s 12DC Shared parental benefits for parents of April 2025 Scheme child
12DC.—(1) This section applies to a parent (called in this section an eligible parent) of an April 2025 Scheme child who —(a) is the natural mother or father of the child, or the adoptive mother or father of the child; and (b) is eligible for the entitlement to payment from the Government under section 9(5A), 12A(2) or 12HA(2) (whichever is applicable) in respect of the child. (2) An eligible parent is entitled to claim from the Government an amount equivalent to a number of days of the eligible parent’s total income, where —(a) the total income is for any prescribed period before the birth of the child or the eligibility date of the application to adopt the child, whichever is applicable; and (b) the number of days is calculated in accordance with the formula N × 7, where N is determined in accordance with a valid arrangement under section 12DD. (3) To avoid doubt, the entitlement of the eligible parent under subsection (2) applies only once for each confinement of the child’s mother, regardless of the number of children born during that confinement. (4) The eligible parent’s entitlement under subsection (2) is subject to the following:(a) the amount claimable for every period of 7 days does not exceed $2,500; (b) the amount claimable is to be reduced in accordance with any regulations made under section 20, if any of the following conditions applies to the parent:(i) the parent’s employer —(A) has paid or is required to pay the parent any amount in respect of the birth of the child or adoption of the child, as the case may be; and (B) is entitled to claim, or has claimed, reimbursement from the Government under section 12DB for the payment mentioned in sub‑paragraph (A) (whether or not pursuant to an exemption under section 22); (ii) the parent’s employment is terminated upon completion of the parent’s contract of service, and the parent failed to exercise any part of her or his entitlement under this Act to be absent from work before the date of completion of the parent’s contract. (5) Except as provided in subsections (6) and (7), the eligible parent is not entitled to claim any payment from the Government under subsection (2), if —(a) the parent is also an employee who is entitled to absent herself or himself from work and to receive payment from the parent’s employer under section 12DA(2), in respect of the same birth or adoption of the child (as the case may be), regardless of whether the parent has forfeited the whole or part of the parent’s entitlement to absent herself or himself from work and to receive payment from the parent’s employer under section 12DA(2); (b) the parent is also a self‑employed person who is entitled to claim from the Government the parent’s lost income under section 12DA(6), in respect of the same birth or adoption of the child, as the case may be; or (c) the claim is submitted by the parent after the date of the child’s death. (6) Subsection (5) and section 12M do not disqualify the eligible parent from claiming payment from the Government under subsection (2) in respect of any period when the parent is on leave of absence without pay granted by the parent’s employer at the parent’s request, if the leave is for a continuous period ending at least 12 months (or any other period prescribed in substitution) after the date of the child’s birth. (7) Subsection (5) and section 12DA(4) and (5) do not disqualify the eligible parent from claiming payment from the Government under subsection (2) if the parent would have been entitled to absent herself or himself from work and to receive payment from the parent’s employer under section 12DA(2), had the parent’s employment not been terminated by reason of one of the following:(a) upon the completion of the parent’s contract of service; (b) on the ground of redundancy or by reason of any reorganisation of the profession, business, trade or work of the parent’s employer. (8) Section 9(7) and (8) applies to the meaning of the total income of an eligible parent under subsection (2), with the following modifications:(a) every reference in section 9(7) and (8) to a period prescribed for the purposes of section 9(5A) is a reference to a period prescribed for the purposes of subsection (2); (b) every reference in section 9(7) and (8) to a woman’s employment or self‑employment, or both, is a reference to an eligible parent’s employment or self‑employment, or both. (9) The amount of payment mentioned in subsection (4)(a) is inclusive of any contribution to the Central Provident Fund which an employer, a platform operator, an employee or a self‑employed person is liable to make under the Central Provident Fund Act 1953. (10) Nothing in this section affects any other benefits that an employee is entitled to, in respect of the birth or adoption of the child (as the case may be), under the terms of the employee’s contract of service or under any written law.[Act 46 of 2024 wef 01/04/2025]