Singapore Airlines cabin crew to retain employment after childbirth

Singapore Airlines (SIA1) (SINGY) cabin crew will no longer need to worry about their contracts ending after giving birth.

The airline is now allowing cabin crew to apply for temporary ground positions after becoming pregnant, and return to flying when they have given birth, according to a report from The Straits Times.

Previously, cabin crew would be placed on unpaid leave upon declaring they are pregnant and, once they submit the child’s birth certificate, were required to leave the company. Previously, ground positions, temporary or otherwise, were not offered to pregnant crew members. If the member of staff wanted to fly again, they would have to reapply under a returning crew scheme. However, that did not guarantee re-employment.

A memo seen by The Straits Times shows that Singapore Airlines’ (SIA1) (SINGY) new policy has been in place since July 15, 2022, and the airline said it is meant “to further support our cabin crew during and after their pregnancy”.

With the new policy, expectant crew will still be placed on unpaid leave, but are now able to apply for ground positions such as administrative work, customer feedback handling, content creation and event management.

After birth, cabin crew will be placed on up to 16 weeks of maternity leave before automatically being rostered to fly again.