With the continued decline in the number of newborns each year, Taiwan's low fertility rates have become a pressing and unavoidable challenge. One key factor is that many families, lacking adequate support, struggle to balance work and child care responsibilities, often resulting in parents leaving the workforce. To create a more supportive workplace environment for raising children, the government is launching a plan to enable more flexible use of parental leave without pay. Starting January 1, 2026, this initiative aims to help families better manage both work and child care commitments, thereby encouraging young people to have and raise kids, while also assisting businesses in retaining their core talent.
Key points
■ Parental leave without pay available in single-day units: Under current regulations, employees can apply for up to two years of parental leave without pay before their child turns three, during which the government provides an allowance equal to 80% of their salary for up to six months. Starting in 2026, they will be able to apply for up to 30 days of such leave in single-day units within the approved allowance period. Both parents combined may take up to 60 days in total and remain eligible for the allowance.
■ Family care leave available in hourly units: Under current regulations, employees who need to personally care for family members may apply for up to seven days of family care leave each year. This leave counts toward their 14-day personal leave entitlement. Under the new plan, they will be able to take family care leave in hourly units, up to a maximum of 56 hours per year. After exhausting their family care leave, employees may take any remaining personal leave by the hour to meet further caregiving needs. Employers may not deny such requests or use them as a reason to withhold full-attendance bonuses.
■ Supporting measures: Introduce incentives for family-friendly enterprises. Provide enhanced guidance on environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure for medium and large-sized companies, enabling a more comprehensive understanding of their efforts in fostering employee-friendly workplaces. Require employees to apply in advance for flexible use of parental leave without pay to facilitate work scheduling. Allow flexible overtime for substitute workers, with safeguards to prevent overwork and other related issues.