Leave Schemes

This refers to the time-off given to employees getting married, and is granted at the organisation’s discretion. It is usually fully paid leave; but may be part-paid or unpaid if the leave is granted for an extended period of time.

This allows new fathers to take care of their newborns. To learn more about the statutory requirements on paternity leave, please refer to the Ministry of Manpower’s website.

This refers to the time given off work due to pregnancy and childbirth. To learn more about the statutory requirements on maternity leave, please refer to the Ministry of Manpower’s website.

This refers to the additional time-off, over and above the statutory requirements, that is given to female employees due to pregnancy and childbirth. This may be fully paid, part-paid or unpaid leave and the duration varies with different organisations.

This refers to leave taken by employees to spend time with their child, e.g. to accompany a child on the first day of school, or to care for the child personally should the usual care arrangements fall through.

Please visit the Ministry of Manpower website to find out more about the statutory requirements on childcare leave.

This refers to additional time-off, over and above the statutory requirements, that is given to employees with young children.

This may be fully paid, part-paid or unpaid leave and the duration varies between different organisations.

This refers to time-off given to employees to take care of their elderly parents/family members when they are ill.

This refers to time-off given to employees to take care of their family members. The difference between this and childcare or eldercare leave is that it may be used for a wider range of family members, e.g. older children for whom childcare leave no longer applies, an employee’s siblings or grandchildren, etc. The range will be determined by the respective organisations.

This refers to paid leave that an employee is entitled to due to the death of a family or household member.

This refers to leave that allows an employee to deal with a crisis in the family, normally the death of a family member. Compassionate leave may also cover a serious or incapacitating illness of a family member.

This refers to paid or unpaid urgent leave that an employee takes at the last minute due to unexpected emergencies.

This refers to paid time-off that an employee takes in-lieu of payment for overtime work or working on a day off.

This refers to paid, part-paid or unpaid leave given to an employee who needs to take time off to study for and/or take an examination.

This refers to a large block of leave taken, which may be fully paid, part-paid or unpaid for personal pursuits, e.g. a few months or a few years for further studies on a full-time basis.

Some organisations provide employees with paid sabbatical leave after a period of service, e.g. one month after every five years of service. The employee’s return is considered a continuation of employment.

This refers to a block of leave taken to pursue leisure activities (from a week to a few months). It may be fully paid, part-paid or unpaid, e.g. a long holiday to visit parents/children overseas, etc. The employee’s return is considered a continuation of employment.

This refers to time-off given to employees to bring their children back to school after the holidays, e.g. on the first day of school. This may range from a few hours off to a full-day so that parents can pick their children up after school as well.

This refers to leave taken to spend time on community service or with specific welfare organisations which may have been “adopted” by the organisation. This may be fully paid, partially paid or unpaid leave.

This refers to a day off which employees may apply for to celebrate personal events, e.g. birthday, anniversary, etc. This is commonly paid leave over and above their annual leave entitlement.

This refers to annual leave taken in a block of time, e.g. one week or more, to provide employees with a period of extended rest and refreshment. Sabbatical leave and career break leave are examples of block leave.

This refers to a day off over and above their annual leave, which employees can take to celebrate their birthday. Some organisations may allow employees to take this leave in the week before/after their actual birthday.