CC Partners Legal Column, Issue 1: The 2026 Amendments to the Regulations of Leave-Taking of Workers

Introduction: Falling Ill Is Not a Fault — Taking Leave Should Not Be a Risk

On December 9, 2025, the Ministry of Labor promulgated amendments to certain provisions of the Regulations of Leave-Taking of Workers, which took effect on January 1, 2026.
The amendments followed a tragic incident in September 2025, in which a flight attendant at a major airline — working under a strict attendance management system — continued to report for duty while unwell and ultimately died.
To prevent such tragedies from recurring, three key changes have been made to workplace leave management.

1. Personal Leave and Family Care Leave May Now Be Taken by the Hour

What is new: A new Paragraph 2 has been added to Article 7, allowing a worker who takes personal leave in order to care for a family member in person to do so in hourly units.
This substantially increases flexibility. A worker who needs only a short absence — to accompany a family member to a medical appointment, or to collect a child from school — is no longer required to take a full day of leave.

2. Any Reduction of the Full-Attendance Bonus Must Be Proportionate

What is prohibited: The former practice of forfeiting an entire month’s full-attendance bonus because of a single day of sick leave is no longer permitted.
What is new: Article 9, Paragraph 2 has been amended so that where a worker takes ordinary injury or sick leave, the employer must calculate any reduction of the full-attendance bonus on a proportionate basis, and may not withhold the bonus in its entirety. Any practice or contractual term that forfeits the whole bonus for a single day of leave is therefore unlawful.
Penalty: A violation may subject the employer to an administrative fine of NT$20,000 to NT$1,000,000.

3. No Adverse Action Where Sick Leave Does Not Exceed 10 Days in a Year

The newly added Article 9-1 is the provision most significant to the protection of workers’ leave rights.
It expressly provides that where a worker takes no more than 10 days of ordinary injury or sick leave within a year, the employer may not take any adverse action on that basis — including withholding the full-attendance bonus, reducing pay, terminating employment, or affecting performance evaluations.
Key change: Where an employer contends that its action was unrelated to the worker’s leave, the burden of proof rests with the employer.

💡 Falling Ill Is Not a Fault — Taking Leave Should Not Be a Risk

The amendments centre on three aims:
1. Responding to family care needs in an ageing society with a declining birth rate.
2. Reducing the psychological burden of taking sick leave, so that working while ill does not become the norm.
3. Drawing a clear line between taking leave and disciplinary measures, in order to protect workers’ physical and mental health.

📝 Conclusion and Recommendations

With the new rules now in force, we recommend that companies promptly review their internal work rules and pay policies for compliance. Should you have any questions about the measures required under the amendments, we would be glad to hear from you.