Can parents enjoy extra leave without irritating their employers?: Opinion

“In that case, employers might just stop hiring people who want to have children.”

In the days and weeks following the National Day Rally, I heard numerous murmurs to this effect, in the light of announcements that the four-week paternity leave would be made mandatory, along with another ten additional weeks of shared parental leave.

These remarks were well-intentioned, coming from people expressing concern about whether discrimination against pregnant women and new parents might increase after the changes to parental leave.

Such discrimination involves being treated less favourably on account of pregnancy, parenthood or childcare responsibilities. It may take many forms, including unkind remarks, pressures to forgo certain entitlements like parental leave, being overlooked in bonuses and promotions, and even termination in extreme cases.

In a country with one of the most intense work cultures in the world and struggling with a record-low fertility rate of 0.97 in 2023, the acute tension between parenthood and work puts significant pressure on working parents in Singapore. A 2023 survey by jobs platform Indeed found that nearly one-third (32 per cent) of working parents here felt they had been discriminated against at some point in their career for having a child.

Could discrimination against parents increase here, in the light of the adjustments to parental leave?

Hidden costs of parental leave

Parental leave imposes various hidden costs on employers, even when the leave is fully paid for by the Government. Employers have to address work interruptions when employees go on parental leave. There are challenges when seeking a replacement for the absent worker, whether by hiring a temporary worker or paying more to existing workers to cover the work. Some workers might not be so easily replaceable, such as those in specialised roles or higher management.

Especially in situations of prolonged parental leave, employers are required to keep the position open for the absent employee, while facing uncertainties about whether the employee will eventually return to work or seek another job elsewhere instead.

These costs can impose exceptional burdens on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which hire 71 per cent of the local workforce. For companies with fewer employees, the absence of even one worker can leave a huge gap in its ability to function effectively.

These factors could be among the reasons why only around half of new fathers take paternity leave in Singapore. Apart from the prevalent societal perception of fathers’ roles as breadwinners, a government survey has also shown that work commitments were the key reason why some parents could not be the main caregivers for their babies. In other words, fear of discrimination at work is deterring full take-up of parental leave.

Cultivate’s own survey on parenthood and work suggests that part of this might stem from unhappiness from colleagues, since around one in three Singaporeans reported feeling frustrated when they were required to cover work for a colleague on parental leave.

Given these factors and more, employers may simply choose to save themselves the hassle of managing these challenges, by preferring other employees or candidates over parents or potential parents in everything from hiring to promotion.

Even in countries with more egalitarian attitudes towards gender roles, it is frequently young women – due to their capacity for childbearing and, statistically, still being the ones using the most parental leave – who end up being discriminated against.

For instance, a 2020 study found that a three-month parental leave expansion in Sweden was correlated with fewer hires and lower starting wages of young women compared with men and older women among certain firms.

Likewise, a 2021 study observed that firms in Germany responded to parental leave reforms by hiring fewer women of childbearing age for occupations where they would be difficult to replace internally. The authors of the study caution that parental leave policies “may backfire on potential mothers” even though they are meant to improve the well-being of families.

Legislation is not enough

Locally, even though the upcoming Workplace Fairness Legislation will prohibit discrimination on various grounds including “sex, marital status, pregnancy status (and) caregiving responsibilities”, there will likely remain forms of discrimination that elude the law.

Consider a real case cited by the Danish Institute for Human Rights, where a prospective employer asked a female candidate during an interview: “I know I’m not supposed to ask you this, but what about children?”

This put the candidate in a dilemma, even though the question was prohibited and the candidate was not obliged to answer.

If the candidate refused to answer the question, this could offend the interviewer, and close off any chances of getting the job. On the other hand, if the candidate revealed that she has children or intends to have children in the future, this might also lead to a rejection.

Furthermore, in rejecting candidates, employers typically avoid giving reasons which could be perceived as discriminatory, instead saying that they found someone “more suitable” for the role.

As a result, the rejected candidate would have difficulty bringing any complaint to the authorities or lawsuit against the prospective employer, because of the lack of clear evidence of discrimination. Even if she succeeds, the employer cannot be forced to give her the job. Thus, it is rarely worth the time, energy, effort and money to bring a complaint or lawsuit in such a situation.

Moreover, from my experience in legal practice, I have observed that people may also fear the repercussions of employment disputes on their future job prospects, especially in small and tight-knit industries. They often fear that word of their dispute may spread, leading them to be perceived as “troublemakers”, deterring potential employers from employing them.

Thus, while there is no doubt that the Workplace Fairness Legislation serves an important legal and moral function in prohibiting discrimination, laws alone are not enough. A deeper change needs to occur in people’s hearts and minds.

Pool of temporary hires?

Perhaps the most essential step in our efforts to build a family-friendly society is for everyone to recognise that parents fulfil an important social function in nurturing the next generation of Singaporeans. It is essential to the long-term sustainability of not only the workforce, but also our national security and the entire country.

On the policy front, it is heartening that the Government is supporting employers through webinars to give them more information on existing grants and resources to strengthen their manpower-planning capabilities.

Beyond that, there is room for the Government to work with the private sector to help nurture an industry of temporary hires and to facilitate job matching to fill manpower gaps. This could involve working with job portals to build a readily available pool of “parental leave covers”, as well as offering grants or tax incentives to smaller businesses to hire temporary staff while employees go on parental leave.

One example of such support is the policy announced by the Japanese government in 2023, as part of efforts to boost the nation’s low fertility rate. Under this policy, the government would provide direct subsidies to SMEs if they hire new workers to cover employees on parental leave, or if they pay existing employees additional allowances to shoulder the workload of colleagues on parental leave.

At a deeper level, we need to strengthen our social solidarity, in a spirit of mutual cooperation to support one another in our respective journeys in both work and family life.

In order to encourage both fathers and mothers to take their parental leave in full, frank and non-judgmental conversations are needed at work. Working parents, colleagues and employers should be clear about their respective needs in both the short and long term, as well as their capacity to manage them. All should cooperate to ensure proper training and handover before the new parents go on parental leave, and employers should provide adequate compensation to employees who undertake additional work because of colleagues’ absences.

As society seeks to rebalance work and parenthood, there will be teething challenges. Mindsets may still take time to change. However, by constantly looking out for the needs of one another as we progress through different life stages, we can find a socially sustainable way forward.

Darius Lee is the executive director of Cultivate SG, a non-profit organisation dedicated to “growing the good, one conversation at a time”. He is also a trained lawyer and locum solicitor.

Source: Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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