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Standard maternity leave for expatriate 'executive' women

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corac2
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Standard maternity leave for expatriate 'executive' women

Post by corac2 » Tue, 13 Jul 2010 11:19 pm

I was wondering what other expat women have by way of maternity policies with their employers in Singapore? My (UK based) company says I am not officially entitled to anything as I am not Singaporean (and nor would my children be) but that they will give me 8 weeks full pay and leave open my position for 1 year. I am curious what other employers are doing for women in my position!

Thanks....

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gravida
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Post by gravida » Wed, 14 Jul 2010 7:28 am

It depends what is in our contracts. We are definitely not eligible for the maternity benefits available for Singaporeans if the agreement with employer states something else.
I am self employed, so that's easier.

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Mad Scientist
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Post by Mad Scientist » Wed, 14 Jul 2010 7:48 am

OP

Have a good read on this. Whether you are an expat or SGer, SPR whatever , it covers under the Employment Act if your contract does not state explicitly

http://www.mom.gov.sg/publish/momportal ... Leave.html
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Post by Girl_Next_Door » Wed, 14 Jul 2010 7:53 am

From the MOM website:

Maternity Leave for a foreigner or PR working in Singapore

The employee is entitled to maternity leave benefit if she is covered under the Employment Act, , regardless of her nationality. She will be paid for the first eight weeks of maternity leave if she has fewer than two living children (excluding the newborn), and she has worked for the employer for at least 90 days before the birth of the child. Beyond the first eight weeks, maternity payment from the employer is voluntary and the employer is not entitled to claim any reimbursement from the government.


Google "Maternity Leave Singapore" and it will bring you to the MOM's website which have more information.

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sundaymorningstaple
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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:57 am

Girl_Next_Door wrote:From the MOM website:

Maternity Leave for a foreigner or PR working in Singapore

The employee is entitled to maternity leave benefit if she is covered under the Employment Act, , regardless of her nationality. She will be paid for the first eight weeks of maternity leave if she has fewer than two living children (excluding the newborn), and she has worked for the employer for at least 90 days before the birth of the child. Beyond the first eight weeks, maternity payment from the employer is voluntary and the employer is not entitled to claim any reimbursement from the government.


Google "Maternity Leave Singapore" and it will bring you to the MOM's website which have more information.
Unless she is earning less than $2000/month she's not likely to qualify under the Employment Act. She can get whatever she's managed to negotiate with the employer. This can sometimes be a deal breaker for a woman (this sucks in my opinion but what to do). If the contract does not spell out anything for maternity benefits, she only has the goodwill of the employer. If she tries to negotiate maternity benefits, she might not get a contract at all, especially if the HR department is run by a local as this automatically signals the intent to get pregnant, thereby costing the company non-productive money in addition to having to replace her during the duration. Damned if you do and damned if you don't. Of course western MNC's may be different, but often the Corporate HR headquarters are not aware what the subsidiaries are doing with their local HR personnel/manager here in Singapore.
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Post by Girl_Next_Door » Wed, 14 Jul 2010 11:43 am

There are 2 areas here, one is the legislation, and another is the internal policies.

As per SMS's comments, based on the legislation, if you are earning more than $2K, you are not protected by the Employment Act.

Since you are working as an expatriate 'executive' woman, I am assuming that you are earning more than $2k.

With that, internal HR policies varies from company to company, and industry to industry. The general guidelines would be 2 months of maternity leave, which is similar to what your company is offering you. As far as I know, most companies in Singapore do not offer to leave open the position for 1 year. Singapore bosses are practical, so they would rather fill up the headcount than leave it open for a year.

If you are wondering if you are "disadvantaged" among the expatriates / non Singaporeans / PRs, I don't think you are.

Even for Singaporeans/PRs who qualified for the enhanced govt paid maternity leave scheme, the 4 months maternity leave is a situation whereby the employer will pay for 2 months (which is the standard), and the government will pay for the other 2 months. The amount that the government pay, is capped at $10,000 per 4 weeks ie $20,000 for the first 2 confinements and $40,000 for the third and subsequent confinements.

Hope this help!

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