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Made For Families

Shared Parental Leave

Find out about the Shared Parental Leave scheme, which provides eligible working parents with up to 10 weeks of additional paid leave to share between both parents when caring for their newborn.

Last updated on 21 October 2026
Family with children and newborn at home, surrounded by parenting and caregiving icons

The Shared Parental Leave (SPL) scheme applies for parents of babies born from 1 April 2025. It provides eligible parents with additional paid parental leave to be shared between both parents, on top of existing GPML, AL and Government-Paid Paternity Leave (GPPL) entitlements. This will be implemented in two phases:

  • Eligible working parents with SC children born on or adopted on or after 1 April 2025 are eligible for six weeks of SPL.

  • This will be increased to 10 weeks of SPL for eligible working parents with SC children born on or adopted on or after 1 April 2026.

With the 10 weeks of new SPL, 16 weeks of GPML and four weeks of GPPL, working parents will have a total of 30 weeks of paid leave to care for their children during the infancy stage, when care needs are the greatest. 

Notes: 

  1. The SPL scheme replaces the previous 2013-Shared Parental Leave (2013-SPL) scheme. Please refer to https://www.profamilyleave.msf.gov.sg/schemes/2013-shared-parental-leave (opens in new tab) for further details on the 2013-SPL scheme.

  2. Parents of children with an Estimated Date of Delivery (EDD) that is on or after 1 April 2025, but were born before 1 April 2025, will also be eligible for the new SPL scheme.

Eligibility criteria

  • Working parents who are eligible for GPML, AL or GPPL, will also be eligible for the new SPL scheme. 

Key features of the new SPL scheme

  • Employees planning to take the new SPL must provide their employers with a minimum notice period of four weeks. This notice period allows employers to make covering arrangements for employees on leave. Notwithstanding the notice period, we encourage employees to inform their employers of their parental leave plans as early as possible. Employers and employees can also mutually agree on a shorter notice period if needed. These apply to GPML, GPPL and AL too.

  • By default, the new SPL will be equally allocated between parents (i.e. three weeks per parent from 1 April 2025 – 31 March 2026, five weeks per parent from 1 April 2026). However, parents have the flexibility to discuss and reallocate their share of the leave to each other, based on the caregiving arrangement that is most suited for their families’ needs. Parents who wish to change their SPL sharing arrangement can do so within the first four weeks of their child’s birth via LifeSG (opens in new tab).  Parents who need to change their SPL sharing arrangement after the first four weeks of their child’s birth, can only do so if they have obtained their employers’ agreement.

  • The new SPL should be consumed within the first 12 months of the child’s birth. Parents and their employers should come to a mutual agreement on the leave plans. In the absence of a mutual agreement, parents can take SPL in a continuous block (after GPML, AL or GPPL) within the first 26 weeks of the child’s birth, after giving at least four weeks’ notice.

  • All 10 weeks of SPL will be paid by the Government, up to the prevailing reimbursement cap of $2,500 per week.

Visit https://www.profamilyleave.msf.gov.sg/schemes/shared-parental-leave (opens in new tab) to find out more about the new SPL scheme and FAQs pertaining to it.