Marriage leave for workers would be extended from eight to 14 days from Oct. 1, with the wage costs of the additional six days of leave to be covered by government subsidies, the Ministry of Labor said today.
Under the new rules, newly married workers would be entitled to apply for 14 days of marriage leave, said Huang Chi-ya (黃琦雅), head of the Department of Labor Standards and Equal Employment.
Workers who registered their marriage before the new regulations take effect, but who have not yet used all eight days of their marriage leave by Oct. 1, would also be able to apply for the extended leave, provided their eligibility period has not expired, she said.
Photo: Lee Ching-hui, Taipei Times
However, workers who have already taken all eight days of marriage leave or whose eligibility period expires before Oct. 1 without an extension agreed to by their employer would not qualify for the additional leave, she said.
Under current regulations, workers are entitled to eight days of fully paid marriage leave, with their wages fully covered by their employers. The leave must be taken within three months, starting 10 days before the marriage registration date, though it can be extended to up to one year with employer approval.
Employers must pay workers during the original eight-day marriage leave period, Huang said.
To ease the financial burden on businesses, employers would be able to apply to the ministry for wage subsidies covering days nine through 14 of the leave, she said.
The ministry has allocated NT$1.1 billion (US$34.5 million) for the subsidy program, which aims to support employers in creating a more family-friendly workplace environment, Huang said.
Details of the subsidy program and application procedures would be announced alongside amendments to the Regulations of Leave-Taking of Workers (勞工請假規則), she added.
The draft amendments are today expected to enter a public consultation period, the ministry said.
The official implementation date would be announced upon completion of statutory revisions and administrative procedures, it added.
In May, President William Lai (賴清德) announced a population strategy that comprises 18 measures across five policy areas aimed at addressing demographic challenges.
The measures include expanding marriage leave, maternity leave and paternity leave benefits, as well as upgrading flexible parental leave into a broader childcare leave system.
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