On November 25, 2021, the 37th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 15th Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress considered and voted on the Decision on Amending the Shanghai Regulations on Population and Family Planning (the “Regulations”), which shall come into effect on the date of publication.
Since November 25, 2021, the city has implemented a “three-child” fertility policy, which allows a couple to have three children, and simplifies the circumstances under which the children previously born to a remarried couple are no longer counted together while expanding the extended maternity leave from thirty days to sixty days and adding parental leave.
The Regulations also provide that employers are encouraged to take flexible leave and flexible work measures that are conducive to the care of infants and young children to support family childbirth and parenting.
Q: How many days is the maternity leave? How to enjoy it?
A: According to the “Regulations”, in accordance with the provisions of the laws and regulations of the birth of the couple, the female party, in addition to enjoying the maternity leave provided by the state, can also enjoy another sixty days of extended maternity leave. Extended maternity leave has the same treatment as maternity leave. Extended maternity leave should generally be combined with maternity leave used consecutively. Extended maternity leave shall be extended in case of legal holidays.
According to the relevant laws, female workers are entitled to 98 days of maternity leave for childbirth, with appropriate extensions for difficult births and other cases. This also means that the maternity leave in Shanghai can be combined with extended maternity leave, and during the period of childbirth, there can be 158 days of leave.
Q: How do couples who have given birth to children after May 31, 2021 (including May 31) and before the introduction and implementation of the new revised Regulations (November 25, 2021) enjoy extended maternity leave?
A: For couples who have given birth to children in accordance with laws and regulations during this period, if the woman has already completed the thirty days of extended maternity leave in accordance with the original Regulations, she can receive another thirty days of maternity leave; if the woman has already received maternity insurance benefits during the original thirty days of extended maternity leave, she can receive another thirty days of maternity insurance benefits during the maternity leave. The medical insurance department will automatically make up the payment according to the original claiming bank account, and there is no need for individuals to apply again.
Q: How many days is parental leave? How do I enjoy it?
A: According to the Regulations, “couples who give birth in accordance with the laws and regulations, before their children reach the age of three, can enjoy five days of parental leave each per year. Wages during the parental leave, in accordance with their normal attendance, should be paid.” In practice, the number of days of parental leave is calculated according to the number of children born. In principle, the annual parental leave should be used in the current year, either consecutively or scattered.
Q: The Regulations provide that “each party shall be entitled to five days of parental leave per year until the child reaches the age of three years”, does “per year” mean a natural year? Or is it an anniversary?
A: It means “anniversary”. For example, if the child is born on December 1, 2021, the anniversary will be November 30, 2022, and both parties will be entitled to five days of parental leave each during that anniversary. And so on.
Q: On the date of the implementation of the newly revised Regulations (November 25, 2021), if the child is under the age of three, will the parents also be entitled to five days each of parental leave?
A: Parental leave is available and is calculated based on the actual age of the child. For example, if the actual age of the child is one year old and less than two years old, both parents are also entitled to five days of parental leave for each of the two anniversary periods. And so on.
