TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s Ministry of Labor on Tuesday announced updates to worker leave rules aimed at protecting employees on short-term sick leave and ensuring fair handling of full attendance bonuses.

Under the new regulations, employers cannot disadvantage employees who take up to 10 days of ordinary sick leave in a year. The changes will take effect next year, CNA reported.

If an employee takes more than 10 sick days in a year, employers must evaluate their overall work performance, including ability, attitude, and results. Decisions about bonuses, promotions, or other employment matters should not be based solely on the number of sick days taken, labor official Huang Chih-ya (黃琦雅) said.

The updates also clarify how full attendance bonuses should be adjusted. Deductions must be proportional to the number of sick leave days.

For example, an employee earning a monthly wage of NT$33,000 (US$1,058), including a NT$3,000 full attendance bonus, would see a maximum deduction of NT$100 (NT$3,000 ÷ 30 days) if they took one sick day in a month.

In addition, employees will be able to take hourly personal leave to care for family members without it being counted as absenteeism or affecting their full attendance bonus.

The changes were prompted by the case of a 34-year-old EVA Air flight attendant who worked a long-haul flight while unwell and passed away in October. A Ministry of Labor investigation revealed that some employees felt reluctant to take sick leave, leading the ministry to revise the regulations to strengthen protections for workers’ sick leave rights.