Annual Leave and Public Holidays in China

Annual Leave and Public Holidays in China

Statutory annual leave

Statutory annual leave is generally granted based on an employee’s work tenure, as demonstrated in the below table:


Statutory Annual Leave

Work Tenure

Days Leave

Less than one year

No leave

1-10 years

5

10-20 years

10

Over 20 years

15

Employees whose work tenure is less than one year will have no statutory annual leave. However, it is important to note that work tenure is not limited to the length of time an employee has worked for their current employer. Rather, it refers to their cumulative work years with all previous and current employers.

Employers can calculate annual leave for newly hired employees as follows:

THE AMOUNT OF STATUTORY ANNUAL LEAVE (THE NUMBER OF DAYS THEY WILL BE WORKING FOR THE CURRENT EMPLOYER IN THAT YEAR ÷ 365) x THEIR TOTAL STATUTORY ANNUAL LEAVE IN THE SAME YEAR

In addition, paid annual leave does not include the country’s statutory rest days, public holidays, and other additional holidays (e.g., maternity leave and paternity leave). Based on Chinese Labor Law, employees are entitled to at least one rest day per calendar week, which can be any day of the week. Saturdays and Sundays are generally rest days in China. However, employers may arrange rest days according to their operation and production plan.

Employees may not take paid annual leave under the following circumstances:

  • Where an employee is legally entitled to a summer and/or winter holiday, and the number of these holidays exceeds the number of the employees’ annual leave;
  • Where an employee takes at least 20 days of paid personal affairs leave as per the regulations of the employer;
  • Where an employee whose accumulated working time is more than one year, but less than 10 years, takes sick leave of at least two months;
  • Where an employee whose accumulated working time is more than 10 years, but less than 20 years, takes sick leave of at least three months; and
  • Where an employee whose accumulated working time is at least 20 years takes sick leave of at least four months.

How to deal with employees’ unused annual leave

The employer should pay the employee 200 percent of the employee's average daily wage for each day of unused annual leave, in addition to the employee's regular daily wage, in the event the employee has not used all of their paid annual leave in the year and declines to carry the unused leave over to the following year.

Employers can calculate an employee’s daily wage as follows:

Employee’s daily wage = Employee’s average monthly salary ÷ 21.75 days

Note that the average monthly salary does not include overtime payments.

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Many foreign companies in China provide additional annual leave for their employees as a benefit. As this part of annual leave is not specified in Chinese labor laws, employers have the right to make internal HR rules about compensation schemes.

Employers are advised to write down these rules in the employment contract or the employee handbook to avoid any possible future labor disputes.

The amount of annual leave= (the number of days they will be working for the current employer in that year ÷ 365) × their total annual leave in the same year

Child-related leaves and benefits

Child-related leaves in China include prenatal check-ups, maternity, paternity, and childcare leave for both female and male employees until their children reach a certain age. The exact number of child-related leave days varies from province to province. By law, employees are entitled to be paid as normal for these leaves or even higher in the case of maternity leave.

Below, we explain the current child-related leave system in China and the payment of maternity allowances.

Prenatal check-up

A pregnant employee is entitled to paid leave for an increasing number of prenatal check-ups beginning in the 12th week of pregnancy. Employers are not permitted to limit prenatal check-up times in any way.

Protective measures for pregnant employees include:

  • No termination: It is illegal to terminate a pregnant employee during her pregnancy, maternity leave, or breastfeeding period (which lasts until the infant is one year old). Further, if an employee gets pregnant during the term of her fixed-term contract, and the contract ends during the pregnancy, the contract shall be automatically extended (through a renewed end date or a second contract) until the end of the breastfeeding period.
  • No overtime or night hours: Starting from the seventh month of pregnancy, employers may not have a pregnant employee work overtime or night hours. This requirement continues as long as she is breastfeeding a baby that is not yet one year old.

Maternity leave

Maternity leave in China is divided into two parts: basic maternity leave granted by the State Council as stipulated by the Provisions on Female Labor Protection under Special Circumstances (State Council Decree No.619), and extra maternity leave granted by local governments under the local population and family planning regulations.

The basic maternity leave for normal childbirth is 98 days, which can be extended by 15 days under special circumstances. In the case of multiple births, an additional 15 days of maternity leave shall be granted for each infant. Employees can begin their leave 15 days before the expected date of childbirth. In the event of a miscarriage or abortion, a female employee may be granted 15 days of maternity leave for a pregnancy lasting less than four months and 42 days of maternity leave for a pregnancy lasting more than four months.

While the basic maternity leave uniformly applies to all female employees across the country, the extra maternity leave could vary from city to city. A complete table of maternity leave in China is shown below (for normal childbirth only):

Maternity Leave in China (in days)
Provinces Basic maternity leave Local extra maternity leave In total
Anhui 98 60 158
Beijing* 98 60 158
Chongqing* 98 80 178
Fujian 98 60~82 158~180
Gansu 98 82 180
Guangdong 98 80 178
Guangxi** 98 60/70/80 158/168/178
Guizhou 98 60 158
Hainan* 98 3 months 98+3months
Hebei** 98 60/90 158/188
Heilongjiang 98 82 180
Henan 98 3 months 98+3months
Hubei 98 60 158
Hunan 98 60 158
Inner Mongolia** 98 60/90 158/188
Jiangsu 98 60 158
Jiangxi 98 90 188
Jilin* 98 82 180
Liaoning 98 60 158
Ningxia 98 60 158
Qinghai 98 90 158
Shaanxi** 98 60 or 70/75 or 85 158 or 168/173 or 183
Shandong 98 60 158
Shanghai 98 60 158
Shanxi 98 60 158
Sichuan 98 60 158
Tianjin 98 60 158
Tibet 98 267-268/447-448 1 year/1.5 years
Xinjiang 98 60 158
Yunnan 98 60 158
Zhejiang** 98 60/90 158/188
* In Beijing, Hainan, Chongqing, Jilin, upon agreement with the employer, the employee can get extra leave with a certain amount of payment.
** In Guangxi, the local extra leave is 60 days for the first child, 70 days for the second child, and 80 days for the third child. In Hebei and Inner Mongolia, the local extra leave is 60 days for the first child and the second child and 90 days for the third child. In Zhejiang, the local extra leave is 60 days for the first child and 90 days for the second child and third child. In Shaanxi, the local extra leave is 60 days for the first child and second child, and 75 days for the third child; an extra 10 days extra leave will be granted if the female employee takes a prenatal check-up.
***If one of the parents chooses to take paid leave until the child is 1 year old, then they won’t be able to enjoy the 5-10 days per year childcare leave.

Maternity allowance

During basic maternity leave, the female employee will receive a maternity allowance in lieu of salary as long as the employee has participated in maternity insurance for a certain period, as required by the local maternity insurance scheme. The local social security bureau will bear this allowance and a certain amount of the medical expenses for delivery.

To determine the maternity allowance, the Social Security Bureau will generally use the below formula:

MATERNITY ALLOWANCE = COMPANY AVERAGE SALARY OVER THE LAST 12 MONTHS ÷ 30 × MATERNITY LEAVE DAYS

If the employee is not enrolled in the maternity insurance scheme for the required period, the employer would need to pay the employee’s average salary during her maternity leave.

Foreign employee’s participation

Expatriates working in China can enjoy the basic maternity leave granted to all female employees. However, they are not entitled to the extra maternity leave, which applies to Chinese citizens only.

Paternity leave

Paternity leave is granted to male employees whose wives have given birth as long as they are legally married. There is no unified paternity leave legislation - municipal or provincial population and family planning regulations implement paternity leave policies.

Childcare leave

Childcare leave (or parental leave) refers to a period of paid or unpaid leave granted to employees for the care and/or support of their children under a certain age. Like many other child-related leaves, childcare leave is managed by local governments and varies by region.

Sick leave

Employers usually have considerable autonomy in deciding how many paid sick days they would like to give employees in a year. However, there are stricter rules when it comes to the recuperation period, a specific type of sick leave in which the employer cannot terminate the employee suffering from non-occupational sickness or injury and is responsible for paying a proportion of salary by law. The regulations on the recovery period are made at the local level, which varies from one province to another.

Marriage leave

Newly-wed employees are entitled to marriage leave – extra days of paid leave. Although there is no clear law on how many days of marriage leave an employee can get on the national level, every region in China offers employees who get married at least three days of leave by referring to the marriage leave requirements to the state-owned enterprises.

Public holidays

The General Office of the State Council releases the official holiday schedule for the next year in December.

Did You Know
As is traditional, the holiday schedule features two major week-long holidays: Spring Festival (also known as Chinese New Year) and the National Day holiday.

Employers should note that Saturdays and Sundays are often connected with the national holiday to make it longer or marked as additional official work days to compensate for adjusted longer breaks around the national holidays.

The triple pay for working on national holidays can only be granted to the original national holiday days stipulated by law, such as one day for the New Year and three days for the Chinese New Year. Employees who work during the adjusted breaks will only be granted double pay for overtime.

Private companies, however, have the right to determine their own schedules. They can allow for additional days off as long as the official holiday calendar is maintained.

Official national holiday schedule for 2024

New Year

  • January 1, 2024 (one rest day)

Spring Festival (Chinese New Year)

  • February 10 to February 17, 2024 (eight rest days in total)
  • Employers are encouraged to arrange paid leave for employees on Chinese New Year’s Eve (February 9)
  • Adjusted working days: February 4, 2024 (Sunday) and February 18, 2024 (Sunday)

Tomb Sweeping Festival (Ching Ming Festival)

  • April 4 to April 6, 2024 (three rest days in total, in connection with one weekend day)
  • Adjusted working days: April 7, 2024 (Sunday)

Labor Day

  • May 1 to May 5, 2024 (five rest days in total)
  • Adjusted working days: April 28, 2024 (Sunday) and May 11, 2024 (Saturday)

Dragon Boat Festival

  • June 10, 2024 (three rest days in total, in connection with the weekend)

Mid-Autumn Festival

  • September 15 to September 17, 2024 (three rest days in total)
  • Adjusted working days: September 14, 2024 (Saturday)

National Day

  • October 1 to October 7, 2024 (seven rest days in total)
  • Adjusted working days: September 29, 2024 (Sunday) and October 12, 2024 (Saturday)

China Public Holiday 2024 Schedule

Date Name Type
January 1, 2024 Sunday New Year’s Holiday Public holiday
February 4, 2024 Sunday Adjusted working day Working day on the weekend
February 10, 2024 Saturday Spring Festival Holiday Public holiday
February 11, 2024 Sunday Spring Festival Holiday Public holiday
February 12, 2024 Monday Spring Festival Holiday Public holiday
February 13, 2024 Tuesday Spring Festival Holiday Adjusted rest day
February 14, 2024 Wednesday Spring Festival Holiday Adjusted rest day
February 15, 2024 Thursday Spring Festival Holiday Adjusted rest day
February 16, 2024 Friday Spring Festival Holiday Adjusted rest day
February 17, 2024 Saturday Spring Festival Holiday Weekend
February 18, 2024 Sunday Adjusted working day Working day on the weekend
March 8, 2024 Friday International Women’s Day Half-day holiday for female employee
April 4, 2024 Thursday Tomb Sweeping Festival Public holiday
April 5, 2024 Friday Tomb Sweeping Festival Adjusted rest day
April 6, 2024 Saturday Tomb Sweeping Festival Weekend
April 7, 2024 Sunday Adjusted working day Working day on the weekend
April 28, 2024 Sunday Adjusted working day Working day on the weekend
May 1, 2024 Wednesday Labor Day Holiday Public holiday
May 2, 2024 Thursday Labor Day Holiday Adjusted rest day
May 3, 2024 Friday Labor Day Holiday Adjusted rest day
May 4, 2024 Saturday Labor Day Holiday Weekend
May 5, 2024 Sunday Labor Day Holiday Weekend
May 11, 2024 Saturday Adjusted working day Working day on the weekend
June 8, 2024 Saturday Dragon Boat Festival Weekend
June 9, 2024 Sunday Dragon Boat Festival Weekend
June 10, 2024 Monday Dragon Boat Festival Public holiday
September 14, 2024 Saturday Adjusted working day Working day on the weekend
September 15, 2024 Sunday Mid-Autumn Festival Weekend
September 16, 2024 Monday Mid-Autumn Festival Adjusted rest day
September 17, 2024 Tuesday Mid-Autumn Festival Public holiday
September 29, 2024 Sunday  Adjusted working day Working day on the weekend
October 1, 2024 Tuesday National Day Holiday Public holiday
October 2, 2024 Wednesday National Day Holiday Public holiday
October 3, 2024 Thursday National Day Holiday Public holiday
October 4, 2024 Friday National Day Holiday Adjusted rest day
October 5, 2024 Saturday National Day Holiday Weekend
October 6, 2024 Sunday National Day Holiday Weekend
October 7, 2024 Monday National Day Holiday Adjusted rest day
October 12, 2024 Saturday Adjusted working day Working day on the weekend

 

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