Written in response to a news report. Facts and law may have changed since the publication date.
The Ministry of Labor announced on 29 September 2026 that marriage leave under the Regulations on Leave-Taking of Workers (勞工請假規則) extends from 8 to 14 days from 1 October 2026. Alongside the amendment, the ministry issued a wage-subsidy program (友善育兒職場婚孕產假薪資補助要點) under which the government reimburses in full the wages employers pay for days 9–14. Taiwan News carried an English summary of the same change.
Who pays, and when the employer can claim
Marriage leave remains fully paid leave, and the employer pays the wages for all 14 days. For the six added days (days 9–14), the employer can claim the wages back from the Bureau of Labor Insurance (BLI) once the worker has finished the leave, or once the employment contract has ended before the leave was completed. The ministry lists two channels: online through the BLI e-service system, logging in with the employer’s digital certificate, or a paper application form sent by registered mail or delivered to the BLI.
The ministry says applications accepted in 2026 will in principle be paid for the first time by the end of January 2027, and applications accepted from January 2027 onward are to be paid by the end of the following month. In both cases, the ministry adds, payment can be made only after the 2027 budget has been passed. The employer must file within two years after paying the marriage-leave wages.
The national laws database has not caught up
As of 2 October 2026, Article 2 of the leave regulations on the national laws database still read “eight days” of marriage leave, and the full regulation page showed 9 December 2025 as its latest amendment date. The ministry’s announcement sets 1 October 2026 as the effective date of the 14-day rule, so payroll systems and HR policies that copy the statutory text from the database may still carry the old figure.
Foreign staff and home-country policies
A worker’s nationality does not take them outside the leave regulations. If a foreign national is employed by a Taiwan entity and covered by the Labor Standards Act, the 14-day entitlement applies. Article 1 of the Act provides that employment terms agreed between employer and worker may not fall below its minimum standards, and the leave regulations are issued under Article 43 of the same Act. A home-country policy can add days on top of that minimum but cannot reduce it.
For seconded staff, the starting question is which entity actually holds the employment contract and pays wages in Taiwan. That answer, rather than the label on the assignment letter, is usually what determines whether the Taiwan entitlement applies. The subsidy is claimed by the employer that actually paid the wages for days 9–14, so a split-payroll arrangement needs to be clear about which entity paid them.
Records for the subsidy claim
The claim is easier to support if the employer keeps the worker’s leave dates, any proof of marriage the work rules call for, payroll records showing payment for days 9–14, and the termination date where the contract ended before the leave was completed. Online submission records or mailing receipts show when the claim was filed for the two-year deadline. Where headquarters publishes an English leave FAQ, it should match the Taiwan entity’s Chinese work rules so that managers are not still quoting eight days.
How Hovering can help
Hovering International Law Firm can review Taiwan work-rule amendments and marriage-leave subsidy claims for foreign-invested employers.
Email Attorney Wei Tseng (曾雋崴) at wei@hoveringlaw.com.tw, with the current leave clause and a sample payroll calendar attached. Office: 7F-2, No. 35, Sec. 1, Chengde Rd., Datong Dist., Taipei City 103, Taiwan (103 臺北市大同區承德路一段35號7樓之2). This column is general information only.
Sources
- Ministry of Labor, press release, 29 September 2026
- Taiwan News, 29 September 2026
- Regulations on Leave-Taking of Workers (勞工請假規則), national laws database
- Labor Standards Act, Article 1
- Labor Standards Act, Article 43
- Labor Standards Act, Article 70
- Bureau of Labor Insurance, family-friendly workplace subsidies page
Checked: October 2, 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
- Must the employer pay all 14 days before claiming subsidy?
- The employer must pay full wages for all 14 days of marriage leave. The subsidy covers only days 9–14, and the Ministry of Labor says the employer applies to the Bureau of Labor Insurance after paying those wages, once the worker has finished the leave or the contract has ended before the leave was completed.
- When will 2026 subsidy applications be paid?
- According to the ministry, applications accepted in 2026 will in principle be paid for the first time by the end of January 2027, and applications accepted from January 2027 are to be paid by the end of the following month. In both cases, payment depends on the 2027 budget being passed. Employers must apply within two years after paying the wages.
- What if our work rules still say eight days?
- The 14-day entitlement applies from 1 October 2026 even before the rules are revised, because employment terms cannot fall below Labor Standards Act minimums. Employers with 30 or more workers must have work rules approved by the competent authority and publicly displayed under Article 70 of that Act, so the leave clause should be amended and re-filed. A headquarters holiday chart does not reduce the Taiwan entitlement.
This article provides general information and is not legal advice on any individual matter.
