Taiwan Increases Paid Marriage Leave, Introduces Wage Subsidy

Taiwan's Ministry of Labor has increased paid marriage leave for eligible workers from eight to 14 days, effective 1 October 2026.

Employers remain responsible for paying employees their regular wages throughout the entire period of marriage leave. However, under a new wage subsidy introduced alongside the extended entitlement, employers can claim full reimbursement from the government for wages paid on days nine through 14.

How the New Subsidy Works

Once an employee has completed their marriage leave and the employer has paid the required wages, the employer can apply to the Bureau of Labor Insurance for reimbursement of wages for the additional six days.

Applications can be submitted electronically via the Bureau's online service system or by completing and submitting the relevant application form. Employers must submit their claim within two years of paying the marriage leave wages. Applications received in 2026 that are approved will generally result in employers receiving their first payment by the end of January 2027.

The existing rules governing when marriage leave can be taken largely remain unchanged. In general, the leave must be taken within the prescribed period around the employee's marriage registration, although this may be extended to one year with the employer's agreement.

Transitional rules also apply. Employees who registered their marriage before 1 October may qualify for the new 14-day entitlement if they remained eligible to take marriage leave and had not already exhausted their previous eight-day entitlement.

Practical Implications for Payroll, HR

The change introduces both a new employee entitlement and a new reimbursement process for employers. Payroll and HR teams should update leave systems and policies to reflect the 14-day entitlement, while ensuring employees continue to receive their normal wages during the leave period.

Importantly, employers should be able to identify and track days nine through 14 separately. These are the days for which reimbursement can be claimed, making accurate coordination between absence management, payroll, and finance particularly important. Employers should also establish a process for retaining the information needed to support subsidy applications and for monitoring the two-year claim deadline.

Key Takeaways

Taiwan's new marriage leave rules illustrate how a change in employment entitlement can create a separate payroll administration process behind the scenes. Although employees simply receive an additional six days of paid leave, employers must first pay those wages and then recover the eligible amount from the government.

For payroll teams, the priority is therefore not only to implement the new entitlement correctly, but also to establish a reliable process for tracking, claiming, and reconciling the related wage subsidy.

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Max van der Klis-Busink, MCIPP, RPP, is the Founder and Global Payroll Consultancy Lead of Passion For Payroll.