Singapore Armed Forces (Leave) Regulations

Singapore Armed Forces Act

(Chapter 295, Section 205)

Rg 12

G.N. No. S 116/1991

REVISED EDITION 2001

(31st January 2001)

[29th January 1991]

Citation

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Singapore Armed Forces (Leave) Regulations.

Definitions

2. In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires —

“confinement” means the delivery of a child;

“deferred leave” means any vacation leave which is recorded as deferred leave under the Singapore Army (Leave) Regulations 1971 (S 133/71);

“dentist” means a person registered as a dentist under the Dentists Act (Cap. 76) and has a valid practising certificate issued under that Act;

[S 256/2006 wef 01/11/2004]

“Director of Manpower” includes any officer duly authorised by the Director of Manpower to act on his behalf;

“general orders” includes orders of the Armed Forces Council, General Orders of the Ministry of Defence, standing orders, routine orders and other general orders published in writing in accordance with military usage;

“medical certificate” means a document issued by a medical practitioner or a dentist certifying that a serviceman is unfit to discharge his duties;

[S 256/2006 wef 01/11/2004]

“medical practitioner” means a medical practitioner registered under the Medical Registration Act (Cap. 174) and has a valid practising certificate issued under that Act;

[S 256/2006 wef 01/11/2004]

“service”, for the purpose of calculating leave eligibility under these Regulations, means service with the Singapore Armed Forces and includes —

(a)	all periods of leave, except no pay leave and no pay study leave, granted to a serviceman; [S 256/2006 wef 01/11/2004]
(b)	any service with the Singapore Military Forces;
(c)	any service with the Malaysian Armed Forces immediately preceding 9th August 1965; and
(d)	any service in the Government or any statutory board where the service has been converted on a one for one basis to pensionable service for the purposes of the Singapore Armed Forces (Pensions) Regulations (Rg 9),

but excludes —

(i)	periods of absence without leave, desertion, imprisonment or detention of any other description by order of a civil or military court or any public authority; and
(ii)	periods of previous services of a re-employed Singapore Armed Forces pensioner or serviceman;

“serviceman” means a member of the Singapore Armed Forces and includes a servicewoman;

“week” means a continuous period of 7 days.

[S 256/2006 wef 01/11/2004]

Application of leave schemes

3.—(1) The leave scheme set out in the First Schedule shall apply to —

(a)	regular servicemen who have exercised an option for the scheme of leave under the Singapore Armed Forces (1971 Leave Scheme) Regulations 1974 (S 372/74), revoked by these Regulations, before 1st July 1979;
(b)	national servicemen;
(c)	servicemen enlisted before 1st July 1979 who are engaged as pilots before 1st January 2005; and [S 256/2006 wef 01/11/2004]
(d)	servicemen enlisted on or after 1st July 1979 who are engaged as pilots before 1st January 2005 and are not permanently grounded at any time since their engagement as pilots, [S 256/2006 wef 01/11/2004]

but shall not apply to regular servicemen who are re-employed on or after 1st July 1979 with a break in service.

(2) The leave scheme set out in the Second Schedule shall apply to all regular servicemen who have exercised an option for the scheme of leave under the Singapore Armed Forces (1973 Leave Scheme) Regulations 1974 (S 291/74), revoked by these Regulations, before 1st July 1979 but shall not apply to servicemen who are re-employed on or after 1st July 1979 with a break in service.

(3) The leave scheme set out in the Third Schedule shall apply to —

(a)	servicemen enlisted during the period from 1st July 1979 to 31st October 2004 who are engaged as pilots and are permanently grounded at any time since their engagement as pilots; and
(b)	regular servicemen employed, or re-employed with a break in service, during the period from 1st July 1979 to 31st October 2004. [S 256/2006 wef 01/11/2004]

(3A) The leave scheme set out in the Fourth Schedule shall apply to —

(a)	servicemen enlisted on or after 1st November 2004 who are engaged as pilots and are permanently grounded at any time since their engagement as pilots; and
(b)	regular servicemen employed, or re-employed with a break in service, on or after 1st November 2004. [S 256/2006 wef 01/11/2004]

(3B) The leave scheme set out in the Fifth Schedule shall apply to servicemen who are engaged as pilots on or after 1st January 2005 and are not permanently grounded at any time since their engagement as pilots.

[S 256/2006 wef 01/11/2004]

(4) The leave schemes set out in the First to Fifth Schedules shall not apply to servicemen whose contracts of service or terms of engagement contain express provisions regarding their leave.

Pro rating of leave

4. In the course of a calendar year if a serviceman —

(a)	joins the Singapore Armed Forces;
(b)	leaves the Singapore Armed Forces;
(c)	is absent for any period or periods which are deemed as service not qualifying for leave by any general order; or
(d)	becomes eligible for vacation leave at a different rate,

the vacation leave eligibility for the period or periods served in that calendar year shall be calculated on a pro rata basis. In such calculation, any fraction of a day’s leave shall be regarded as a full day.

Forfeiture of leave

5. A serviceman shall forfeit all the leave that he may be eligible for if —

(a)	he is released from service at his request without his having given the minimum period of notice for his release required under his terms and conditions of service;
(b)	he is discharged with ignominy or dismissed as a result of a sentence of a civil court or a military court or otherwise;
(c)	he is discharged on disciplinary or other grounds;
(d)	he is discharged or released immediately after a period of absence while undergoing imprisonment, corrective training, preventive detention, reformative training, or detention of any other description to which he is liable in consequence of an order or sentence of a civil court, disciplinary officer, military court or an order of any public authority; or
(e)	he does not consume his leave within a period specified under any general order.

Deferred leave

6. A serviceman who has any deferred leave standing to his credit may be allowed to take his deferred leave subject to any exigencies of service, but only after he has completely consumed the vacation leave he is eligible for at the relevant time.

Medical leave

7. Every application for medical leave by a serviceman shall be supported by a medical certificate.

[S 256/2006 wef 01/11/2004]

Maternity leave

8.—(1) A married servicewoman who has been in service for at least 90 days before the date of her confinement shall be eligible for the grant of maternity leave on full pay for —

(a)

a period of 8 weeks commencing —

(i)	not earlier than 4 weeks immediately before the date of the confinement; and
(ii)	not later than the date immediately following the confinement; and

(b)

one or more further periods, not exceeding 56 days in the aggregate, which shall be within the period of 12 months from the date of the confinement, if the child delivered during the confinement is a citizen of Singapore at the time of the child’s birth.

[S 256/2006 wef 01/11/2004]

(1A) [Deleted by S 640/2008 wef 17/08/2008]

(1B) [Deleted by S 640/2008 wef 17/08/2008]

(1C) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a servicewoman who, on or after 17th August 2008 —

(a)	is married and delivers a child who is not a citizen of Singapore at the time of his birth;
(b)	is not married and delivers a child who is a citizen of Singapore at the time of his birth; or
(c)	is not married and delivers a child who is not a citizen of Singapore at the time of his birth,

and who has been in service for at least 90 days before the date of her confinement, shall be eligible for the grant of maternity leave on full pay if —

(i)	where the child is not a citizen of Singapore at the time of his birth, he becomes a citizen of Singapore before he attains 12 months of age; and [S 640/2008 wef 17/08/2008]
(ii)	where the servicewoman is not married, she becomes lawfully married to the child’s natural father after the child’s birth but before the child attains 12 months of age.

(1D) The period of maternity leave granted to a servicewoman under paragraph (1C) shall be as follows:

(a)

if the relevant event occurs within the period of 8 weeks commencing on the day of her confinement —

(i)	the period commencing on the day the relevant event occurs and ending on the last day of the period of 8 weeks commencing on the day of her confinement; and
(ii)	one or more further periods, not exceeding 56 days in the aggregate, which shall be within the period of 12 months commencing on the day of her confinement; or

(b)

if the relevant event occurs after the period of 8 weeks commencing on the day of her confinement, one or more periods commencing on or after the day the relevant event occurs, not exceeding 56 days in the aggregate, which shall be within the period of 12 months commencing on the day of her confinement.

[S 677/2007 wef 19/12/2007]

(1E) In paragraph (1D), “relevant event”, in relation to a servicewoman who —

(a)

delivers a child who is not a citizen of Singapore at the time of his birth, means the child becoming a citizen of Singapore;

(b)

is not married, means the servicewoman becoming lawfully married to the child’s natural father; and

(c)

is not married and delivers a child who is not a citizen of Singapore at the time of his birth, means the later of the following events:

(i)	the child becoming a citizen of Singapore; or
(ii)	the servicewoman becoming lawfully married to the child’s natural father. [S 677/2007 wef 19/12/2007]

(1F) In paragraphs (1), (1C) and (1E), in relation to a servicewoman who delivers a child, “married” means —

(a)	being lawfully married to the child’s natural father at the time the child is conceived; or
(b)	becoming lawfully married to the child’s natural father after the child is conceived but before the child’s birth, whether or not such marriage remains subsisting at the time of the child’s birth. [S 677/2007 wef 19/12/2007]

(2) A servicewoman who has been granted maternity leave on full pay in any one year shall only be eligible in the same calendar year for medical leave on full pay up to a maximum of —

(a)	30 days whether or not she is warded in a hospital, if she is on the leave scheme set out in the First, Second, Third or Fifth Schedule; or
(b)	14 days if she is not warded in a hospital and 60 days if she is warded in a hospital, if she is on the leave scheme set out in the Fourth Schedule. [S 677/2007 wef 19/12/2007]

(3) A servicewoman who is not eligible for maternity leave on full pay may not be granted medical leave on full pay within 4 weeks immediately before or 4 weeks immediately after confinement unless her Commanding Officer in consultation with the medical officer of her unit is satisfied that her illness is not directly related to her confinement.

(4) [Deleted by S 256/2006 wef 01/11/2004]

Other miscellaneous leave provisions

9. The Director of Manpower may, subject to any general orders, grant to a serviceman —

(a)

compassionate leave —

(i)	to attend to dangerous illness, imminent death or death of his spouse, child, parent or next-of-kin; or
(ii)	to attend to urgent problems of a personal nature if the serviceman’s presence is essential to avoid domestic hardship;

(b)

embarkation leave prior to the serviceman proceeding overseas on official duty;

(c)

disembarkation leave upon the return of the serviceman to Singapore after a period of official duty served overseas, except where the serviceman returns to Singapore from overseas for immediate release, retirement or discharge;

(d)

pilgrimage leave to enable a Muslim serviceman to complete his pilgrimage to Mecca if the serviceman has accumulated vacation leave up to an amount equal to his eligibility for 2 calendar year’s service;

(e)

unrecorded full pay leave if he is selected to represent Singapore in any sporting, cultural or other activities; or

(f)

no pay leave or other types of leave.

General orders relating to leave schemes

10. The Armed Forces Council may make general orders relating to any leave scheme under these Regulations including procedures for the grant of leave.

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