Defraying the cost of maternity leave

The employment law of Singapore requires the employer to provide eight weeks of maternity leave to a female employee who gives birth to the first and second child. The working mother is entitled to another eight weeks of leave paid by the government.

Some employers wish to avoid the cost of providing the maternity leave. They will not employ a female who is likely to bear a child in the near future.

To remove this discrimination, it is better for the government to bear the entire cost of child-bearing, i.e. to reimburse the employer for all 16 weeks of maternity leave,