Measures for the Protection of Labor Rights of Female Employees in Shandong Province

Article 1: In order to protect the safety and health of female employees at work and safeguard their legitimate rights and interests, these Measures are formulated in accordance with the Labor Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Special Provisions on the Protection of Female Employees’ Labor, and other relevant laws and regulations, taking into account the actual conditions of this province.

Article 2: This Regulation applies to the labor protection of female employees employed by state organs, enterprises, public institutions, social organizations, individual economic organizations, privately-run non-enterprise units, and other social organizations within the administrative area of this province.

Article 3: People's governments at or above the county level shall strengthen their leadership over the labor protection of female employees, incorporate labor protection for female employees into women’s development plans, and supervise their implementation. They shall adopt measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of female employees and provide support to enterprises that have achieved outstanding results in the labor protection of female employees.

Article 4: The departments and agencies responsible for human resources and social security, emergency management, health, and medical insurance at or above the county level shall establish and improve a joint incentive mechanism for trustworthy conduct and a joint punishment mechanism for untrustworthy conduct in the labor protection of female employees by employers. They shall, in accordance with their respective responsibilities, carry out supervision and inspection of employers’ efforts to protect the labor rights of female employees.

Article 5: Trade unions and women's federations shall, in accordance with the law, supervise employers' efforts to protect female employees' labor rights and interests, and shall support and assist female employees in safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests.

Article 6: Employers shall establish and improve a labor protection system for female employees, take measures to enhance the safety and health conditions of female employees’ work, and provide female employees with training on topics such as workplace safety, occupational health, and mental well-being.

Employers are encouraged to designate a specific agency or dedicated personnel responsible for labor protection work for female employees.

Article 7: Employers shall comply with the state’s regulations on the scope of labor prohibited for female employees. They shall inform female employees in writing about the positions within their organization that fall within the scope of labor prohibited for female employees, the occupational hazards that may arise during the course of work, and the potential consequences thereof, and shall implement occupational hazard prevention measures and provide corresponding benefits.

Article 8: Employers shall not engage in any of the following acts that infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of female employees:

(1) Except for occupations or positions that are specifically prohibited for women by national regulations, refusing to hire women or raising the hiring standards for women on the basis of gender;

(2) Restricting or indirectly restricting female employees from marrying or giving birth;

(3) Reducing the wages and welfare benefits of female employees due to their marriage, pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding; restricting their promotion, advancement in position, or evaluation for professional and technical titles; unilaterally terminating their labor contracts or employment contracts, or dismissing them.

(4) Other circumstances prescribed by laws and regulations.

Article 9: Employers shall provide protection to female employees during their menstrual periods in accordance with the following provisions:

(1) Do not assign work that is prohibited during menstruation as stipulated by national regulations;

(2) For those engaged in prolonged standing or walking labor, arrange appropriate breaks during work hours.

(3) If a medical institution issues a diagnosis certifying dysmenorrhea or menorrhagia and an employee applies for time off, the provisions of the national regulations on sick leave shall apply.

Article 10: Upon application by a female employee who is planning to become pregnant, the employer may provide protection in accordance with the scope of labor prohibited during pregnancy as stipulated by national regulations.

Article 11: Employers shall provide protection to female employees who are pregnant in accordance with the following provisions:

(1) Do not assign work prohibited during pregnancy as stipulated by the state;

(2) If an employee is unable to adapt to their originally assigned work, their workload shall be reduced or they shall be assigned other suitable work based on a medical diagnosis certificate issued by a medical institution.

(3) Time spent on prenatal examinations during working hours shall be counted as part of working hours.

(4) For pregnant employees who are less than 3 months pregnant and experiencing severe pregnancy reactions, arrange for them to take designated breaks during working hours.

(5) For employees who are more than seven months pregnant, their working hours shall not be extended, and they shall not be assigned to night shifts. They shall be provided with at least one hour of rest during their daily working hours.

If a female employee who is pregnant finds it genuinely difficult to continue working and requests time off for rest, she may negotiate with her employer.

Article 12: Female employees who give birth are entitled to 98 days of maternity leave, of which 15 days may be taken before delivery. In the case of a difficult childbirth, an additional 15 days of maternity leave shall be granted. For each additional infant born in a multiple-birth delivery, an extra 15 days of maternity leave shall be provided.

Couples who give birth in compliance with applicable laws and regulations are entitled to an additional 60 days of maternity leave for female employees and 7 days of paternity leave for male employees, as stipulated by law.

Female employees who have a miscarriage before 4 months of pregnancy are entitled to 15 days of maternity leave; those who have a miscarriage after 4 months of pregnancy are entitled to 42 days of maternity leave.

Article 13: The maternity insurance benefits enjoyed by female employees during their maternity leave or while undergoing family planning procedures shall be provided in accordance with relevant national and provincial regulations.

Article 14: After a female employee’s maternity leave ends and she returns to work, the employer may grant her an adaptation period of one to two weeks.

If a female employee, after her maternity leave has ended, is unable to work normally due to health reasons, she shall, upon certification by a medical institution, be entitled to sick leave benefits in accordance with relevant national regulations.

Article 15: If a female employee is breastfeeding an infant under one year old, the employer shall not assign her to any work prohibited during the lactation period as stipulated by the state, nor shall it extend her working hours or assign her to night-shift work.

The employer shall arrange one hour of breastfeeding time for female employees during their daily working hours. If a female employee gives birth to multiple babies, an additional hour of breastfeeding time shall be provided for each additional infant per day.

Female employees may take their breastfeeding breaks once or twice per day; the time spent on breastfeeding does not include the necessary travel time to and from the workplace. If a female employee is engaged in work subject to a fixed-output assessment, the employer shall deduct from her prescribed work quota the equivalent amount of time spent on breastfeeding.

Article 16: If a female employee, after being diagnosed by a medical institution as suffering from perimenopausal syndrome and unable to continue her originally assigned work, applies for an adjustment of her job position, the employer shall arrange other work that she is capable of performing.

Article 17: Enterprises shall engage in collective bargaining with the employee side on matters concerning labor protection for female employees, and either sign a special collective contract for the protection of female employees’ rights and interests or incorporate provisions on labor protection for female employees into the existing collective contract. Female employee representatives shall be invited to participate in the collective bargaining.

Article 18: Employers with a relatively large number of female employees shall, according to the needs of female employees, provide facilities such as female employee health rooms, maternity rest rooms, or lactation rooms.

Article 19: In the workplace, employers shall prevent and stop sexual harassment of female employees.

If a female employee experiences sexual harassment in the workplace and reports or files a complaint with her employer, the employer shall promptly and properly address the issue. If the employee reports the incident to the public security authorities or files a civil lawsuit in the People’s Court, the employer shall provide support.

Relevant authorities, when handling incidents of sexual harassment against female employees, shall protect the personal privacy of female employees in accordance with the law.

Article 20: Employers shall organize gynecological examinations for female employees once every one to two years. If the examinations are conducted during working hours, the examination time shall be counted as part of the working hours.

Employers are encouraged to organize regular breast cancer and cervical cancer screenings for female employees, provide them with health education lectures and psychological counseling services, and distribute necessary sanitary products to female employees.

Article 21: If an employer violates the provisions of these Measures and infringes upon the legitimate rights and interests of female employees, the female employees may, in accordance with the law, file complaints, reports, appeals, or request mediation or arbitration with the relevant authorities and organizations.

Article 22: If an enterprise fails to fulfill the collective contract or the special collective contract for the protection of female employees’ rights and interests, thereby infringing upon the legitimate rights and interests of female employees, its trade union organization shall promptly report the situation to the relevant authorities and, in accordance with the law, demand that the enterprise assume responsibility. In the event of a dispute arising from the performance of the collective contract or the special collective contract for the protection of female employees’ rights and interests that cannot be resolved through negotiation, the trade union organization may, in accordance with the law, apply for mediation and arbitration or file a lawsuit.

Article 23: If an employer violates the provisions of these Measures and infringes upon the legitimate rights and interests of female employees, the people's governments at or above the county level, together with departments such as human resources and social security, shall impose penalties in accordance with the law.

Article 24: If the departments and institutions of human resources and social security, emergency management, health, medical insurance, and other relevant agencies at or above the county level—and their staff—abuse their authority, neglect their duties, engage in malpractice for personal gain, or otherwise infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of female employees in the course of labor protection for female employees, the directly responsible principal officers and other persons directly liable shall be disciplined in accordance with the law.

Article 25: For the purposes of these Measures, “medical institutions” refer to medical institutions at or above Level II, or medical institutions designated by the employer.

Article 26: These Measures shall take effect as of March 1, 2019. The “Measures for Implementing the Regulations on Labor Protection for Female Employees” issued by the People’s Government of Shandong Province on August 23, 1991 (Provincial Government Order No. 22) shall be repealed concurrently.