Home / Checklists / Return to work after maternity leave
Return to work checklist
Put in your first day back and each step shows when to do it. The longest lead time is a flexible work request: your employer has two months to reply.
Sources read on 5 Nov 2026.
Two months before
2 months aheadInclude the date, the arrangement, how often and for how long, your reason, and start and end dates. Your employer should reply in writing within two months. Open to anyone past probation. Source: TAFEP
Working from home, different hours with the same workload, or part-time and job sharing. Source: TAFEP
8 weeks aheadInfant care, helper or grandparents Cost comparison
The month before
4 weeks aheadThe last 8 weeks of government-paid maternity leave can be taken flexibly within 12 months of the birth, for example half days or 3-day weeks. Source: MOM
3 weeks aheadTAFEP lists these as good practice for employers. No law requires them. Pumping and storing milk Source: TAFEP
Subsidy calculator Source: ECDA
Know your leave
For a Singapore-citizen child, until the year the child turns 7. It does not carry over. Childcare leave Source: MOM
In the child's first 2 years, after 3 months with your employer. Source: MOM
Dismissing an employee while she is on maternity leave is an offence. Source: MOM
The week before
1 week ahead
2 days aheadBreast pumps compared
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Questions parents ask
Can I ask to work from home after maternity leave?
Yes. Under the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests, in force since 1 December 2024, any employee past probation can make a formal written request. Your employer should reply in writing within two months and give a reason if it says no.
How many days of childcare leave do I get?
MOM gives each parent 6 days a year for a Singapore-citizen child until the year the child turns 7, plus 12 days a year of unpaid infant care leave in the first 2 years.
Where are my ticks saved?
In this browser on this device, and nowhere else. Nothing is sent to us. Clearing your browsing data or opening the list on another phone starts it fresh, so use Print if you want a paper copy.
Sources
- TAFEP: Guide to requesting and using flexible work arrangements (read 5 Nov 2026)
- TAFEP: Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests (read 5 Nov 2026)
- MOM: Planning your maternity leave (read 5 Nov 2026)
- TAFEP: Work-life programmes (read 5 Nov 2026)
- ECDA: Subsidy application for new preschool enrolment (read 5 Nov 2026)
- MOM: Childcare leave eligibility and entitlement (read 5 Nov 2026)
- MOM: Unpaid infant care leave (read 5 Nov 2026)
- MOM: Maternity protection and obligations (read 5 Nov 2026)
