Employer action code: Monitor
The government has submitted draft legislation that would substantially improve various family leave minimum entitlements. The proposals are part of the family support initiative the president announced in May 2026 to address the shrinking and aging of the population and workforce that has resulted from continued record low fertility rates (falling to 0.695 per woman in 2025 from 0.885 in 2024, both far below the replacement rate of about 2.1).
Key details
- The minimum maternity leave entitlement would increase from eight to 12 weeks, with pay replacement benefits for the additional four weeks payable by social security (through employer reimbursement), in contrast to the first eight weeks that are employer paid. Mothers could elect to waive the additional four benefit weeks and return to work earlier, subject to doctor approval. Employers that provide enhanced maternity leave benefits, or provide leave benefits in case of miscarriage during the first three months of pregnancy, would be eligible for wage subsidies from the government
- The minimum paternity leave entitlement would increase from seven to 14 working days. Paternity leave can already be taken before birth to accompany the mother to prenatal checkups. The number of leave days for prenatal checkups for expectant mothers would remain at seven. As with maternity leave, the additional benefit days would be paid by social security
- Eligibility for parental leave would extend to parents of children under age six (currently age three). In addition, pay replacement benefits from social security (currently six months) would increase to nine months for each parent for families where both parents have taken six months of parental leave. The maximum monthly benefit would increase to 40,000 New Taiwan dollars (currently NT$36,640) following an increase in the Employment Insurance insured salary ceiling
- Employers offering childcare services would be able to deduct related expenses from taxable income at double the actual cost
Employer implications
Employers should monitor the legislative process of the proposed family leave enhancements and review how the changes would affect their leave and family benefit policies if enacted. Among companies surveyed by WTW, only around 20% offer maternity and paternity leave over statutory requirements. However, supplemental provision of childcare benefits, previously rare among companies, is receiving increasing attention from employers, driven in part by the rising awareness of the low birth rate.
The proposed changes would follow previous improvements to the conditions of parental leave and social security pay replacement benefits during leave; most recently, at the beginning of 2026 the uptake of parental and family care leaves became more flexible (see Related insights). In addition to enhancing family leave benefits, the president also presented other proposed measures yet to be legislated, including a universal child allowance of NT$5,000 (US$150) per month, increased support for fertility treatments, expansion of affordable childcare services, allowances for employers to cover costs related to substituting employees on family leaves, and housing benefits for young couples and families, to mention a few.
