Government to subsidize new marriage leave

BUY-IN: To encourage companies to support the policy, employers would be able to apply for subsidies to cover wages for the additional six days of leave

• By Jake Chung / Staff writer, with CNA

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The government is to fully subsidize wages for the additional six days of paid marriage leave that become available tomorrow, the Ministry of Labor said yesterday.

The measure is part of an 18-point government policy package aimed at encouraging people to have children. It would extend paid marriage leave from eight days to 14.

Under current regulations, employees must generally take the up to eight days of leave within three months, beginning 10 days before the date of marriage, and employers are required to pay the wages. With the employer’s approval, a worker could extend the window for up to a year.

Department of Labor Standards and Equal Employment Director-General Huang Chi-ya holds a sign at a news conference in Taipei yesterday.

Photo: CNA

Employers are required by law to pay employees for all paid leave, but to encourage companies to support the new policy, the ministry would allow employers to apply for subsidies covering wages for the additional six days of marriage leave, Department of Labor Conditions and Employment Equality Director-General Huang Chi-ya (黃琦雅) said.

The subsidy is part of the ministry’s Guidelines for Wage Subsidies for Marriage, Maternity and Paternity Leave under the Family-Friendly Workplace Program (友善育兒職場婚孕產假薪資補助要點), which is also to take effect tomorrow.

The applications must be filed within two years of paying workers for marriage leave, Huang said.

Liu Hsiu-ling (劉秀玲), director of the Ordinary Accident Benefits Payment Division at the Bureau of Labor Insurance, said that wage subsidies for prenatal examination leave and paternity leave for prenatal examinations must be applied for through the bureau.

After paying the wages, employers can apply online using their organization credentials through the bureau’s e-service system, or download and complete an application for the marriage leave wage subsidy from its Web site and submit it by registered mail or in person.