Marriage Leave Extended from 8 to 14 Days Starting October! Married Workers Who Meet Conditions Can Also Benefit – Full Eligibility Explained

The Ministry of Labor announced today (17) the draft amendment to Articles 2 and 12 of the "Labor Leave Rules," extending marriage leave from 8 to 14 days, with implementation scheduled for October 1, 2024. For employees who registered marriage before the new system takes effect, if they are still within the statutory leave request period and have not fully used their original 8-day marriage leave, the leave duration will automatically extend from 8 to 14 days under the new regulations.

The extension of marriage leave from 8 to 14 days includes an additional 6 days, with the government covering the wage costs. President Lai Qingde announced the "New National Strategy for Population Policy – Family Support Chapter" on May 27, 2024, which includes 18 measures aimed at addressing childcare challenges faced by young parents. As part of this strategy, the government is enhancing workplace support by extending marriage leave, prenatal examination companion leave, and paternity leave to 14 days each, and increasing maternity leave from 8 weeks to 12 weeks.

The Ministry of Labor held a press conference today to explain the draft amendment, which extends marriage leave to 14 days. After completing the public announcement process, the regulation will be formally issued and implemented on October 1, 2024. Under the new system, newlyweds registering marriage on or after October 1 can apply for 14 days of marriage leave. For those who registered marriage before the new system takes effect, if they are still within the statutory request period—defined as within 3 months from 10 days before the marriage registration date (or extended to 1 year with employer consent)—and have not fully used their original 8-day leave, the new 14-day rule will apply automatically.

The Ministry stated that under current regulations, employers must pay full wages during marriage leave. To alleviate the increased wage burden on employers due to the extended leave, the government will subsidize wages for the additional 6 days (days 9 to 14). Employers can apply for reimbursement from the Ministry of Labor after paying the wages to employees.

However, employees who have already used all 8 days of marriage leave before October 1, 2024, will not be eligible for the additional leave. Huang Chi-Ya, Director of the Department of Labor Conditions and Employment Equality, clarified that marriage leave is calculated in working days and does not include national holidays. Therefore, couples marrying on favorable dates before October, such as September 27, can begin their honeymoon during the consecutive holidays and still have 14 working days available for marriage leave to handle family-related affairs.

Huang emphasized that employees can begin taking marriage leave up to 10 days before their registration date. The statutory request period begins 10 days before registration and lasts for 3 months, or up to 1 year if extended by agreement with the employer. As long as the employee remains within this request period when the new system takes effect, the extended leave will apply.

To determine eligibility for the extended leave, employees should check two conditions: (1) whether they have already used all 8 days of their original marriage leave, and (2) whether the 3-month request period (starting 10 days before registration) spans beyond October 1, 2024. If both conditions are met, the leave will automatically extend from 8 to 14 days.