To align with the government's newly launched [New Strategic Population Policy for Taiwan], the Ministry of Labor (MOL) will provide family support through six major measures. These initiatives aim to assist citizens across various stages, including marriage, pregnancy, child-rearing, and fostering a friendly workplace environment, enabling them to balance work and family life. By increasing marriage leave, maternity leave, and paternity/pregnancy check-up leave, extending the eligible age and subsidies for parental leave, and upgrading childcare leave, the MOL hopes to implement these six major measures on New Year's Day next year (2027) to build the ideal "childcare-friendly" workplace!

Estimated 300,000 Beneficiaries! MOL's 6 Major "Childcare-Friendly Workplace" Measures Set to Launch Next Year at the Earliest

In response to the government's [New Strategic Population Policy for Taiwan], the MOL announced six major measures to support young families throughout marriage, pregnancy, child-rearing, and workplace inclusion. The most highly anticipated adjustments include:

• Extending marriage leave to 14 days.
• Extending maternity leave to 12 weeks.
• Extending pregnancy check-up companion and paternity leave to 14 days.
• Upgrading flexible parental leave without pay into a 60-day childcare leave, among other enhancements.

The goal is to create a more supportive parenting workplace so that young people feel confident to marry, give birth, and raise children, while also encouraging companies to retain and attract talent.

As these measures involve amending the Gender Equity in Employment Act, the Employment Insurance Act, and related regulations, as well as adding new subsidy rules for friendly workplaces, the MOL has already submitted the draft amendments of both laws to the Executive Yuan for review. Considering how human resource systems in many enterprises calculate dates, the ministry aims for an official implementation on New Year's Day next year.

At a Glance: The 6 Major "Childcare-Friendly Workplace" Measures Extending Marriage, Maternity, and Paternity Leave!

Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han explained that driving institutional reforms for childcare-friendly workplaces, and even amending the laws, has been one of his top-priority goals since transitioning from the Legislative Yuan to the MOL in 2024.

"Time" is a major pain point for many working families with children. Therefore, after a period of policy review and preparation—referencing international systems, considering corporate burdens, and synthesizing feedback from various sectors—the MOL has launched a comprehensive set of practices to create a "Family Care-Friendly Workplace". The government aims to reduce burdens on both employers and employees by providing financial subsidies and flexible options, creating more incentives for businesses to accommodate workers' needs.

The specific details of the 6 major measures are described below:

1. Extending Marriage Leave to 14 Days, Maternity Leave to 12 Weeks, and Paternity Leave to 14 Days

• Marriage Leave: Current workers' marriage leave of 8 days will be extended to 14 days, aligning with military personnel, civil servants, and public school teachers.
• Maternity Leave: The current 8 weeks of maternity leave will be extended to 12 weeks to allow mothers to recover physically and mentally.
• Pregnancy Check-up Companion & Paternity Leave: The current 7 days will be doubled to 14 days, allowing expectant fathers to accompany their partners.
• Wage Subsidies: Employers who pay wages for these newly added leave days can apply to the MOL for full subsidies.

2. Extending the Eligible Age and Subsidies for "Parental Leave," and Raising the Cap on Insured Salary

• Age Extension: The eligible age for parents to care for young children will be extended to 6 years old, and the program will be renamed "Childcare Leave without Pay" (育兒留停) to comprehensively care for preschool children.
• Expanded Subsidies: If both parents claim the full 6 months of parental leave allowance, each parent can claim an additional 3 months, making it a maximum of 9 months each to encourage shared parenting responsibilities.
• Insured Salary Scaling: The Employment Insurance insured salary grading table will be updated to increase the actual income replacement rate, making protection closer to workers' real needs.

3. Upgrading 30 Days of "Flexible Parental Leave" into a Doubled 60 Days of "Childcare Leave"

• The daily-based flexible parental leave will be upgraded to "Childcare Leave" (育兒假), increasing the current 30 flexible days to 60 days, which will be integrated into the total parental leave period and subsidy calculations.
• The MOL will expand incentives for "companies with under 200 employees" that support workers applying for childcare leave, and will subsidize companies that provide an extra allowance to colleagues acting as job proxies.

4. Rewarding Flexible and Reduced Working Hour Environments, While Perfecting Accompanying Job-Proxy Subsidies

• Incentives for Small & Medium Enterprises: Companies with under 200 employees that establish a 1-hour daily reduction in working hours or a flexible clock-in/out system for employees raising children under 12 will receive a fixed incentive.
• No Pay Cuts: To ease corporate burdens, the MOL will fully subsidize the employer for the 1-hour reduced work time, ensuring the employee receives a full salary. Subsidies will also be provided to encourage businesses to pay an extra allowance to colleagues handling the proxy work.

5. Subsidizing "Colleague Job-Proxy Allowances" and Encouraging Alternate Hirings to Support Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises

This marks the first time the MOL has introduced a "Job-Proxy Allowance" alongside subsidies for recruitment and training costs when employers hire "substitute personnel". The goal is to ensure that "supporting colleagues receive an allowance," "bosses have resources to fill vacancies," and "manpower scheduling is well-supported":

• To balance both childcare and corporate scheduling needs, companies will receive a daily subsidy of NT$800 per employee to fund job-proxy allowances, fostering a supportive workplace.
• Companies with under 200 employees that establish a job-proxy allowance system or hire new substitute personnel will receive a fixed reward/subsidy of NT$20,000.

6. Strengthening Corporate Childcare, Enhancing Tax Deductions, and Giving Parents Peace of Mind

• Upgraded Facilities: To encourage corporate childcare facilities, the MOL launched a policy on May 1 providing a maximum subsidy of NT$5 million for newly built corporate childcare facilities and subsidizing corporate childcare allowances for employees. Regulations for SMEs establishing childcare institutions have been eased, location restrictions loosened, and family-friendly workplace metrics have been incorporated into ESG evaluations for listed companies.
• Double Tax Deductions: To increase incentives, the MOL plans to offer enhanced tax benefits for corporate expenditures on childcare facilities or services. Companies can deduct 200% of the expenditure amount from their profit-seeking enterprise income.

Closing Statement by the MOL: The government is utilizing substantial resources and tax cuts to lead small and medium enterprises in transforming Taiwan's workplace into a warm environment where young people feel confident to marry, willing to give birth, happy to raise children, and secure in their careers. "The nation will help raise your children." Supporting employees' needs at different stages of life will help reduce turnover caused by family care duties, achieve talent sustainability, and assist enterprises in retaining talent to avoid labor shortages.

Q&A: How to Apply for "Childcare Leave" and the "6+3" Childcare Subsidies?

Based on the adjustments and information released by the MOL, here is a breakdown of the upgraded "Childcare Leave" and the details of the "6+3" childcare subsidy payments:

Q: Who can apply for Childcare Leave? How do you apply?

A: Employed workers (both fathers and mothers) who are raising children under 6 years old can apply for childcare leave if they need to personally care for their child due to illness, daycare/school closures, vaccinations, or other personal care needs.

Q: How many days of Childcare Leave can be requested?

 A: Before each child turns 7 years old, employees are entitled to a maximum of 2 years of parental leave without pay, within which 60 days are designated as Childcare Leave, which can be applied for on a single-day basis.

Q: Is Childcare Leave paid? How is the allowance calculated?

A: Employers are not required to pay wages when employees take childcare leave. However, employees can apply for the parental leave allowance. If you apply for 1 day of leave, you will receive 1 day's worth of allowance. The Bureau of Labor Insurance (MOL) will calculate the amount proportionally based on the number of days taken and deposit it directly into the worker's account.

Q: Flexible parental leave has been upgraded to Childcare Leave. Will social insurance coverage continue?

A: Once upgraded to Childcare Leave, the system shifts from the concept of "unpaid leave of absence" to an "approved leave category." Therefore, after an employee applies, the labor-employer contract relationship continues, and relevant social insurance coverage and seniority will not be interrupted.

Q: Can a single parent raising a child alone receive the "6+3" months of allowance?

A: Yes. If one parent of the child is deceased, and the surviving parent is an insured person under Employment Insurance, they can receive the additional 3 months after completing the first 6 months of claims.

Q: If both parents already claimed the full 6 months of parental leave allowance before the new law took effect, can they "claim an additional 3 months of allowance" afterward?

A: Yes. As long as the child is under 6 years old and the maximum 2 years of parental leave has not been exhausted, parents can continue to receive the newly added allowance when they apply for leave in the future.

Q: If both parents already exhausted their 2 years of parental leave and 6 months of allowance before the new law took effect, can they "claim an additional 3 months of allowance" afterward?

A: No. Parents can only take a maximum of 2 years of parental leave each. Even if the child is still under 6 years old, since they can no longer apply for parental leave, they are ineligible to receive the extra 3 months of parental leave allowance.

Q: Has the cap on the parental leave allowance been increased?

A: The government is currently planning amendments to the Employment Insurance Act to raise the insured salary cap. In the future, the maximum monthly allowance will exceed NT$40,000.