An Essential HR Guide to Annual Leave in Singapore 2023: Understanding Employee Rights and Employer Responsibilities

How to Pro-rate Annual Leave?

If an employee worked for 3 to 12 months, the annual leave is pro-rated based on the number of completed months they have worked. This applies even if they’re still on probation.

If an employee worked for more than a year, the annual leave is pro-rated based on the number of completed months they have worked in their current year (i.e. from January of the calendar year or the starting month of the financial year of the company).

How Pro-rated Annual Leave Is Calculated?

An employee's annual leave accrual is calculated using this formula: 

• (Number of completed months of service ÷ 12 months) × Number of days of annual leave entitlement

If the fraction of a day is less than one-half, round it down. If it is half or more, round it up to one day.

Bear in mind that in case the employee does not complete a full month of service, the days accumulated for the incomplete month are not taken into consideration under MOM guideline.

For example:

For an employee who started on 14 April 2016 and left on 31 August 2016, the number of completed months of service is:

14 April 2016 to 13 August 2016 = 4 completed months

💡 Note: The period from 14 to 31 August 2016 is not counted because it is not a complete month.

If an employee worked for 4 months and is entitled to 10 days of annual leave, the pro-rated annual leave is:

(4 completed months ÷ 12 months) × 10 days of leave = 3.33 days

Rounded down to 3 days as the fraction is less than 0.5.

Can Annual Leave Be Carried Forward or Encashed in Singapore?

Employees covered under Part IV of the Employment Act, including workmen earning a monthly basic salary of $4,500 or less and non-workmen earning a monthly basic salary of $2,600 or less, are entitled to carry forward any unused annual leave to the next 12 months.

In cases where the accumulated unused annual leave exceeds the statutory entitlements, employees should refer to their employment contract for the company's approach to managing such leave. This may include options like encashment, carry-forward to the next year, or forfeiture.

For employees who are NOT covered under Part IV of the Employment Act, they should review their employment contract to determine the treatment of unused annual leave.

What If the Annual Leave Is Used Up (Unpaid Leave)?

Employees may request unpaid leave, also known as no-pay leave, when they have exhausted their paid annual leave or are not eligible for paid annual leave. However, approval for unpaid leave is at the employer's discretion.

If an employee takes more paid annual leave than they’re entitled to, the extra days off will be considered unpaid leave, and their employer can reduce their pay accordingly. So, it's important for employers to keep track of all leave requests, whether paid or unpaid.

What If the Employee’s Shift Exceeds 8 Hours?

For each work shift that exceeds eight hours, employees will earn one day of annual leave equivalent to their actual working hours. This is to provide compensation for the additional time worked on any workday. For instance, if they work a 12-hour shift, 1 day of leave is equivalent to 12 hours.

Other Types of Employee Leave Entitlements in Singapore

In addition to annual leave, the Employment Act outlines various types of leave entitlements for employees. These include:

Sick Leave

Under the Employment Act, employees at all levels are entitled to both paid outpatient sick leave and paid hospitalisation leave if they have worked for a minimum of 3 months with their employer.

Employees who are taking paid sick leave must inform their employers within 48 hours of their absence and must also be certified by a doctor.

The sick leave entitlement is prorated for the first 6 months of employment.

For instance, if an employee who worked for more than 6 months has already taken 14 days of outpatient sick leave in a year, the number of days of hospitalisation leave left is 46 days (60 – 14 = 46).

Please remember that the hospitalisation entitlement is inclusive of the sick leave, i.e. the 15 days of hospitalisation leave earned at the end of 3 completed month of work are inclusive of the 5 days of Sick Leave.

As long as there’s a certification from a doctor stating that hospitalisation is required, employees are eligible for paid hospitalisation leave notwithstanding that the employee wasn’t warded in hospital.

Childcare Leave

Singapore's childcare leave is in accordance with the Child Development Co-Savings Act (CDCA), depending on specific criteria.

An employee is eligible for Government-Paid Childcare Leave (GPCL) as long as they meet the following requirements:

• Has a child under 7 years of age.
• The child is a Singapore citizen.
• The biological parents are lawfully married, including divorced or widowed parents.
• For employees: must have served their employer for at least 3 continuous months.
• For self-employed: must have been engaged in their work for at least 3 continuous months and have lost income during the childcare leave period.

The childcare leave entitlement is identified depending on whether they are covered under the Childcare Development Co-Savings Act (CDCA) or the Employment Act.

Under the Childcare Development Co-savings Act

Eligible working parents of Singapore citizen children are entitled to 6 days of paid childcare leave per year.

Both parents can each get 6 days per year of childcare leave until the year their child turns 7 years old, regardless of the number of children they have. Childcare leave is capped at 42 days for each parent.

Childcare leave will be prorated for employees working fewer than 12 completed months.

Working parents with children between the ages of 7 and 12 (inclusive) are eligible for extended childcare leave.

Under the Employment Act

On the other hand, working parents of non-Singaporean citizens can get 2 days of childcare leave a year in accordance with the Employment Act.

For part-time, temporary, contract or probationary employees, the childcare leave entitlement is adjusted based on their working hours.

Check out our ultimate guide to HR Childcare Leave in Singapore to find out the childcare leave eligibility and entitlement on specific situations.

Maternity Leave

The government provides comprehensive maternity leave policies to provide the working mothers with the necessary resources and support to aid them during their journey to motherhood.

Under the Government-Paid Maternity Leave (GPML) scheme, an employee will be eligible for paid maternity leave if they meet the following requirements:

• The child is a Singaporean citizen.
• The child is born or has an estimated delivery date (EDD) on or after 1 January 2017.
• The employee has worked for the employer or has been self-employed for at least 3 continuous months before the birth of the child.

Working mothers will be entitled to either 16 weeks or 12 weeks of maternity leave, depending on whether the child is a Singapore citizen and other criteria.

For employed working mothers, they will be eligible for 16 weeks of paid maternity leave if they have served their employer for a continuous period of at least 3 months before the birth of their child.

Self-employed working mothers will be eligible of 16 weeks for paid maternity leave if they have been engaged in their work for at least 3 continuous months and have lost income during the maternity leave period.

Maternity leave entitlements may be affected by different criteria or situations, such as the birth of twins, the birth to a single mother, premature birth, or stillborn.

Take a look at our all-inclusive HR Guide to Maternity Leave in Singapore to know more about the terms and conditions that fall under the maternity leave entitlement in Singapore.

Government Paid Leave Schemes

The government has introduced several paid leave schemes to establish a pro-family system and to support young families.

This scheme consists of the following:

• Childcare leave
• Extended childcare leave
• Paternity leave
• Shared parental leave
• Adoption leave
• Infant care leave

💡 Note: As announced in Singapore Budget 2023, the government-paid Paternity Leave will be doubled from two to four weeks, for fathers of Singaporean children born from Jan 1, 2024.

The Unpaid Infant Care Leave will also be doubled for each parent in the child's first two years, from the current six days to 12 days per year.

Take a look at our blog on Family Care Leave to know more about the different leave types, eligibility, and more.

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