Special Protection for Female Employees
On April 28, 2012, the State Council issued the Special Provisions for Labor Protection of Female Employees which superseded the Provisions for Labor Protection of Female Employees issued in 1988. The new Provisions enlarge the scope of prohibited labor activities for women employees who are pregnant or breast-feeding and increase the standard maternity leave period from 90 days to 98 days. The entitlement to an extra 30 days of maternity leave for late births (mothers aged 24 or older) continues to apply. Childbirth allowance and medical treatment for childbirth and abortions of the female employees are covered by the maternity insurance fund or by the employer if the employer has not contributed to maternity insurance.
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China to Improve its Special Working Hour System
On May 8, 2012, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security issued a draft of Provisions for Administration of Special Working Hour System. The public may submit comments on the draft until June 8, 2012. The draft provisions, if enforced, will supersede the Measures for Approval of the Implementation of Irregular Working Hour System and Comprehensively-calculated Working Hour System by Enterprises issued in 1994. Under the draft Provisions, the wages of an employee under the irregular working hour system may not be lower than the local annual average salary of last year; the daily longest working hour of an employee under the comprehensively calculated working hour system may not exceed 11 hours. Overtime of employees under the comprehensively calculated working hour system is capped at 15 hours a week, 36 hours a month, 108 hours a quarter and 360 hours a year, depending on the calculation methodology that applies to them.
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