Who the advisory addresses
A term contract ends on its stated expiry date unless renewed. The advisory addresses repeated fixed-term engagements, including temporary projects and recurring manpower needs, so that short contracts do not unfairly remove access to leave benefits.
Adding service across renewed contracts
For contracts lasting at least 14 days, employers are encouraged to treat a renewal within one month of the preceding contract as continuous for leave eligibility. Count actual contracted service; the gaps themselves do not become service. Other statutory eligibility conditions still apply. This recommended treatment must be distinguished from the legal test for an unbroken period of service.
Example: four one-month contracts
The illustration uses four one-month contracts separated by one day, one week and three days. Each gap is under one month. Once three months of actual service have accumulated, the advisory illustrates leave during the fourth contract, including two days of annual leave and five days of outpatient sick leave. Leave eligibility and any hospitalisation entitlement still depend on the governing conditions.
Notice and historical leave figures
For recurring contracts, communicate the intention to renew sufficiently before expiry. The advisory suggests the mutually agreed early-termination notice, or its service-based fallback. The annex includes leave figures from the document’s period; its two-week paternity-leave figure is historical and should not be presented as the current entitlement.
Find the applicable leave rule
Annual leave depends on Employment Act coverage, completed service and the relevant service year. The detailed guides cover entitlement, pro-rating, unused leave, unpaid leave and different work patterns.
Find the applicable leave rule
Start with eligibility and pro-rated entitlement, then check medical reimbursement and salary rules. The separate special-situations page addresses how particular circumstances affect the right to paid sick leave.
Employee, self-employed and adoption conditions
The child must be Singaporean and the father must be/have been lawfully married to the mother between conception and birth or within 12 months after birth, including the birth date. An employee needs three continuous service months before birth; a self-employed father needs three continuous work months and lost income. MSF may reimburse voluntary provision where only the service requirement is unmet. Adoptive fathers need a Singaporean child and the corresponding three-month work/service period before formal intent to adopt, with income loss for self-employment. Stillborn-child fathers may receive two weeks subject to employment, marriage and citizenship conditions.
Entitlement and reimbursement
Use the birth, estimated-delivery or formal-adoption-intent date. Before 1 April 2025 there are two statutory weeks plus two optional weeks with employer agreement; from that date there are four weeks. Four weeks × weekly workdays, capped at six a week, gives 24 days for a six-day week. The employer pays leave wages and may claim all four weeks for eligible post-1-April-2025 births, capped at S$2,500 per week and S$10,000 total.
Notice, protection and flexible use
From 1 April 2025 dismissal during GPPL is an offence and four weeks’ notice is required unless the employer accepts less. Default use is a continuous block within 16 weeks of birth. By agreement, use a continuous block or divide into workdays within 12 months. The same timing structures apply to earlier two-week leave and any employer-approved additional two weeks, with two or four weeks multiplied by workdays capped at six per week.
Find the applicable leave rule
Use the individual guides for citizen/non-citizen children, annual pro-rating, part-time/temporary/contract/probationary employees, taking leave and extended childcare leave. The calculator is a separate official task.
Written notice and equal notice periods
Termination notice, including resignation, must be written, such as a letter or email. Request a termination letter or acknowledgement to avoid disputes. Neither party generally has to state a reason when giving ordinary notice. Follow the contractual notice period, which must be the same for both parties; serve it or pay salary in lieu. A mutual waiver should be recorded in writing.
| Service | Notice |
|---|---|
| Less than 26 weeks | 1 day |
| 26 weeks to less than 2 years | 1 week |
| 2 years to less than 5 years | 2 weeks |
| 5 years or more | 4 weeks |
Counting dates: official examples
Count the notice-giving day, public holidays, rest days and non-working days. A one-day notice given today ends today. One month’s notice given on 15 July 2025 ends on 14 August 2025. For MOM’s February example, a one-month notice given on 29, 30 or 31 January 2025, or 1 February 2025, ends on 28 February 2025.
Leave, CPF and starting another job
Salary earned while still employed during notice attracts the usual CPF contributions. Salary in lieu of notice does not attract CPF. Fixed-term employees can also resign by serving the agreed notice or paying in lieu.
| Situation | Effect |
|---|---|
| Approved annual leave during notice | Notice end date stays unchanged and the full notice period is paid; the employee remains employed. Check contractual restrictions before starting a new job. |
| Annual leave used to offset notice | Requires employer agreement, advances the employment end date, and salary ends on that date. The offset leave is not separately paid; a new job may start after employment ends. |
| Unused annual leave at termination | Pay at the gross rate using last drawn salary, except misconduct dismissal, when unused leave is forfeited. |
| Unpaid leave | Granted at employer discretion; notice can be extended only with employee agreement. |
| Paid or unpaid sick leave under the Employment Act | Counts within notice; the employer cannot extend notice or demand short-notice payment. |
| Reservist training | Does not count in notice; a week of training extends notice by a week. |
| Starting another job before notice ends | The current employment continues, so check permission with the current employer. |