Maternity and parental leave in China

The national 98-day rule

Article 7 of the 2012 Special Provisions sets the national floor:

• 98 days of maternity leave, of which up to 15 can be taken before the birth.
• 15 extra days for a difficult birth.
• 15 extra days for each additional baby in a multiple birth.
• 15 days for a miscarriage before 4 months of pregnancy, 42 days at 4 months or later.

98 days is 14 weeks. The provisions took effect on publication, by order dated April 28, 2012, and replaced the 1988 regulation on female employees.

Leave rules in China at a glance

Who pays: maternity insurance or the employer

Article 8 splits the cost by enrollment. If the employee is in maternity insurance, the fund pays the allowance at the employer's average monthly wage for the previous year. If she is not enrolled, the employer pays it at her pre-leave wage. Childbirth and miscarriage medical costs follow the same split.

So an employer who skips social insurance enrollment takes on the whole maternity bill. In Shanghai, maternity is part of the medical contribution, and total social insurance plus housing fund comes to 32.7% on our sample salary at the top 7% housing fund rate (see the China employer cost guide). Note that the allowance follows the company average, not the employee's own pay, so a high earner in a low-wage company may receive less than her salary; we did not confirm local rules on who makes up that gap.

Does China have paternity leave?

The national Special Provisions cover female employees only and do not mention fathers. Leave for fathers, and maternity leave beyond the 98 days, come from provincial rules.

Sick leave, annual leave and holidays

China's rules on sick pay, paid annual leave and public holidays come from national regulations and local implementing rules. We could not reach the official texts this month, so this page does not restate day counts or pay floors for them. The city minimum wages in China and average wages in China show how much pay varies by city.

Employing a parent in China through an EOR

China sets social insurance city by city, and an EOR enrolls the employee in its local scheme, which is what moves the maternity allowance onto the fund. Ask the EOR which city's rules apply, how many days of maternity, paternity and childcare leave that city grants, and whether it pays any difference between the allowance and salary.

Listed EOR fees run from $99 (Native Teams, whose help center says EUR 99) to $699 (Oyster) per employee per month (employer cost index); Deel lists $599. All three were checked October 16, 2026. See how EOR providers rank, and compare maternity leave in Japan.