TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Parents who each take six months of parental leave will receive an additional month of childcare leave benefits under proposed legal amendments announced Thursday by Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰).
Cho said the government is pursuing amendments to encourage people of all genders to share family caregiving responsibilities, per CNA. Ahead of Mother's Day, he added that motherhood takes many forms, including mothers, fathers taking on maternal roles, grandparents raising grandchildren, foster parents, and caregivers.
He said the government is also promoting gender-friendly workplaces to help people balance work and family responsibilities. Existing measures include allowing childcare leave applications to be submitted per day and family care leave to be requested per hour, giving caregivers greater flexibility.
Cho said the proposed amendments would grant each parent an extra month of parental leave benefits if both take six months of childcare leave, CNA reported. Cho said the policy is intended to promote shared caregiving duties while advancing gender equality and building a more family-friendly society.
As of March, men accounted for 49.6% of applications for flexible parental leave, per UDN. In March, Labor Minister Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) said his ministry is studying a proposal to raise the eligibility age for parental leave to 6 years old, according to the Liberty Times.
The premier added that the government has launched the Long-term Care Plan 3.0 to strengthen family support systems. The updated policy expands respite care services and boosts capacity for nighttime and emergency care, easing pressure on caregivers.
Under current regulations, those covered by employment insurance are eligible for parental leave benefits for up to six months per child, according to CNA. The benefits provide 60% of a recipient’s average insured monthly salary, plus an additional 20% government subsidy, for a total salary replacement rate of 80%.
