When I first started working inside a Taiwanese company, I knew the basics: I'd get some annual leave, sick leave existed, and that was about the extent of my knowledge. What I didn't know was how the whole system actually functions day to day, which entitlements people actually use, and which ones exist on paper but almost nobody touches. So here's the complete picture, the legal minimums plus the reality of how leave plays out once you're actually in a Taiwanese workplace.
Annual leave: it scales with your tenure, not a flat number
Unlike a lot of European contracts where you get a fixed number of days from day one, annual leave in Taiwan builds up as you stay longer with the same employer:
- 6 months to 1 year: 3 days
- 1 to 2 years: 7 days
- 2 to 3 years: 10 days
- 3 to 5 years: 14 days
- 5 to 10 years: 15 days
- Over 10 years: one extra day per year, up to a maximum of 30
If you're coming from a job where you started with 25 or 30 days, this can feel like a real adjustment, especially in your first year. It's one of the reasons I always tell people to factor total compensation, not just salary, into any offer, because leave structure is part of that picture too.
Sick leave: the half-pay detail catches almost everyone off guard
This is the one that surprises newcomers the most. Regular sick leave in Taiwan runs up to 30 days a year, but it's paid at 50% of your normal salary, not full pay. If you're dealing with something more serious that requires hospitalization, you can take up to a year of unpaid leave, within a two-year window. Employers are within their rights to ask for a medical certificate, so don't be surprised if HR asks for one even for a couple of days off.
This is exactly the kind of detail that never shows up until you actually need it, which is why I always tell people to read the fine print on this stuff before they need it, not after.
Maternity and paternity leave
Female employees get 8 weeks of maternity leave, and you can actually start it up to four weeks before your due date if you want to. Whether you get full or half pay during that period depends on how long you've already been with the company: full pay if you've worked there six months or more, half pay if you haven't hit that mark yet. Fathers get 7 days of paid paternity leave around the birth.
Beyond that, both parents can apply for unpaid parental leave until their child turns three, up to two years total per child, and if you've been contributing to Labor Insurance, you're eligible for a benefit worth roughly 60% of your normal wages during that stretch. Practically speaking, this option exists but doesn't get used nearly as often as you'd expect, partly because of how workplace culture still treats extended leave, and partly because most families don't realize the insurance benefit is there to soften the financial hit.
Marriage leave, personal leave, and official leave
A few categories that don't get talked about enough:
- Marriage leave: 8 days paid, for your own wedding.
- Personal leave: up to 14 days unpaid per year, for things that don't fall under sick or bereavement leave.
- Official leave: paid leave for fulfilling civic duties, like jury service or a court appearance.
There's also bereavement leave for the loss of a family member, with the exact number of days depending on the relationship, so it's worth checking your specific entitlement with HR directly rather than assuming.
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Public holidays: the ones that matter and the make-up workday twist
On top of your personal leave entitlements, Taiwan has a set of national public holidays every employee gets, on top of annual leave. Here's the 2026 lineup:
- New Year's Day: January 1
- Lunar New Year: a five-day stretch from February 16 to 20, the single biggest holiday of the year by far
- Peace Memorial Day: February 28
- Children's Day and Tomb-Sweeping Day: early April, usually landing close enough together to form a longer break
- Labor Day: May 1
- Dragon Boat Festival: June 19
- Mid-Autumn Festival: September 25
- Teacher's Day: September 28, marking Confucius's birthday, newly added as an official holiday as of 2025
- National Day (Double Ten Day): October 10
- Retrocession Day: October 25, also newly added
- Constitution Day: December 25
A couple of things worth knowing that catch a lot of newcomers off guard. First, Taiwan runs on the lunar calendar for several of its biggest holidays, so exact dates shift every year, always check the current year's calendar rather than assuming last year's dates repeat. Second, there's a uniquely Taiwanese system called the make-up workday (補班). When a holiday falls awkwardly close to a weekend, the government sometimes shifts a nearby Saturday into a working day to create a longer, uninterrupted break elsewhere. It sounds strange the first time you experience it, showing up to the office on a Saturday, but it's completely normal here, and it's exactly why Lunar New Year in particular tends to run five days rather than the two you might expect. Keep an eye on the annual calendar release each year, usually published the previous December, so you're not caught off guard by a surprise working Saturday.
The part no official summary tells you: whether people actually take their leave
Here's my honest, on-the-ground observation after years of working inside Taiwanese teams: having the entitlement and using it comfortably are two different things. Annual leave, in particular, tends to go underused, especially at more traditional or hierarchical companies, where taking a full block of time off can feel like it signals you're not fully committed. That's shifting, especially at startups and international-facing companies, but it's a cultural undercurrent worth knowing about before you assume you can simply book two weeks off whenever you want.
My advice: give more notice than you think you need, loop in your manager directly rather than just filing a request through a system, and pay attention to how your specific team actually handles time off rather than going purely by the legal minimum. This is the kind of nuance that only comes from being inside the culture, which is a big part of why I think networking with people already working here before you start a job is so valuable. People will tell you the real norms, not just the written policy.
Where this fits if you're new to Taiwanese employment altogether
If you're a recent graduate transitioning from a student visa into your first job here, leave policy is just one piece of a much bigger adjustment, and I walked through the whole thing, contracts, ARC timing, workplace expectations, in From Cap & Gown to Career. And if you're still deciding whether working here long-term even makes sense for you, it's worth reading who Taiwan is genuinely not a fit for before you sign anything.
It's also worth remembering that leave entitlements are only one part of the broader safety net here. Once you're properly employed and enrolled in National Health Insurance, you're covered by one of the best healthcare systems in the world, which takes a lot of pressure off decisions around sick leave in the first place. And if you're here on an Employment Gold Card rather than through a single sponsoring employer, these entitlements still apply once you're formally hired, so don't assume your visa type changes your rights on the ground.
Have a specific situation to work through?
If any of this raises questions specific to your situation, whether that's a job offer you're evaluating or a contract you're not sure how to read, contact me and we'll go through it together. You can also browse the Taiwan organizations directory or check upcoming events in Taipei if you want to start meeting people who can tell you how this actually plays out at their own companies. More on my background is on the About Me page.
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