探亲假 (tanqin jia): Family reunion leave

Since 1981, a regulation of the State Council has granted domestic workers paid leave to visit their families once a year if they live far from parents or spouse. A staff member that is single may visit his or her parents up to 20 days a year while a married one can enjoy 20 days every four years; a married worker who lives far from his or her spouse is entitled to 30 days paid leave every year.

However, in reality it is not easy to enjoy this leave. In a report last week, Beijing News found that out of 40 interviewees only five had enjoyed the leave. Eight said they have never heard of it.

Some enterprises simply ignore the right of workers to paid leave, the family reunion leave included, because labor rights supervisors seldom perform their duty. Worse, many workers dare not ask for the leave because they fear losing their jobs. Some employers argue the leave is too long, and it might hurt productivity if implemented.

Experts call for better supervision to protect workers' legal rights and revising the law so that enterprises do not suffer, either.