Senior Minister of State Josephine Teo said that the take-up rate for paternity leave, which has been doubled to two weeks on a voluntary basis, is not high ("Dads will get more help to be active parents"; Tuesday).

The online system for Government-Paid Paternity Leave claims is still not fully functional.

When I tried to make a claim for one of my staff who became a father last year, I was told that the system still needed enhancement to cater for the second-week extension. I was told to submit my claim only in the middle of this year.

Companies would be more willing to give employees time off for paternity leave if they can be readily compensated for the loss of work days, instead of being asked to wait due to IT deficiencies.

Lim Weng Kheong