Taiwan to Introduce Daily Parental Leave and Hourly Family Care Leave in January 2026

Thirty days of parental leave can be taken one day at a time

Taiwan will introduce a more flexible leave system on January 1, 2026, allowing eligible working parents to take up to 30 days of parental leave in individual days. The change sits within the existing entitlement to take up to two years of unpaid parental leave before a child turns 3.

The new option is intended to help families handle short disruptions, such as a child falling ill or a daycare centre closing, without requiring a parent to leave work for a month or longer. Employees will still be able to use longer periods of parental leave when their families need them.

Family care leave will also become more flexible. Workers will be able to use their annual entitlement of seven days in hourly amounts, up to 56 hours a year. A medical appointment or a school meeting could therefore require only a short absence rather than a full day away from work.

The Ministry of Labor and the Bureau of Labor Insurance are preparing updated systems, application forms and guidance for the changes. Online applications will be available around the clock, and revised procedures will bring insurance continuation and reinstatement together in one process.

Parental leave remains unpaid by the employer, but social insurance provides wage support. Each parent can receive 80 percent of average covered earnings for up to six months per child. A seventh month of pay replacement is available if both parents each take the full six months.

Small and micro employers will receive NT$1,000 for each approved day of daily parental leave. The incentive is intended to encourage businesses with fewer resources to support the new flexibility, with payments made after verification through a single submission portal.

Who can use the daily option?

Employees with at least six months of service can apply for unpaid parental leave until their child's third birthday, for a maximum of two years. Within that entitlement, up to 30 days can be used separately as individual days of leave.

The remaining parental leave entitlement will be taken in blocks of at least one month. The daily option therefore gives parents an additional way to arrange their existing leave, while preserving access to longer breaks for sustained childcare needs.

Adoptive parents are also covered when they have begun living with a child before the formal adoption is completed. This allows the leave arrangements to reflect the start of day to day care, rather than only the completion of the legal adoption process.

Applications generally require five days of advance notice. For emergencies, including a child's illness, a school suspension or a childcare closure, an employee may give notice the day before the leave begins.

The main dates and notice periods are:

• December 3, 2025: The January changes are still ahead, with government agencies updating systems, forms and guidance.
• January 1, 2026: Daily parental leave and hourly family care leave are scheduled to begin.
• Five days before leave: The standard notice period for a parental leave application.
• The day before leave: Notice is permitted for emergencies such as illness or the closure of a school or childcare service.
• Before a child's third birthday: Eligible parents can use their parental leave entitlement, subject to the two year maximum.

Hourly leave for shorter family responsibilities

The Gender Equality in Employment Act gives workers up to seven days of unpaid family care leave each year. From January 2026, employees will be able to take that leave in units of one hour, up to a total of 56 hours annually.

A worker attending a medical appointment or a short parent teacher meeting could use one or two hours rather than a whole day. The leave remains unpaid, but the employee can limit the time away from work to the period needed for the family responsibility.

Workers who reach the seven day family care limit may still use any remaining personal leave for caregiving. Employers cannot reduce attendance bonuses or take punitive action against employees for lawfully using family care leave.

How wage support and insurance will work

Social insurance, rather than the employer, provides pay replacement during parental leave. Each parent can receive 80 percent of average monthly covered earnings for up to six months per child, with a seventh month available if both parents each take the full six months.

Covered earnings are the earnings used by the insurance system to calculate benefits. The 80 percent rate is applied to that average, so the payment is described in terms of insured earnings rather than simply as a percentage of a worker's current pay.

The two year leave entitlement and the period of wage support serve different purposes. The first sets how long an eligible employee may take parental leave before the child turns 3. The second sets how long social insurance will provide pay replacement during that leave.

Workers who continue their social insurance coverage while on leave will keep that coverage active. When leave ends, insurance status will be restored automatically, and retirement contributions will resume the following day.

The revised forms are designed to handle insurance continuation and reinstatement together. Employers will no longer need to submit separate reinstatement notices, reducing the paperwork associated with a worker's return.

Applications can be grouped and submitted around the clock

The Bureau of Labor Insurance is simplifying applications so that repeated short absences do not require a separate benefits submission every time. Workers may accumulate up to 30 individual days of parental leave requests and submit them together in one application.

Applications can be made online or on paper. For online submissions, either the employer or the insured worker can apply 24 hours a day. Identity verification using a mobile phone and a National Health Insurance card is intended to speed up reviews.

The grouped application process addresses the administrative work created by daily leave. Parents still have to follow the notice rules when requesting time away from their employer, while the benefits process allows multiple daily requests to be submitted together.

Government websites are adding a dedicated section with instructions for employees and employers, short tutorial videos, information about subsidies and wage support, a calculator and answers to common questions. These tools are intended to help applicants understand the process and reduce delays.

What the changes mean for a family's week

A preschool class that closes for two days after a flu outbreak illustrates the need for daily leave. An eligible parent could use two individual days of parental leave to cover the closure and preserve the rest of the entitlement for later needs.

A child who needs to stay home for a day after a fever presents a similar situation. The parent could request one day of parental leave, using the shorter notice period available for an emergency involving a child's illness.

A parent teacher conference may require much less time. A worker could use one or two hours of family care leave instead of taking a whole day away from work. The hourly option lets the length of the absence match the task more closely.

Parents may also combine different lengths of leave over time. A worker could take several individual days across a few months for scattered care emergencies, then use a block of one month when childcare arrangements change or a grandparent becomes involved in providing care.

The 30 day limit applies within the broader parental leave entitlement available before the child turns 3. Families that need a longer continuous break will still have access to leave in blocks of at least one month.

Employers must protect lawful leave use

Employers cannot reject an eligible parental leave application that meets the notice requirements or penalize an employee for using the leave. Interference with lawful parental leave may result in fines of up to NT$300,000.

Companies will need to check that attendance bonuses, performance ratings and promotion decisions do not punish workers for taking lawful leave. Family care leave also carries protection against reductions in attendance bonuses and other punitive steps.

Human resources teams will need to revise internal policies, forms and systems to accommodate both individual days of parental leave and hourly family care leave. Handbooks and employee intranet pages should explain eligibility, notice periods, online applications and the way pay replacement works.

Payroll and benefits teams will also need to confirm that insurance continuation and automatic reinstatement are handled correctly. Retirement contributions should resume on the day after a period of leave ends.

Managers will need coverage plans for jobs where work cannot simply stop during an employee's absence. Training employees to cover essential duties can help reduce pressure on colleagues and prevent sudden increases in overtime when someone needs a short period of leave.

Small employers will receive a daily subsidy

Small and micro employers that approve daily parental leave will be eligible for a NT$1,000 subsidy per approved day. Account information will be submitted through a single online portal, and the government will deposit the payment after verification.

The payment gives these businesses financial support as they adjust to shorter and potentially more frequent absences. For employers, the practical work includes arranging cover, recording leave accurately and keeping payroll and benefits processes aligned with the new rules.

Medium and large employers that go beyond the legal minimum can pursue recognition through programs supporting workplaces that accommodate family responsibilities. Those programs highlight good practices in balancing work and personal life.

Companies may also report such measures in environmental, social and governance disclosures, commonly called ESG disclosures. In this context, family leave practices form part of how a business describes its treatment of employees.

The Bureau of Labor Insurance's online guides and short videos are intended to support both employers and workers. Together with the revised forms and submission portal, they are meant to make the new arrangements easier to administer.

Why flexibility matters in Taiwan and the region

Taiwan faces record low fertility and a rapidly aging population. Policymakers have been looking for ways to help families manage care while remaining connected to employment.

The previous structure of parental leave tended to push workers toward lengthy blocks of absence. That arrangement often did not match short and unpredictable childcare needs. Daily leave is intended to address that gap by allowing parents to step away briefly when care arrangements fail.

Fathers have become more involved in taking parental leave. Uptake among men has risen strongly since 2019, and men now account for a larger share of total parental leave use. At the same time, the absolute amount of maternity leave taken has declined as births have fallen.

Employers are also dealing with tight hiring conditions. Leave arrangements that accommodate family responsibilities can help companies retain trained employees, while allowing parents to remain connected to their jobs.

Across East Asia, governments are working to support parents and encourage more fathers to take leave. Taiwan's combination of daily parental leave, hourly family care leave and continuing pay replacement places it among the region's more flexible systems.

Other economies in the Asia Pacific region are introducing employment changes at the start of 2026, including wage adjustments and new leave schemes. For international employers operating in Taiwan, the principle of greater flexibility may be familiar, but putting it into practice will require changes to local policies and systems.

The daily option can lower the barrier for fathers who want to help with care without taking a long break from work. Hourly family care leave can make short responsibilities easier to manage without rearranging an entire working day.

Consistent implementation will matter for families and employers alike. Parents need to be able to use lawful leave without bias, while companies need workable arrangements that keep essential tasks covered during absences.

What to Know

• Daily parental leave and hourly family care leave begin on January 1, 2026.
• Employees with at least six months of service can use up to 30 individual days within their parental leave entitlement.
• Parental leave remains available for up to two years before a child turns 3, with the remaining entitlement taken in blocks of at least one month.
• Adoptive parents who begin living with a child before formal adoption are also covered.
• Standard parental leave notice is five days. Emergency notice may be given the day before.
• Annual family care leave can be used by the hour, up to seven days or 56 hours. Remaining personal leave can also be used for caregiving.
• Social insurance provides 80 percent of average covered earnings for up to six months per parent per child, with a seventh month available if both parents each take six months.
• Up to 30 daily leave requests can be grouped into one application. Online and paper applications are available.
• Insurance reinstatement is automatic, and retirement contributions resume the day after leave ends when coverage continues during leave.
• Small and micro employers can receive NT$1,000 per approved day of daily parental leave after verification.
• Employers cannot penalize lawful leave use. Interference with parental leave may bring fines of up to NT$300,000.