Details of Childbirth Policies | Shanxi Province Clarifies 30 Days of Marriage Leave; How Long Are Marriage and Maternity Leaves in Various Regions?

On the morning of November 20, Li Ruibing, Deputy Director and Press Spokesperson of the Shanxi Provincial Health Commission, introduced at a press conference that in September 2021, Shanxi took the lead nationwide in completing the revision of its provincial population and family planning regulations, “explicitly stipulating 30 days of marital leave and an additional 60 days of maternity leave as a reward for policy-compliant births.”
The topic “Shanxi Explicitly States 30 Days of Marital Leave” trended on Weibo’s hot search.
How long are marital and maternity leaves in various regions? The Paper’s data team has compiled the latest regulations on the number of days for marital and maternity leave in 31 provinces across the country based on public information from local governments.
In terms of the number of days for marital leave across provinces, Shanxi and Gansu offer up to 30 days, while Hubei, Guangdong, Sichuan, Shandong, Hunan, and Guangxi only provide 3 days. It’s no wonder that Sichuan residents are “envious” – in 2021, someone left a message on the “Leadership Mailbox” section of People’s Daily Online saying, “There are only 3 days of marital leave in Sichuan. Young people simply don’t have time to get married.”
In Henan, Heilongjiang, Ningxia, and Shanxi, participating in premarital medical examinations can earn extra days of marital leave. Among them, couples in Heilongjiang and Shaanxi can receive up to an additional 10 days of marital leave by participating in premarital medical examinations.
In the process of implementing these regulations, whether the marital leave applied for from the company can be approved is a question. According to a report by Qilu Evening News, Mr. Liu, an employee of an internet company in Xihu District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, applied to his company to receive the additional 13 days of marital leave in accordance with the new regulations, but his request was not approved for a long time. Mr. Liu said, “The company’s position is that there may currently be a shortage of staff on the project, so it may be difficult to take 10 days of leave. They asked me to continue negotiating with the department head, but they didn’t give me a clear answer regarding the time.”
The number of days for maternity leave also varies across different provinces. In Tibet, maternity leave can be taken for up to one year, while in 16 provinces such as Beijing, Shanghai, Xinjiang, and Yunnan, it is 158 days. The maximum difference in the number of days for maternity leave across regions is 207 days.
Meanwhile, in Zhejiang, Guangxi, Hebei, and Inner Mongolia, having multiple children can extend maternity leave. Taking Guangxi as an example, married women who have one child are eligible for 158 days of maternity leave, 168 days for two children, and 178 days for three children.
So, would you get married for an extended marital leave?