Extending Annual Six Days of Paid Childcare Leave to Cover Family Members Who Need Help with Three or More Activities of Daily Living
Ministry of Social and Family DevelopmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns a proposal by Mr Shawn Loh to extend the annual six days of paid childcare leave to workers caring for disabled family members requiring help with three or more activities of daily living. Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli B M M responded that the Government must balance diverse caregiving needs against employers' operational requirements and caregiver employability. He explained that while leave extensions help during specific bouts of illness, flexible work arrangements (FWAs) offer more sustainable solutions for long-term caregiving needs. Consequently, the Government is focusing on promoting FWAs through the Tripartite Guidelines on FWA Requests and implementation resources provided by tripartite partners. The Ministry remains committed to working with tripartite partners to foster family-friendly workplaces that support the needs of all working caregivers.
Transcript
71 Mr Shawn Loh asked the Minister for Social and Family Development with elderly caregiving burdens and the emphasis on family being the first stop for care, whether the Government will consider extending the annual six days of paid childcare leave to cover not just workers' children, but also their disabled family members if they need help with three or more activities of daily living, which benchmark is assessed under CareShield Life.
Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: The Government recognises the challenges of caregiving, including balancing work responsibilities and caregiving for one's family members.
There is no single solution for all caregivers. For working caregivers, the Government balances the effectiveness of measures to meet diverse caregiving needs sustainably against employers' operational needs and caregiver employability. Extending childcare leave to caregivers of persons with disabilities could help in situations, such as specific bouts of illness, but flexible work arrangements (FWA) offer more sustainable solutions for longer-term caregiving needs. Hence, we focus on encouraging the adoption of FWAs to help caregivers balance work and personal commitments. This is done through the Tripartite Guidelines on FWA Requests, as well as FWA implementation resources and training by tripartite partners and the Institute of Human Resource Professionals.
The Government remains committed to supporting the needs of working caregivers and will continue to work with tripartite partners to foster more family-friendly workplaces.