Singapore legislation
Section 9A
Section 9A
Eligibility criteria and cap in respect of maternity benefits
(1)
Subject to this section, a female employee is entitled to absent herself from work and to payment under section 9(1), and a self-employed woman is entitled to payment by the Government under section 9(4), if —
her confinement in respect of a child occurs, or the estimated delivery date for her confinement is, on or after 1 January 2017, or (in the case of a stillborn child) on or after 1 November 2021;
a child delivered during her confinement is a citizen of Singapore at the time of the child’s birth, or (in the case of a stillborn child) would have been a citizen of Singapore at birth;
in the case of a female employee, she has served her employer for a period of at least 3 months before the day of her confinement; and
in the case of a self-employed woman, she has been carrying on her trade, business, profession or vocation for a continuous period of at least 3 months before the day of her confinement.
(1A)
Subject to this section, a female employee is entitled to absent herself from work and to payment under section 9(1A) or (1B), and a self-employed woman is entitled to payment by the Government under section 9(4A), if —
her confinement occurs, or the estimated delivery date for her confinement is, on or after 1 January 2017;
a child delivered during her confinement —
is not a citizen of Singapore at the time of the child’s birth; but(ii)becomes a citizen of Singapore within the period of 12 months commencing on the date of the child’s birth;
in the case of a female employee, she has served her employer for a period of at least 3 months before the day of her confinement; and
in the case of a self-employed woman, she has been carrying on her trade, business, profession or vocation for a continuous period of at least 3 months before the day of her confinement.
(2)
Subject to this section, a woman who is or was a female employee or self‑employed woman is entitled to payment by the Government under section 9(5A) if —
her confinement in respect of a child occurs, or the estimated delivery date for her confinement is, on or after 1 January 2017, or (in the case of a stillborn child) on or after 1 November 2021;
a child delivered during her confinement —
is a citizen of Singapore at the time of the child’s birth, or (in the case of a stillborn child) would have been a citizen of Singapore at birth; or
is not a citizen of Singapore at the time of the child’s birth, but becomes a citizen of Singapore within the period of 12 months commencing on the date of the child’s birth;
for at least 90 days in the aggregate during the period of 12 months immediately before the day of her confinement, she has been employed by one or more employers, self‑employed or both (whether in Singapore or outside Singapore); and
in the case of a woman who has been employed outside Singapore or self‑employed outside Singapore, she —
is resident in Singapore, and is no longer employed outside Singapore or self‑employed outside Singapore (as the case may be), on the day of her confinement; and
opts to do either or both of the following:
use any period during the 12 months immediately before the day of her confinement when she was employed outside Singapore, or was self‑employed outside Singapore, to satisfy the requirement in paragraph (c);
use her income during any period mentioned in sub‑paragraph (A) to calculate her total income for the purposes of section 9(5A).
(2A)
For the purposes of reckoning the number of days under subsection (2)(c) in which a woman has been employed or self‑employed —
the aggregate number of days need not immediately precede the day of her confinement;
Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays are included, in the case of a female employee who is or was employed by an employer for a continuous period, or a self‑employed woman who is or was engaged in her trade, business, profession or vocation for a continuous period;
in the case of a female employee who is or was a daily‑rated employee, the number of days is the actual number of days in which the female employee had worked;
in the case of a self-employed woman who is or was engaged in her trade, business, profession or vocation for a non‑continuous period, the number of days is the actual number of days in which the self‑employed woman was engaged in her trade, business, profession or vocation; and
where 2 or more periods of employment overlap, the overlapping periods are counted only once.
(3)
Despite anything in the Employment Act 1968, no female employee is entitled to absent herself from work or to any payment under section 76 of that Act in respect of any confinement to which she is entitled to absent herself from work or to payment under section 9(1).
(3A)
Despite anything in the Employment Act 1968, no female employee is entitled to receive payment under section 76 of that Act in respect of any period of her absence from work under section 76(1) of that Act for which she is entitled to receive payment under section 9(1A).
(4)
The payment that a female employee is entitled to receive from her employer under section 9(1), (1A) or (1B) in respect of her confinement is subject to the following amounts that apply for the following period or periods:
if her confinement is her first or second specified event —
an amount that does not exceed $10,000 for every period of absence specified in each of the following sub‑paragraphs:
where the amount is paid under section 9(1) in respect of her absence from work under section 9(1)(a) or (b) — every period equal in duration to 4 times the employee’s weekly index or every 24 days, whichever is the lower, of her absence from work under section 9(1)(a) or (b) (as the case may be) after the first 8 weeks of such absence;
where the amount is paid under section 9(1) in respect of her absence from work under section 9(1)(c)(ii) — every period equal in duration to 4 times the employee’s weekly index or every 24 days, whichever is the lower, of her absence from work under that provision after the first 8 weeks of her absence from work under section 9(1)(c)(i);
where the amount is paid under section 9(1A)(i) or (iii) — every period equal in duration to 4 times the employee’s weekly index or every 24 days, whichever is the lower, of her absence from work under that provision or under section 76(1)(a) or (b) of the Employment Act 1968 (as the case may be) after the first 8 weeks of her absence from work under section 76(1)(a) or (b) of that Act;
where the amount is paid under section 9(1A)(iva) or (1B)(ii)(B) or (iii) — every period equal in duration to 4 times the employee’s weekly index or every 24 days, whichever is the lower, of her absence from work under any of those provisions;
where the amount is paid under section 9(1A)(v)(A)(AA) or (B)(BA) — every period equal in duration to 4 times the employee’s weekly index or every 24 days, whichever is the lower, of her absence from work under section 76(1)(c)(ii) of the Employment Act 1968 after the first 8 weeks of her absence from work under section 76(1)(c)(i) of that Act;
where the amount is paid under section 9(1A)(v)(A)(AB) or (B)(BB) — every period equal in duration to 4 times the employee’s weekly index or every 24 days, whichever is the lower, of her absence from work under that provision after the first 8 weeks of her absence from work under section 76(1)(c)(i) of the Employment Act 1968;
where the amount is paid under section 9(1B)(i) — every period equal in duration to 4 times the employee’s weekly index or every 24 days, whichever is the lower, of her absence from work under that provision after the first 8 weeks of such absence; and
in any case, an amount that does not exceed a total of $20,000 for the period of absence (if only one), or all the periods of absence, under sub‑paragraph (i)(A), (B), (C), (D), (E), (F) or (G), whichever is applicable;
if her confinement is her third or subsequent specified event and the amount is paid under section 9(1) in respect of any period of absence under section 9(1)(a), (b) or (c)(i) or (ii), or paid under section 9(1A)(ii), (iv), (iva) or (vi) or (1B)(i), (ii)(A) or (B) or (iii) —
an amount that does not exceed $10,000 for every period equal in duration to 4 times the employee’s weekly index or every 24 days, whichever is the lower, of her absence from work; and
in any case, an amount that does not exceed a total of $40,000 for the period of absence (if only one) under sub‑paragraph (i), or all the periods of absence under that sub‑paragraph, whichever is applicable.
(5)
Where a self-employed woman ceases to be actively engaged in her trade, business, profession or vocation during the whole or part of any period mentioned in section 9(4) or (4A) for her confinement, the amount of payment she is entitled to receive from the Government —
under section 9(5)(a), if her confinement is her first or second specified event, is an amount that does not exceed —
$10,000 for every period equal in duration to 4 times her weekly index or every 24 days, whichever is the lower, of her cessation of active engagement in her trade, business, profession or vocation —
under section 9(4)(b)(i) or (ii), which period is after the first 8 weeks of such cessation;
under section 9(4)(b)(iii)(B), which period is after the first 8 weeks of such cessation under section 9(4)(b)(iii)(A);
under section 9(4A)(c)(i) or (ii)(A), which period is after the period of 8 weeks mentioned in section 9(5)(a)(ii)(B); or
under section 9(4A)(c)(ii)(B) or (iii), which period is after the period of 8 weeks mentioned in section 9(5)(a)(ii)(B); and
in any case, a total of $20,000 for the period of cessation (if only one), or all the periods of cessation, under sub‑paragraph (i)(A), (B), (C) or (D), whichever is applicable; and
under section 9(5)(b), if her confinement is her third or subsequent specified event, is an amount that does not exceed —
$10,000 for every period equal in duration to 4 times her weekly index or every 24 days, whichever is the lower, of her cessation of active engagement in her trade, business, profession or vocation under section 9(4)(b)(i), (ii) or (iii)(A) or (B) or (4A)(c)(i), (ii)(A) or (B) or (iii); and
in any case, a total of $40,000 for the period (if only one) under sub‑paragraph (i), or all the periods under that sub‑paragraph, whichever is applicable.
(5A)
The payment that a female employee or a self‑employed woman is entitled to receive from the Government under section 9(5A) for her confinement —
is an amount that does not exceed $10,000 for every 28 days; and
is to be reduced, in the case of a female employee, in accordance with any regulations made under section 20, if —
the female employee’s employer —
has paid or is required to pay the female employee any amount in respect of her confinement; and
is entitled to claim, or has claimed, reimbursement from the Government for such payment under section 10 (whether or not pursuant to an exemption under section 22);
where the female employee has made an election under section 12E(5) for the natural father or adoptive father of the child delivered during her confinement to take shared parental leave or claim lost income in respect of the child —
the father’s employer —
(AA)has paid or is required to pay the father an amount under section 12E(2) for shared parental leave in respect of the child; and
(AB)the employer is entitled, upon such payment, to claim reimbursement from the Government under section 12G(1) (whether or not pursuant to an exemption under section 22); or
the father is entitled to claim his lost income under section 12E(3) in respect of the child for ceasing to be actively engaged in his trade, business, profession or vocation (whether or not pursuant to an exemption under section 22); or
the female employee’s employment is terminated upon completion of her contract of service, and she failed to exercise any part of her entitlement under this Act to be absent from work before the date of completion of her contract.
(5B)
To avoid doubt, a woman’s entitlement under section 9 to absent herself from work or to payment applies only once for each confinement, regardless of the number of children born or stillborn during that confinement.
(6)
The amounts of payment referred to in subsections (4), (5) and (5A)(a) are inclusive of any contribution to the Central Provident Fund which an employer, a female employee or a self‑employed woman is liable to make under the Central Provident Fund Act 1953.
(7)
Subject to subsections (3) and (3A), section 9 and this section must not be construed as derogating from any other benefits that a female employee is entitled to, during the benefit period, under the terms of her contract of service or under any written law.
(8)
For the purposes of section 9(5A) to (8) and subsections (2), (2A), (5A), (6) and (7), and of any other provisions of this Act, and any regulations made under section 20, that may be prescribed —
Definition
“female employee” includes any woman who —
is employed outside Singapore before her confinement; but(b)on the day of her confinement, is resident in Singapore and is no longer employed outside Singapore;
Definition
“self-employed woman” includes any woman who —
is self-employed outside Singapore before her confinement; but(b)on the day of her confinement, is resident in Singapore and is no longer self‑employed outside Singapore.