Zhejiang extends marital leave to 13 days

On Friday, Zhejiang Province officially adopted a new regulation extending marital leave from 3 to 13 days.

On Friday, the 12th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th People’s Congress of Zhejiang Province approved the Marriage Leave Regulation in Zhejiang Province. According to the regulation, employees who have legally registered their marriage are entitled to 13 days of matrimonial leave.

The regulation entered into force upon its announcement, which means that the new wave of benefits can be enjoyed immediately.

Before this update, Zhejiang complied with the marital leave regulations set in 1980, which stipulated a marital leave of 1 to 3 days.

With the economic and social development, the proportion of marriages covering cities and provinces in Zhejiang is one-sixth and one-ninth, respectively. The growing trend of cross-location marriages has made short marital leave unsuitable for workers’ real needs.

The benefits of the new regulation go beyond just extending marital leave.

The regulation states that public holidays are not included in marital leave, and remuneration, bonuses and other social benefits during marital leave will be paid according to the existing rules. If an employee decides to take matrimonial leave, he or she should use it within one year from the date of marriage registration. If, due to professional obligations, it is not possible to take marital leave during the year, this leave may be extended for a maximum of six months by agreement between the employer and the employee.

Employees can choose to take leave as a lump sum or in chunks after negotiating with their employer, providing both newlyweds and employers with more flexible planning options.