Childcare and Elderly Care Work Leave Policies in China

Nursing Leave, also referred to as Caregiver’s Leave or Elderly Care Leave, applies to workers who wish to take time off to care for their elderly parents. This is a more recent benefit that has been rolling out in provinces and cities across China since 2021.

Some of the standard qualifiers are that the caretaker is an only child with elderly parents who need support. A smaller number of provinces also allow for leave for children with siblings (listed below).

Here’s the Beijing policy (from Beijing.gov): 

In the event that an employee who is the only child to his/her parents has to take care of his/her parents, every year, the employee shall be entitled to a caregiver’s leave of up to 10 business days, which may be taken on a continuous basis or in separate parts.

So in Beijing it’s nice and clear – 10 business days of leave per calendar year (either consecutive or not).

As of 2021, 13 provinces, along with Beijing and Tianjin, have passed policies for nursing leave. Generally, this leave applies if the parents have reached the age of 60 and are being treated in hospital.

Annual Nursing Leave Allotment

10 days: Beijing, Fujian, and Chongqing.

15 days: Hainan, Guangxi, Hubei, Shanxi, Sichuan, and Ningxia.

20 days: Tianjin, Henan, Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Yunnan, and Shaanxi.

6 provinces also allow children with sibling(s) nursing leave, though usually for a shorter amount of time. 

Annual Nursing Leave for families with more than one child

7 days: Sichuan and Ningxia.

10 days: Tianjin, Hubei, Heilongjiang, Yuannan, Shaanxi.

Employees taking nursing or caretaker leave receive full earnings.