There’s Help Out There

It is an arduous task raising children while working at the same time. Here are some recent measures that the Singapore government has set in place to help women here juggle work and motherhood with greater ease.

By: Melanie Lee

Extended maternity leave
Since October 2008, the Ministry of Manpower extended paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 16 weeks to enable working mothers to recuperate from childbirth and strengthen bonding with their newborns. The last eight weeks of this maternity leave can be taken flexibly over a period of 12 months from the date of confinement. For mothers like Yen, such a leave system helped to ease her back to the busy pace of work after staying at home for several months solely caring for her newborn. “During my first two months back at the office, I only worked three days a week.  This gave both my mother-in-law and me a chance to adjust to the eventual arrangement of me working full-time and she caring for my daughter during the daytime,” Yen explains.

For more information on this scheme, please visit: http://www.mom.gov.sg/publish/momportal/en/communities/
workplace_standards/employment_standards/the_employment_act/Maternity_Leave.html

Baby Bonus or Children Development Co-Savings (CDA) Scheme
This is a cash incentive set in place to lighten the financial costs of raising children. Mothers will receive a cash gift of $4,000 each for their first or second child, and $6,000 each for their third and fourth child. For children born on or after 17 August 2008, there will also be dollar-for-dollar matching from the government for the amount of savings you contribute to your child’s Children Development Account (CDA). The money from this account can later be used to pay for childcare, education and insurance fees. For Bee, a mother of three-month-old girl, this sum of money definitely came in handy, especially since she holds a part-time job and was not entitled to maternity leave benefits. “The Baby Bonus definitely eased our finances and we’ve set this money aside for her first year expenses,” says Bee.

For more information on this scheme, please visit: http://www.mom.gov.sg/publish/momportal/en/communities/
workplace_standards/employment_standards/the_employment_act/Maternity_Leave.html

Baby Bonus or Children Development Co-Savings (CDA) Scheme
This is a cash incentive set in place to lighten the financial costs of raising children. Mothers will receive a cash gift of $4,000 each for their first or second child, and $6,000 each for their third and fourth child. For children born on or after 17 August 2008, there will also be dollar-for-dollar matching from the government for the amount of savings you contribute to your child’s Children Development Account (CDA). The money from this account can later be used to pay for childcare, education and insurance fees. For Bee, a mother of three-month-old girl, this sum of money definitely came in handy, especially since she holds a part-time job and was not entitled to maternity leave benefits. “The Baby Bonus definitely eased our finances and we’ve set this money aside for her first year expenses,” says Bee.

For more information on this scheme, please visit: