Maternity Leave in China: Days, Pay and Employer Obligations

Last updated: October 20, 2026

Maternity leave in China starts with a national 98-day baseline, but the total entitlement often increases under provincial or municipal rules. Difficult childbirth normally adds 15 days, and multiple births add 15 days for each additional baby. Eligible employees may receive a maternity allowance through local maternity insurance, while employers must confirm local leave duration, allowance eligibility, payroll treatment and job-protection requirements.

Employers should therefore confirm the employee’s work location, leave entitlement, maternity insurance record and protected-period dates before approving payroll or making employment decisions.

How many days of maternity leave are required in China?

The national entitlement is 98 days, including up to 15 days before childbirth. Difficult childbirth adds 15 days under the national rule; each additional baby in a multiple birth adds another 15 days. Local rules can grant more generous medical or additional childbirth leave. The Special Rules on the Labor Protection of Female Employees also provide 15 days after miscarriage before four months of pregnancy and 42 days from four months. See Articles 7–8 of the State Council rules.

The 98-day entitlement is a national floor, not the full local total. For example, Guangdong’s medical-leave additions can differ from the national default; use the applicable local rule and medical documents when calculating special cases.

Why does maternity leave vary by city and province?

The national 98-day baseline comes from State Council rules. Provincial and municipal population and family-planning regulations, together with their implementing policies, provide additional childbirth leave and family-leave rights. A company with employees in different regions therefore needs more than one leave calendar. The province table below separates maternity leave from paternity and annual childcare leave.

Maternity, Paternity and Parental Leave by Province

The national starting point is the Special Rules on the Labor Protection of Female Employees. Provincial population and family-planning legislation and implementing policies add local family-leave rights. The table covers mainland China’s 31 provincial-level regions. Totals assume an eligible normal childbirth, with difficult childbirth, multiple births and other special circumstances assessed separately.

Read each unit literally: a month is not automatically 30 days, and a working day is not a calendar day. The date column distinguishes effective dates, amendment dates and dated official guidance; it does not turn every source date into a commencement date. Check transition clauses, the employee’s location and the birth date when setting the actual leave calendar.

For Inner Mongolia’s 25-day nursing leave, see the 2026 regional health commission explanation. For Heilongjiang’s working-day convention, see the health commission reply. Ningxia’s annual childcare entitlement is confirmed in its 2024 health commission reply.

Is maternity leave paid in China?

Maternity leave is not an ordinary unpaid absence. For an eligible insured employee, the maternity-insurance fund pays the applicable allowance; the local process determines whether it is paid directly or through the employer. Fund-covered benefit days need not equal every day of local extended leave.

The employer must separately assess salary continuation, local top-up duties and employer-funded extensions. If required insurance was not provided, the national rules place the relevant maternity payment obligation on the employer. Do not treat an expected fund payment as permission to withhold locally required pay.

HROne can support maternity pay and allowance processing alongside statutory contribution and payroll records.

What determines eligibility for maternity allowance?

Eligibility commonly depends on factors such as:

• Whether the employee is enrolled in the applicable maternity insurance system
• Whether contributions are current
• Whether a minimum contribution period applies locally
• The employee’s insured location
• The childbirth or medical circumstances
• Whether the required medical and birth documents have been submitted
• Whether the application was completed within the local deadline

HR and payroll should confirm eligibility before telling the employee that the government fund will cover the full payment.

How is the maternity allowance calculated?

Article 56 of the Social Insurance Law ties the insured employee’s maternity allowance to the employer’s previous-year average monthly employee wage. Local implementing rules specify the insured wage base and benefit days. For example, Nanjing’s medical-insurance guidance uses the employer’s previous-year average monthly employee contribution base divided by 30, multiplied by the approved benefit days. Do not use the employee’s take-home pay as an automatic substitute for that base.

Maternity allowance calculation example

Illustrative calculation: assume the relevant authority confirms a previous-year employer average monthly contribution base of RMB 9,000 and 158 fund-covered benefit days. The allowance is RMB 9,000 ÷ 30 × 158 = RMB 47,400. This is a hypothetical example, not a claim that every locality funds all 158 leave days.

If, solely for this example, the locally applicable protected wage for the same period is calculated from RMB 12,000 on the same 30-day basis, it is RMB 63,200. The shortfall is RMB 15,800. Under the cited Nanjing rule the employer must make up a shortfall and cannot retain an excess allowance. Establish the actual wage benchmark, covered period, local top-up rule and any employer-funded extension before applying this comparison to payroll.

Must the employer top up the maternity allowance?

Top-up rules require a local analysis. Nanjing expressly requires the employer to make up an allowance below the pre-leave wage standard and prohibits retaining an excess. Other local rules define the wage benchmark and extended-leave treatment. If the employer has not arranged required insurance, the employer’s direct payment obligation must also be assessed under Article 8 of the national rules. Keep the fund allowance, top-up and any employer-funded extension as separate payroll entries.

What must payroll do during maternity leave?

Maternity leave affects more than the employee’s attendance record. Payroll must coordinate the allowance, employer payments, statutory contributions and payslip reporting.

The employee’s leave approval, insurance application and payroll schedule should use the same dates. Inconsistent records can lead to underpayment, duplicate payment, rejected benefit applications and employment disputes.

Maternity insurance sits within China’s statutory social-insurance system. For contribution categories, city-level rules and participation requirements, see HROne’s China Social Insurance Guide for Employers.

Must social-insurance contributions continue during maternity leave?

Employers should not automatically suspend an employee’s statutory registrations because she has started maternity leave. The employment relationship generally continues, and the company must follow the contribution rules that apply in the employee’s registered location.

HR and payroll should confirm:

• Which social-insurance categories continue
• The applicable contribution base
• How the employee contribution is collected
• Whether the housing fund continues
• Whether the maternity allowance changes the payroll calculation
• Whether a local employer subsidy is available

Local employer incentives may also apply. For example, Shanghai provides a maternity-related social-insurance subsidy for qualifying employers, but employers should verify the current rules in the employee’s registered location rather than assume similar subsidies apply nationwide.

Keep maternity-related registrations and payroll aligned with the statutory benefits employers must provide.

What employment protections apply during pregnancy and maternity leave?

Employers cannot reduce an employee’s wages, dismiss her or unilaterally terminate her employment merely because she is married, pregnant, taking maternity leave or breastfeeding.

China’s Labor Contract Law also restricts an employer from using certain no-fault termination and economic redundancy grounds against an employee during pregnancy, maternity leave and the breastfeeding period.

This does not mean that every form of employment action is impossible in every case. For example, serious employee misconduct can require a different analysis. However, the employer must not use pregnancy or maternity leave as the real reason for dismissal or disguise a discriminatory decision as performance management or restructuring.

Higher-risk actions include:

• Reducing salary after the employee announces her pregnancy
• Demoting the employee without a valid, documented basis
• Pressuring the employee to resign
• Refusing statutory maternity leave
• Ending employment because the leave will inconvenience the business
• Using redundancy to target a protected employee
• Failing to extend a fixed-term contract where the protected-period rules require continuation
• Removing responsibilities so that the employee appears unnecessary
• Penalizing the employee for prenatal examinations

Before ending or materially changing the employment of a pregnant or breastfeeding employee, employers should also review HROne’s guide to employee termination in China and obtain case-specific employment-law advice.

What happens when a fixed-term contract expires?

An employer should not assume that a fixed-term contract ends automatically on its stated expiry date when the employee is pregnant, on maternity leave or within the statutory breastfeeding period.

In protected circumstances, the contract may need to continue until the relevant protected condition ends. The employer should determine:

• The employee’s expected childbirth date
• The maternity leave start and end dates
• The local additional leave period
• The breastfeeding protection period
• The original contract expiry date
• Whether another protected condition applies
• The lawful date on which the contract can end

The employee should receive written confirmation explaining the continued contract period and the employer’s expectations regarding documents, benefits and return to work.

What protections apply before maternity leave begins?

Pregnancy protections begin before the employee starts maternity leave. Employers must manage workload, attendance and workplace safety in accordance with the employee’s medical condition and applicable female-employee protection rules.

Prenatal examinations

Time required for prenatal examinations during working hours is generally treated as working time. Employers should establish a reasonable document and approval process without treating necessary examinations as unexcused absence.

Workload adjustment

If a pregnant employee cannot perform her original work, the employer may need to reduce the workload or arrange other suitable work based on medical documentation.

Overtime and night work

Additional restrictions apply during later pregnancy. Employers should not arrange extended working hours or night shifts for employees who fall within the protected category under the national rules.

Hazardous work

Employers must ensure that pregnant and breastfeeding employees are not assigned work prohibited under the applicable female-employee labor protection rules.

How are maternity leave, paternity leave and parental leave different?

Unlike the national 98-day maternity leave baseline, China does not have one uniform nationwide duration for paternity or parental leave. These entitlements are primarily determined by provincial and municipal rules, so the number of days and eligibility conditions depend on the employee’s work location. Employers should therefore check the applicable local regulation rather than applying one national family-leave policy across China.

Employers should track each entitlement separately.

These entitlements should not be combined into one generic “family leave” balance unless the applicable law and company policy clearly permit that treatment.

How many days of paternity leave do fathers get in China?

There is no single nationwide paternity-leave duration in the national 98-day maternity rule. Provincial legislation and implementing policies set the relevant spouse or nursing leave. The table includes Shanghai’s 10 days, Beijing and Guangdong’s 15 days, and Sichuan’s 30 days; Henan uses one month. Confirm whether the locality counts working or calendar days, the period in which leave can be used and qualifying birth conditions. These are separate entitlements from the mother’s maternity leave.

How does parental (childcare) leave work in China?

Annual childcare leave is different from leave around the birth. For example, Beijing provides five working days per parent before age three, Shanghai five days before age three, Guangdong ten days before age three and Anhui ten days before age six. Some rules count a year from the child’s birthday; treatment of multiple children, splitting leave and unused balances varies. Qinghai’s cited rule uses an encouragement formulation, so do not describe every local provision as identically mandatory.

Pay also varies by location. Shanghai and Zhejiang preserve the specified normal wage and benefit treatment; Jiangsu treats the relevant leave as attendance with wage protection. Guangdong’s 2023 official interpretation calls for agreed childcare-leave pay rules through employment management and collective consultation, subject to at least the local minimum wage. Do not assume that the wage treatment for Guangdong’s 80-day childbirth reward leave automatically governs annual childcare leave.

Can a US maternity leave policy be used for employees in China?

China’s maternity leave framework differs significantly from the United States. China provides a statutory maternity leave baseline with additional local entitlements and maternity-insurance benefits, while US family leave depends on a combination of federal, state and employer policies. Employers operating in China should follow the applicable Chinese national and local rules.

What documents should the employer collect?

Employers may need:

• The employee’s written maternity leave request
• Medical documentation confirming the expected delivery date
• Birth certificate or other locally accepted birth documentation
• Medical evidence for difficult childbirth, multiple births or miscarriage where applicable
• Social-insurance and maternity-insurance records required for benefit eligibility
• Local maternity allowance application forms and supporting documents
• Written leave approval and any documents required for the employee’s return to work

Employers should collect only information that is necessary for employment administration, statutory filings and benefit processing. Medical and pregnancy information should be handled confidentially and shared only with personnel who need it for legitimate work purposes.

Employer maternity leave process

1. Confirm the applicable location. Identify where the employee is employed and enrolled in social insurance.
2. Calculate the leave entitlement. Combine the national entitlement with applicable local additional leave.
3. Confirm supporting documents. Identify the expected delivery, medical and benefit-application documents.
4. Check maternity insurance eligibility. Review registration, contribution history and the local eligibility period.
5. Estimate the maternity allowance. Confirm the formula, covered days and payment channel.
6. Calculate employer-paid amounts. Determine whether salary, a difference or another amount must be paid.
7. Continue required benefits. Coordinate social insurance, housing fund and supplementary benefits.
8. Confirm the protected period. Record pregnancy, maternity leave and breastfeeding dates before making contract decisions.
9. Plan work coverage. Assign temporary responsibilities without permanently displacing the employee.
10. Prepare for return to work. Confirm the return date, role, system access and breastfeeding arrangements.
11. Reconcile payroll and allowance payments. Correct any underpayment, overpayment or delayed government reimbursement.
12. Retain the complete file. Keep leave, payroll, insurance, payment and communication records.

Return-to-work checklist

Before the employee returns, HR and the manager should confirm:

• The final maternity leave end date
• Whether annual leave or another approved leave follows
• The employee’s original or appropriate role
• Salary, title and benefits
• System, office and building access
• Breastfeeding-time arrangements
• Restrictions on overtime, night work or prohibited work
• Any medical recommendation affecting the employee’s duties
• Handover from the temporary replacement
• Outstanding maternity allowance or payroll reconciliation

The employee should not return to find that her position has been permanently reassigned, salary reduced or career progression blocked because she took statutory leave.

Common employer mistakes

• Granting only 98 days without checking local additional leave
• Describing maternity leave as unpaid leave
• Promising an allowance before confirming insurance eligibility
• Assuming the allowance always equals the employee’s normal salary
• Suspending social-insurance contributions automatically
• Failing to reconcile allowance and payroll payments
• Using the company’s headquarters location instead of the employee’s employment location
• Treating prenatal examinations as ordinary personal leave
• Failing to extend a contract during the protected period where required
• Changing the employee’s role or salary because of pregnancy
• Combining maternity, paternity and parental leave incorrectly
• Failing to plan breastfeeding accommodations after return

Maternity leave should be managed within the company’s wider China statutory leave framework, alongside annual leave, sick leave, public holidays and other locally governed family leave.

How HROne can support employers

HROne supports employers with maternity-related payroll administration, contribution processing and allowance application records. HR teams can coordinate leave dates, local benefit requirements and payroll reconciliation across different China locations.

For a business without a suitable mainland employing entity, China EOR for companies without a local entity can support local employment, maternity leave administration and eligible allowance claims under the applicable rules.

Talk to HROne about a maternity leave case

Frequently asked questions

How long is maternity leave in China?

The national maternity leave entitlement is 98 days, including up to 15 days before childbirth. Difficult childbirth and multiple births add extra days, while provinces and municipalities commonly provide additional local leave.

Is maternity leave in China fully paid?

An eligible employee may receive a maternity allowance through the local maternity insurance system. The allowance is not necessarily identical to ordinary salary, and the employer may have additional payment responsibilities depending on local rules and the employee’s employment terms.

Who pays the maternity allowance?

The maternity allowance is generally funded through the applicable maternity insurance system when the employee satisfies local eligibility conditions. Depending on the city, it may be paid through the employer or directly to the employee.

What happens if the employee is not enrolled in maternity insurance?

If required insurance registration or contributions were not completed, the employee may be unable to receive the expected fund benefit. The employer may then face direct payment, back-contribution and employment-dispute exposure.

Can an employer dismiss a pregnant employee?

An employer cannot dismiss an employee or reduce her wages because of pregnancy, maternity leave or breastfeeding. China’s Labor Contract Law also restricts certain no-fault termination and redundancy grounds during the protected period. Any proposed termination requires case-specific review.

Does a fixed-term contract expire during maternity leave?

An employer should not assume that it ends automatically. Where the statutory protected-period rules apply, the contract may need to continue until the relevant pregnancy, maternity or breastfeeding protection ends.

Are prenatal examinations paid working time?

Time required for prenatal examinations during working hours is generally included in working time. Employers should maintain a reasonable documentation process without deducting the time automatically as personal leave.

Do foreign employees receive maternity leave in China?

A foreign employee lawfully employed in mainland China is generally protected by the applicable employment rules. Allowance eligibility still depends on local maternity-insurance participation and contribution conditions. See benefits for foreign employees in China for the wider benefits context.

Is maternity leave the same throughout China?

No. The 98-day national baseline applies nationally, but additional maternity leave, paternity leave, parental leave, allowance administration and payroll treatment can vary by province or municipality.

Is paternity leave paid in China?

Local rules commonly protect paternity or nursing-leave pay, but the duration, eligibility and payment mechanism must be checked locally. Shanghai provides normal-attendance wage treatment for its ten-day spouse leave; Guangdong protects wages during its fifteen-day paternity leave. Do not substitute a single national day count or payment formula.

How many days of parental leave are there in China?

There is no uniform national number. The province table includes five days per parent in Shanghai, five working days in Beijing, ten days in Guangdong and twenty days in Jilin, generally before age three. Anhui extends its ten-day entitlement until age six. Check local wording, workday rules, pay and eligibility before approving leave.

This article provides general employer information. Maternity leave duration, maternity allowance eligibility, payroll treatment and related family leave can depend on the employee’s location, contribution record, employment terms and individual circumstances. Employers should confirm current local requirements before finalizing a leave or payment calculation.