31 August 2015 - Singtel and NCS staff can now benefit from up to two weeks of paid paternity leave.

The move to double paternity leave is a response to recent government calls to introduce additional paternity leave for working fathers of new born Singaporean children.

"Singtel has always been pro-family and we are pleased to deepen our commitment by including the enhanced paternity scheme in our family-friendly initiatives." said Ms Aileen Tan, Singtel, Group Chief Human Resources Officer. "For our employees to bring their best to work, we appreciate that their needs at home should also be well taken care of."

She added: "While their absence would have some implications on business operations, we have made our assessments, which show that we will be able to manage our resources accordingly."

The enhanced paternity leave will take retrospective effect from 1 January 2015 and can be taken flexibly within 12 months from the birth of the staff's child. This government-led initiative is currently voluntary for employers.

Another government initiative that Singtel fully supports is the call to raise the re-employment age from 65 to 67. Currently, Singtel has eight staff who are aged 67 and older in its employ. It also re-employs 70% to 80% of its staff when they turn 62.

Ms Tan added: "Many of our staff feel 62 is too early to stop work. Our older colleagues have a wealth of experience that is hard to come by, and we constantly provide retraining to help them stay relevant. If they are healthy, productive and want to keep contributing, we are more than happy to have them in our team."

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