Taipei: Taiwan's Ministry of Labor (MOL) announced on Wednesday an expanded subsidy scheme aimed at encouraging businesses to provide more childcare support to employees, including higher subsidies for employer-provided childcare allowances, with foreign employees also eligible. "We have looked at the results of employer-provided childcare efforts so far and believe they have indeed been insufficient," Labor Minister Hung Sun-han stated at a press conference in Taipei.
According to Focus Taiwan, Hung noted that while many business owners understand Taiwan's low birthrate problem and are willing to help employees with childcare, they still face significant difficulties in terms of institutional support and resources. To address these challenges, the MOL will introduce nine new or expanded subsidy measures, building on existing policies to encourage more businesses to support employees.
Currently, only employers with 100 or more employees are legally required to provide breastfeeding rooms and either "childcare facilities or suitable childcare measures," with childcare allowances not being mandatory. However, starting May 1, the ministry will increase subsidies for employers providing childcare allowances to employees, offering up to NT$10,000 (US$316.11) per employee per year. The subsidy rates will range from 50-70 percent, depending on company size.
The childcare allowance is applicable to employees with children from newborns to age 12. Under the existing system, the MOL subsidizes 50 percent of the annual allowance paid by employers for each employee's child if the amount is below NT$8,000, while allowances of NT$8,000 or more qualify for a maximum subsidy of NT$4,000. The new expansion removes the requirement that employees' children be enrolled in childcare institutions for employers to qualify for subsidies, thereby including workers who rely on family members or babysitters for care.
Additionally, the scheme includes subsidies for employer-run childcare facilities. The ministry stated that the expanded scheme will have a total budget of NT$142.4 million in 2026, increasing to an estimated NT$213.41 million in 2027, with funding provided by the Employment Insurance Fund.
Hung emphasized that Taiwan-based foreign companies and foreign nationals working in Taiwan are also covered by the expanded scheme, noting that migrant blue-collar workers are likewise not excluded. Huang Wei-chen, director of the MOL's Department of Employment Welfare and Retirement, informed CNA that there is no differential treatment in how the scheme is applied to employees of different nationalities. "If a company offers the same benefit to all employees, including migrant workers, we will handle its subsidy application on the same basis," Huang said.