MOL unveils more flexible parental, family care leave amid declining birth rate

Taipei, Sept. 4 (CNA) Starting next year, workers will be able to take parental leave by the day and family care leave on an hourly basis, to meet unexpected, short-term and urgent care needs, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) said Thursday.

The policy change is part of the government's efforts to address the country's falling birth rate. Estimates by the National Development Council indicate that the total number of births this year is expected to be 129,897, down from 134,856 recorded in 2024.

Currently, workers in Taiwan with children under 3 years old can take parental leave in one-month increments for up to two years, and family care leave, included in the 14 days of annual personal leave, in one-day increments for up to seven days per year.

Under the new rules, they will have the leeway to take parental leave one day at a time for up to 30 days, with the remaining one year and 11 months still available in one month increments. In terms of family care leave, which covers not only working parents but anyone with a family member in need, leave is available in one hour increments for up to seven days.

Workers who use up all seven days of family care leave can tap into their remaining annual personal leave if further needs arise.

In addition, small and micro enterprises with under 30 employees will receive a bonus of NT$1,000 for each family care leave day logged, with the MOL budgeting NT$500 million (US$16.30 million) for disbursements.

Existing rules guaranteeing that workers on parental leave receive 80 percent of their monthly salary for the first six months and will not be paid during family care leave remain unchanged.

The revised rules are expected to benefit around 10 million employed workers, according to an MOL estimate.

The MOL has requested NT$500 million to cover the expected expenditure for the bonuses, but if demand outstrips supply the ministry will free up other funds at its disposal, Labor Minister Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) said at a news conference.

The new measures will spare working parents from having to use their annual leave or take personal leave when they have to personally attend to sick children, Hung said, referring to rules that bar preschoolers diagnosed with enterovirus or having a fever from going to kindergarten or daycare.

Huang Chi-ya (黃琦雅), director of the MOL's Department of Labor Standards and Equal Employment, said employers who deny parental leave requests or interfere with how workers schedule such leave, face a maximum fine of NT$300,000.