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As part of measures aimed at boosting birth rates, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced at the weekend 2026 National Day Rally a new scheme under which each parent will be entitled to eight days of leave per year if they have one child, 10 days for two children and 12 days for three or more.

That is up from the current annual allowance of six days for parents with a child aged six or younger and two days for those with children aged 7-12. The start date for the new scheme has yet to be announced.

Adam (not his real name), a 29-year-old unmarried finance professional, often helps cover the additional workload whenever a colleague takes childcare leave.

But he occasionally has to adjust his own leave plans or pick up even more work when the leave is taken at short notice.

“I work in a small company. If colleagues with children in my team are getting extended leave, more workload falls onto the people who do not have kids,” he told Channel News Asia.

Many of the workers that the Singapore-based news channel spoke to, including Adam, were broadly supportive of the changes as they give parents more help, but worried they could face heavier workloads.

David Lim, 31, who is unmarried and works for a large employer in the shipping industry, said his team sometimes faces staffing issues when colleagues with children take childcare leave at short notice.

Even so, he believes the policy is necessary as the government needs to take steps to encourage childbirth.

“Of course people will think it’s unfair, but they have to accept that it has to be done,” he told CNA.

However, others pointed out that such issues can lead to resentment between parent and non-parent colleagues.

Sam Belcher, group CEO of recruitment firm The Edge Partnership, said the new measures have also “raised queries around fairness.”

Other employees may need time off for reasons un to childcare, such as bereavement, personal health matters or caring for elderly family members, he told The Straits Times.

Much would depend on how companies handle workplace flexibility, he said, adding that companies that provide flexibility are less likely to make non-parent employees feel they are consistently being disadvantaged.

Some single Singaporeans have also said that the extra workload should be manageable if employers plan properly for absences and parents use their childcare leave appropriately.

The new leave policy comes as Singapore grapples with a declining fertility rate, which fell from 1.60 in 2020 to a record-low 0.87 last year. The cost and pressures of raising children, along with difficulties in balancing careers and family responsibilities, are some factors commonly cited in decisions about having children, according to Bloomberg.

Other measures announced include the new SG Child Support Package that provides each Singaporean child up to S$62,000 (US$48,800) in financial support from birth to age 17.

Parents have welcomed the increase in childcare leave, though some say they still face stigma in the workplace when they take it.

For instance, Ng, a 30-year-old maritime industry professional who welcomed her daughter this year, told AsiaOne she has heard her colleagues make comments about employees who take childcare leave.

These include “Your maternity leave is already so long, you still want to take childcare leave?” or “Can’t your husband take care of the kid?”

Chua Yeow Hwee, an economics professor at Nanyang Technological University, said while government reimbursements cover the direct wage costs for employers, companies still need to find ways to manage staff absences.

“That means better cover arrangements, genuine flexibility over when and where work is done, managers who do not penalize parents for using statutory benefits, and stronger norms around fathers taking on caregiving responsibilities as well.”