2016.11.08
Jenny Chen
The Ministry of Labor issued the Lao-Dong-Four-1050132607 Circular of November 8, 2016 (hereinafter, the “Circular”) to interpret the requirement for parental leave without pay under Article 16 of the Gender Equality in Employment Law (hereinafter, the “Law). The Circular came into effect on December 1, 2016.
Article 16, Paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Gender Equality in Employment Law (hereinafter, the “Law”) provide: “After being in service for six months, employees may apply for parental leave without pay before each child reaches the age of three until such child reaches the age of three, provided that such leave shall not exceed two years. When employees raise over two children at the same time, the periods of their parental leave without pay shall be combined so that the maximum period for raising the youngest child shall be limited to two years,” and “During the period of parental leave without pay, employees may continue to participate in their original social insurance program. Premiums originally paid by the employers shall be exempt and premiums originally borne by the employees shall be deferred for three years.” _
According to the Circular, to encourage employers to create an employment environment favorable to families so that their employees may balance their work and life, if an employer agrees that the periods of parental leave without pay for employees who raise over two children at the same time will not be combined for calculation, which is more favorable to the last part of Article 16, Paragraph 1 of the Law, the social insurance of such employees during the parental leave without pay and the premiums originally assumed by the employer shall be governed by Article 16, Paragraph 2 of the Law. However, the Circular also points out that the above parental leave without pay shall still meet the requirement that “employees may apply for parental leave without pay before each child reaches the age of three until such child reaches the age of three, provided that such leave shall not exceed two years.”