOM says processing takes about 1 week through FDW eService.
- Book the arrival steps. A first-time helper must attend the Settling-in Programme within 7 days of arrival, excluding Sundays and public holidays, and complete a medical examination within 2 weeks of arrival.
- Prepare her room. MOM’s accommodation guidelines require adequate space and privacy, and a separate room is ideal.
- Plan her rest days. She is entitled to a weekly rest day, and at least 1 rest day a month cannot be compensated away, even in the busy newborn weeks.
For families with a Singapore citizen child, the levy concession of $60 a month applies from the child’s birth if you are the parent, compared with $300 at the normal rate. Our guide to hiring a maid for newborn care goes into the matching side, and our newborn essentials checklist helps with the home.
We place live-in help for newborn and confinement care, as well as full-time helpers for the longer term. A practical approach is to time the helper’s arrival so that she settles in while one parent is still on leave, giving a few weeks of handover before both parents return to work.
Looking after yourself after the birth
The leave is also recovery time. HealthHub notes that feeling tearful, irritable or anxious in the first days after delivery is common and usually passes, but its postnatal depression page advises seeing your doctor if symptoms persist beyond two weeks. If you have thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, seek medical help immediately. For any emergency involving you or your baby, call 995.
Related guides: Nanny or Babysitter in Singapore? Why Families Pick a Helper and Helper Childcare Routine: How Your Maid Can Help Your Family.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I get 16 weeks of maternity leave if my child is not a Singapore citizen?
No, the 16 weeks of Government-Paid Maternity Leave require your child to be a Singapore citizen, but if you are covered by the Employment Act and have served your employer continuously for at least 3 months before the birth, you are entitled to 12 weeks of maternity leave, with the first 8 weeks paid if you meet the conditions.
I joined my company two months before my due date. Am I eligible?
Under MOM’s rules both the 16-week and 12-week schemes require at least 3 months of continuous service with your employer before the birth, so speak to your HR department early about what your employer will offer and whether any contractual leave applies.
Can I split my 16 weeks of maternity leave?
Yes, by mutual agreement with your employer you can take the first 8 weeks as one continuous block and spread the last 8 weeks flexibly over the 12 months after the birth, capped at 48 working days, while the default without agreement is one continuous 16-week block starting 4 weeks before the birth.
Can I do freelance work while on maternity leave?
Not for another employer, because MOM states that working for another employer during maternity leave means you forfeit your maternity benefit and may be dismissed.
When should we start arranging a helper for the newborn?
Start during the pregnancy rather than in the final weeks, because a first-time employer must attend the Employers’ Orientation Programme before applying for a Work Permit, and a new helper must complete the Settling-in Programme and a medical examination after she arrives.
Conclusion
The core rules are short. If your child is a Singapore citizen and you have at least 3 months of continuous service, you get 16 weeks of Government-Paid Maternity Leave, with flexibility on the last 8 weeks if your employer agrees. Give at least 4 weeks’ notice, and remember your protections and your obligation not to work elsewhere while on leave.
Then map out your partner’s paternity and shared parental leave and the help you will need at home, and start any helper arrangements early.
If you would like help planning live-in support for your newborn’s first months, we are happy to talk it through. You can get in touch with the Femme5 team to discuss your family’s needs, read more about how we work with employers, or explore what a good placement looks like.
The Femme5 Team
Maid placement specialists, Femme5 Maid Agency
Our consultants work with Singaporean and expatriate families on helper matching, contracts and MOM compliance, and we verify the regulatory guidance in our articles directly against the Ministry of Manpower’s published requirements.
