SINGAPORE: Giving employees additional days off on top of their annual leave to care for sick parents will increase business costs and discourage companies from setting up in Singapore, said Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Manpower Hawazi Daipi.

Instead, Mr Hawazi said companies are encouraged to adopt flexible work arrangements.

He was responding to a call in Parliament by an MP for West Coast GRC, Ho Geok Choo, to introduce parent-care leave.

Mr Hawazi said: "We appreciate that many working adults might have elderly parents to take care of. We should leave it to them to decide how best to meet these commitments, including using their annual leave, where necessary.

"Instead of mandating it, we should leave it to the discretion of employers who can afford to do so, to grant such leave as part of their personal benefits." - CNA/ir