Special Provisions on Labor Protection for Female Employees in Hunan Province

Order of the People's Government of Hunan Province 
(Number 298)

The “Special Provisions on Labor Protection for Female Employees in Hunan Province” were adopted at the 53rd Executive Meeting of the Provincial People’s Government on November 27, 2019. They are hereby promulgated and shall take effect as of March 8, 2020.

Governor Xu Dazhe 
December 9, 2019

Special Provisions for the Labor Protection of Female Employees 
 

Article 1: In order to reduce and address the special difficulties faced by female employees in the course of their work due to their physiological characteristics and to protect their health, these Regulations are formulated based on the “Special Provisions for the Protection of Female Employees’ Labor” issued by the State Council, and in light of the actual conditions of our province. 
Article 2: This regulation applies to state organs, enterprises and public institutions, social organizations, individual economic organizations, privately-run non-enterprise units, and other social organizations (hereinafter collectively referred to as “employers”) within the administrative region of this province, as well as their female employees. 
Article 3: Employers shall take the following measures to strengthen labor protection for female employees: 
(1) Establish and improve a labor protection system for female employees, clearly designating the relevant institutions and personnel responsible for their labor protection work. 
(2) Provide female employees with a work environment, working conditions, and personal protective equipment that comply with national regulations. 
(3) Provide female employees with training on occupational safety, occupational health, and mental health knowledge.  
(4) Comply with the regulations on the scope of labor prohibited for female employees, and when establishing an employment relationship, provide written notification to the employee of positions within the organization that fall within the scope of labor prohibited for female employees. 
(5) Take appropriate measures to ensure the safety of female employees working night shifts in the workplace. 
(6) Other measures prescribed by laws, regulations, and rules. 
Article 4: Employers shall not, in labor contracts, employment contracts, or other contracts, stipulate provisions that restrict or indirectly restrict the legitimate rights and interests of female employees, such as their right to marry or bear children. 
Employers shall not reduce the wages or welfare benefits of female employees, restrict their promotion, advancement in position, or professional qualification assessment, or terminate their labor contracts or employment contracts on the grounds of their marriage, pregnancy, maternity leave, or breastfeeding. 
The labor dispatch contract concluded between the labor dispatch agency and the employing unit shall clearly specify the provisions for the protection of female employees’ labor rights. The employing unit shall not return dispatched workers to the labor dispatch agency on the grounds of pregnancy, maternity leave, or breastfeeding. Once the dispatch period expires, the employment relationship shall be extended until the circumstances giving rise to pregnancy, maternity leave, or breastfeeding have ceased to exist before the worker can be returned. 
Article 5: Collective contracts concluded between employers and employee representatives, as well as special collective contracts for the protection of women employees’ rights and interests, shall clearly specify the content related to labor protection for female employees. 
When conducting negotiations on collective contracts and special collective contracts for the protection of women workers’ rights and interests, the employee representatives must include female worker representatives. 
Article 6: Employers shall provide the following protections to female employees during their menstrual periods: 
(1) They shall not be assigned to perform labor prohibited during menstruation as stipulated by the state. 
(2) For jobs that require continuous standing for more than two hours, the employer shall arrange appropriate break times for employees. 
Employers shall provide sanitary allowances to female employees who are currently on the job at a standard of no less than 30 yuan per person per month. The required expenses may be covered by enterprises from their employee welfare funds, while government agencies and public institutions shall include these expenses in their budgets according to the current fiscal burden-sharing policy. The standard for the sanitary allowance shall be proposed periodically by the provincial department of human resources and social security in conjunction with the finance department, taking into account the province’s economic development conditions and the living standards of residents, and shall be implemented after being approved by the provincial people’s government. 
Article 7: Employers shall provide the following labor protections to female employees who are pregnant: 
(1) They shall not be assigned to engage in labor prohibited during pregnancy as stipulated by the state. 
(2) For those who are unable to adapt to their current position, their workload shall be reduced based on a certificate issued by a medical institution at or above Level II. 
(3) For employees who are pregnant for less than 3 months and experiencing severe pregnancy reactions, appropriate rest periods may be arranged during working hours based on the nature of their work and the intensity of their labor. 
(4) For employees who are more than seven months pregnant, their working hours shall not be extended, and they shall not be assigned to night-shift work. Moreover, appropriate rest periods shall be scheduled during working hours based on the nature of their work and the intensity of their labor. If there is a fixed work quota, the quota shall be appropriately reduced. 
(5) For those diagnosed by a medical institution at or above Level II as requiring bed rest for pregnancy preservation, the duration of such bed rest shall be treated as sick leave. 
(6) Time spent on prenatal checkups during working hours shall be counted as part of working hours. 
Article 8: 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. Employees who meet the statutory conditions for childbirth are entitled to an additional 60 days of reward maternity leave as prescribed by law. 
Female employees who terminate a pregnancy before 2 months of gestation are entitled to 15 days of maternity leave; those who terminate a pregnancy between 2 and 4 months of gestation are entitled to 30 days of maternity leave; those who terminate a pregnancy between 4 and 7 months of gestation are entitled to 42 days of maternity leave; and those who terminate a pregnancy at or after 7 months of gestation are entitled to 75 days of maternity leave. 
Article 9: Employers shall provide the following labor protections to female employees undergoing family planning procedures: 
(1) For those who have an intrauterine device (IUD) inserted, take 2 days of leave; within one week after the procedure, do not schedule them for heavy physical labor. For those who have an IUD removed, take 1 day of leave. 
(2) For those who have an implant placed under the skin, take 2 days of leave; for those who have an implant removed from under the skin, take 1 day of leave. 
(3) For those undergoing tubal ligation or tubal reanastomosis, take 21 days of leave. 
Article 10: Female employees who meet the prescribed conditions for childbirth, termination of pregnancy, or undergoing family planning surgery shall be entitled to maternity insurance benefits as stipulated by the state and the province. If they have legally participated in maternity insurance, the maternity insurance fund shall make payments according to regulations; if they have not legally participated in maternity insurance, the employer shall provide the maternity insurance benefits. 
Article 11: Employers shall provide the following labor protections to female employees who are breastfeeding infants under one year old: 
(1) They shall not be assigned to engage in labor prohibited during the lactation period as stipulated by the state. 
(2) Overtime work or night shift work shall not be permitted; 
(3) If there is a work quota, the corresponding work quota shall be reduced accordingly. 
(4) Arrange a one-hour breastfeeding break during each day’s working hours; for mothers giving birth to multiple babies, add one hour of breastfeeding time per additional infant per day. 
The breastfeeding time stipulated in item (4) of the preceding paragraph may be used in one continuous session or in separate sessions. For employees who live far from their workplaces and are unable to return home for breastfeeding, upon their own application, the breastfeeding time following maternity leave may be converted into a specified number of days and used either in conjunction with the maternity leave or separately. 
Upon completion of the maternity leave period, with the employee’s application and the employer’s approval, the employee may take additional leave until the infant reaches one year of age. The terms and conditions of leave during this period shall be determined through mutual negotiation between the two parties. 
Article 12: Employers with a relatively large number of female employees shall, based on the actual needs of female employees, establish facilities such as women’s health rooms, maternity rest rooms, and lactation rooms. 
Employers shall take measures to properly address the difficulties faced by female employees engaged in mobile or dispersed work regarding physiological hygiene and breastfeeding. 
Encourage and guide neighboring employers to jointly provide facilities such as rest areas and lactation rooms for pregnant and breastfeeding female employees. 
Article 13 encourages employers to adopt flexible work-hour arrangements and other measures to create convenient conditions for female employees to care for infants and young children. 
Employers are encouraged to provide welfare-based childcare services for infants and toddlers aged 1 to 3 years at the workplace, either independently or in collaboration with relevant organizations. 
Article 14: People's governments at or above the county level may support social organizations in providing infant and toddler care services by adopting policy measures such as providing venues, reducing or exempting rent, and offering government subsidies. 
Article 15: Employers shall arrange an annual screening for common gynecological diseases for female employees. The time spent on the screening shall be counted as working hours, and the cost of the screening shall be borne by the employer. Employers are encouraged to organize regular screenings for breast cancer and cervical cancer among female employees. 
Article 16: In the workplace, employers shall prevent and stop sexual harassment against 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 handle the matter or refer it to the relevant authorities for processing. If the employee files a report with the public security authorities or brings a civil lawsuit before 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 17: People's governments at or above the county level shall strengthen their leadership over the labor protection of female employees and take measures to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests. 
The administrative departments concerned—such as human resources and social security, emergency management, health, and medical insurance—under the people's governments at or above the county level shall, in accordance with their respective responsibilities, conduct supervision and inspection of employers' compliance with these regulations. 
Article 18: Trade unions and women’s organizations shall, in accordance with the law, safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of female employees. 
Trade union organizations at all levels shall, in accordance with the law, supervise employers’ compliance with laws, regulations, and rules on the protection of female workers’ labor rights. 
Article 19: The people's governments at or above the county level, together with their departments of human resources and social security, emergency management, health, and medical insurance, as well as trade unions and women’s organizations, shall establish a joint conference system for the protection of female workers’ labor rights. This system will be used to jointly study policies for ensuring the safety and health of female workers in the workplace and to coordinate efforts in addressing major issues related to the protection of female workers’ labor rights. 
The departments of human resources and social security, emergency management, health, and medical insurance under the people's governments at or above the county level shall establish a joint law enforcement mechanism to jointly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of female employees. 
Article 20: If an employer violates these Regulations and infringes upon the legitimate rights and interests of female employees, the trade union organization may submit a “Supervisory Opinion on Labor Protection for Female Employees” to the employer, demanding that it make corrections. The employer shall promptly make such corrections. If the employer refuses to make corrections, the local trade union may submit a “Supervisory Recommendation on Labor Protection for Female Employees” to the competent authorities responsible for human resources and social security, emergency management, health, and medical insurance. The relevant authorities shall handle the matter in accordance with their respective powers and responsibilities under the law and shall promptly notify the trade union in writing of the outcome of their actions. 
Article 21: If an employer violates these regulations and infringes upon the legitimate rights and interests of female employees, the human resources and social security and emergency management departments of the people's government at or above the county level shall order it to make corrections. 
Article 22: If an employer violates these regulations and infringes upon the legitimate rights and interests of female employees, the female employees may file complaints and reports with the relevant authorities in accordance with the law, or they may apply for mediation and arbitration at labor and personnel dispute mediation and arbitration institutions in accordance with the law. If they disagree with the arbitration award, they may file a lawsuit with the People’s Court in accordance with the law. 
If a female employee files a complaint or report in accordance with the law to departments such as human resources and social security, emergency management, health and wellness, or medical insurance, or to trade unions or women’s organizations, the departments and organizations receiving the complaint or report shall promptly investigate and handle it in accordance with the law, or forward it within 5 days to the competent authority for investigation and handling. The results of the investigation and handling shall be communicated to the female employee. 
Article 23: These Regulations shall take effect as of March 8, 2020.

1992 The “Implementation Measures for the Hunan Province Regulations on Labor Protection of Female Employees,” which came into effect on March 31, shall be repealed concurrently.