Leave Entitlement in Singapore: A Leave Management Guide for SMEs
Every leave type a Singapore SME must track, from annual, sick and hospitalisation leave to parental leave, plus MCs, half-days, blackouts and leave records.
Frequently asked questions
How many days of annual leave must a Singapore employer give?
Under the Employment Act, an employee who has worked for you for at least 3 months is entitled to paid annual leave. MOM sets it at 7 days in the first year of service, rising by one day a year to 14 days from the 8th year onwards. Leave is pro-rated for employees who have not completed 12 months of service, and many employers give more than the minimum as company policy.
How much sick leave and hospitalisation leave do employees get in Singapore?
After at least 3 months of service, MOM states that employees covered by the Employment Act get up to 14 days of paid outpatient sick leave and up to 60 days of paid hospitalisation leave a year, pro-rated between 3 and 6 months of service. The 60 days include the 14 days of outpatient sick leave. The employee must inform the employer within 48 hours of the absence and the sick leave must be certified by a registered doctor or dentist.
Do Singapore employers have to accept MCs from teleconsultations?
Yes. MOM says employers must recognise MCs issued by a medical practitioner registered under the Medical Registration Act or Dental Registration Act, and this includes MCs issued through teleconsultation. An employer cannot refuse an MC simply because it was not issued by a company-appointed clinic.
Can unused annual leave be carried forward in Singapore?
For employees covered under Part 4 of the Employment Act, MOM says the employer must allow unused annual leave to be carried forward to the next 12 months, after which it can be forfeited if still unused. For employees outside Part 4, whether leave is encashed, carried forward or forfeited depends on the employment contract. Anything more generous than that is company policy, and should be written down.
What parental leave is government-paid in Singapore in 2026?
For Singapore citizen children and eligible parents, MOM lists Government-Paid Maternity Leave of 16 weeks, Government-Paid Paternity Leave of 4 weeks for births from 1 April 2025, and Shared Parental Leave of 10 weeks for children born on or after 1 April 2026. Employers pay the employee during the leave and claim reimbursement up to the caps. At the 2026 National Day Rally the Government also announced a bigger, merged childcare leave scheme, with the start date still to be announced.
When should an SME move leave tracking from a spreadsheet to software?
Usually once you have more than one approver, staff on different shift patterns, or regular arguments about balances, MCs or public holiday days-in-lieu. The spreadsheet itself is rarely the problem; the problem is that it cannot show who approved what and when, or stop two key staff going on leave in the same week. When those questions start costing you time every month, a proper system pays for itself.
An insight from Rampage Connect — a Singapore digital marketing and web studio. Contact: hello@rampageconnect.com