SINGAPORE – Less than a fifth of self-employed parents claimed government-paid childcare leave between 2019 and 2022.

Of the approximately 31,100 self-employed parents each year who are eligible for government-paid childcare leave, an average of 5,400 requested such leave each year.

And of the 25,300 eligible self-employed parents each year, only 1,400 requested extended childcare leave.

Government-paid child care leave provides up to six days of leave to eligible working parents with children under the age of seven, while extended child care leave provides two days of leave to those with children between the ages of seven and 12. Self-employed parents receive up to $1,500 and $1,000 per year in these benefits, respectively.

Minister of Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli gave these figures in his written response to Parliamentary Candidate Jean See’s parliamentary question on 13 November on the numbers of freelancers and self-employed people entitled to each state paid leave scheme. Who presented the allegations?

Mr Masagos said the estimates given were based on household and labor force survey data.

Self-employed people consist of people aged 15 and over who are self-employed, employers or contributing family workers.​

Mr. Masagos said the number of self-employed people includes eligible freelancers as survey data did not differ between the two groups.

Freelancers will similarly need to have been engaged in a particular trade, business, profession or occupation for a continuous period of at least three months and have lost income by ceasing to be actively engaged during the furlough period to be eligible for State paid assistance. Forget the schematics.

Between 2019 and 2022, an average of 1,000 eligible self-employed mothers applied for government-paid maternity leave.

In the same period, an average of 1,200 of the 4,100 self-employed fathers who were entitled to state-supported paternity leave applied for this leave.

Mr Masagos said data for 2023 was not yet available.

He said the Government was working with its tripartite partners – the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the National Employers’ Federation of Singapore – to raise awareness of the various Government-Paid parental leave schemes for eligible individuals, including the self-employed and self-employed.

For those needing more specific advice, Mr Masagos said the Government had partnered with NTUC to hold webinars and clinics at NTUC’s Freelancers and Self-Employed Unit Center to guide them through the leave repayment process.

“We will continue our efforts to encourage the launch of our parental leave programs,” he said.