Bill passed to amend Child Development Co-Savings towards family-friendly policies at the workplace
30 August 2021
On 2 August 2021, the Child Development Co-Savings (Amendment) Bill (“Bill”) was read the second time and passed in Parliament.
This Bill will amend the Child Development Co-Savings Act (“Act”) for various purposes including the following:
- Allow parents of a stillborn child who satisfy certain eligibility criteria to qualify for Government-paid leave and benefits, such as are maternity leave and benefits, paternity leave and benefits, and shared parental leave. The Act will be amended to count stillborn children or deceased children in determining the number of children a mother has had. Depending on whether the mother is entitled for leave or benefits schemes, including stillborn or deceased children in the child order determination will allow more employers and working mothers to receive a higher quantum of reimbursement or payment.
- Introduce Government-paid adoption benefits and Government-paid paternity benefits to enhance support for parents with children who are Singapore citizens and satisfy certain eligibility criteria;
- Enhance financial support for working parents with children by providing certain Government-paid benefits if their employment is terminated on the ground of redundancy or by reason of any reorganisation of an employer’s profession, business, trade or work;
- Streamline the administration of payments and reimbursements under the Child Development Co-Savings Act by simplifying how some of the limits on such payments and reimbursements are determined.
The Bill also makes related amendments to the Employment Act.
Reference materials
The following materials are available on Singapore Statutes Online www.sso.agc.gov.sg and the Ministry of Social and Family Development website www.msf.gov.sg: