Workers May Continue Participating in Labor Insurance and Employment Insurance during the Period of Unpaid Parental Leave, Assuring Continuous Accumulation of Years of Insurance.

The BLI reminds the parents that they may continue participating in labor insurance and employment insurance during the period of unpaid parental leave and enjoy uninterrupted insurance coverage. They may, in the meantime, continue accumulating their years of insurance.

To build up a friendly working environment for child-raising and encourage parental involvement, it was stipulated in the Act of Gender Equality in Employment that workers may lawfully continue participating in labor insurance and employment insurance, subject to that the leave-taking has been agreed by the employer and that the worker has been in service for 6 months or more and needs to take care of children younger than 3 years old. Furthermore, to reduce the financial burden of the employers and the insured persons, the premium originally paid by the employer (70%) shall be exempted and subsidized by the government during the period of continued participation. If required by the insured person, payment of the premium originally borne by the insured person (20%) may be deferred for 3 years.

To simplify the administrative procedures, the BLI has consolidated the two application forms for parental leave allowance and for continued insurance participation during the parental leave. To assist their employees to apply for such allowance and continued insurance simultaneously, the insured unit only needs to complete the consolidated “Application for Unpaid Parental Leave Allowance and Continued Insurance Participation”. Apart from written applications, the insured units are also encouraged to file online applications for continued insurance during the parental leave period, using the simple, quick and convenient “e-Service System” of the BLI.