Civil servants would soon be allowed to have three physical and mental health leave days each year, under a proposed amendment to Civil Servant Leave Regulations (公務人員請假規則).
The Ministry of Civil Service proposed the amendment after President William Lai (賴清德) in November last year highlighted the importance of mental health, which he said is critical in building a healthy nation, and a friendly and safe work environment. He instructed government agencies to study the possibility of providing civil servants mental health leave.
About 363,000 government workers would benefit from the new policy.
Photo: Hung Mei-hsiu, Taipei Times
Examination Yuan Secretary-General Liu Chien-sin (劉建忻) said it is reviewing the proposed amendment in accordance with administrative procedures.
Based on the proposal, mental health leave would be included among the approved categories of leave for civil servants. Government employees are permitted three days of mental health leave annually, which can be taken on an hourly basis to allow for more flexible use.
Three mental health leave days would be included as part of the existing seven days of paid personal leave for civil servants, the Ministry of Civil Service said.
Maintaining the number of paid personal leave days would avoid widening the disparity in leave entitlements among government workers, it said.
Civil servants would also be entitled to sick leave if they are diagnosed with a mental illness, it added.
Under the amendment, government workers taking mental health leave would not be required to provide medical proof, and the agencies they work for may not deny such a request, nor can their supervisors be allowed to use it to give a poor performance review of the worker.
Aside from civil servants, college students and graduate school students are also allowed to have three mental health leave days per semester. Students are not required to provide proof, and schools should have counselors contact the students when they return to school from mental health leave.
Police officers, firefighters and correctional facility workers can take mental counseling leave.
Healthcare workers at some medical institutions are allowed to take leave of absence similar to the mental health leave or can undergo employee assistance programs to help relieve the pressure of working different shifts.
Few companies in the private sector offer mental health leave to employees, but some high-tech firms in Taiwan allow employees to take a “wellness day” or “mental health support day.”
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