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CORONAVIRUS/Employers required to grant childcare leave amid rising COVID-19 cases

2021-05-19
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Image from Unsplash for illustrative purposes
Image from Unsplash for illustrative purposes
Taipei, May 17 (CNA) Employers are obligated to grant eligible employees "disease prevention childcare leave" following the announcement by Taipei and New Taipei that all schools in the two municipalities will be closed, from elementary to high school level, for two weeks starting Tuesday to curb the coronavirus outbreak, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) said Monday.

Employers who are found to have forced employees to take annual leave or personal leave instead of "disease prevention childcare leave" face a fine ranging from NT$20,000 (US$712.22) to NT$1 million for violating the Labor Standards Act, according to the ministry.

The Taipei and New Taipei City governments announced Monday that all kindergartens, primary and secondary schools as well as cram schools will suspend face-to-face classes from May 18-28.

During that time, schools will implement related arrangements so students can continue learning at home through flexible use of various teaching methods, according to New Taipei City government.

Meanwhile, parents of children under the age of 12 or of an older child with disabilities are eligible to take coronavirus-related childcare leave during this period, the two governments said.

Whether the leave is paid or unpaid should be discussed by employers and employees, the city governments noted.

According to the MOL official website, disease prevention childcare leave is a special measure designed for epidemic prevention in Taiwan.

However, employers are not required to pay workers who take the statutory disease prevention childcare leave.

An FAQ section on the MOL website states that employers are prohibited from punishing workers in any way for taking disease prevention childcare leave, such as deducting full-attendance bonus payments, considering such leave as absenteeism or forcing workers to take other types of leave instead.

In addition, employees can request unpaid family care leave to take care of family members who need inoculations, become seriously ill, or for other related events.

The number of family care leave days may not exceed seven days in one year, according to the Taipei City government.

Taiwan on Monday confirmed 333 new domestically transmitted COVID-19 cases, the highest number recorded in the country in a single day since the pandemic began.

Taipei reported the most new cases, with 158, of which 89 were in Wanhua District, while 148 cases were reported in New Taipei, with 41 involving residents of Banqiao District, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

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