Hello, any help would be much appreciated!

My school would like some information on what benefits foreigners receive for maternity leave for foreign teachers.

As it's the first time for our school, we are unsure how much pay and leave can they receive.

Thank you!

Things may have changed in last couple of years, but when I looked this up in 2017 it was like this:

Maternity leave for foreign employees is same as for Chinese employees, with the exception that the so-called "late maternity leave" (older than 24 years when having the first child) does not apply to foreigners.

(How's that for late anyway...)

So foreign mothers are entitled to 98-day paid maternity leave.

Extra leave may be available based on local regulations, but should be same for foreigners and locals.

Also the financial benefits during maternity leave are same for locals and foreigners.

If the employee has participated in maternity insurance part of social security contributions, it will be paid at least partly by the Social Security Bureau.

If the employee (whether Chinese or foreign) has not participated in this, then the normal salary during maternity leave should be paid in full by the employer.

In practise most foreign employees would not have contributed to the maternity fund, because it is not compulsory for foreginers.

There's theory, then there's practice. What JanJal said is correct, Chinese labor laws apply to foreigner's exactly the same as they do to Chinese nationals. Having legal rights and exercising those rights are two different matters, however.

You can demand maternity leave but what is to stop them from not paying you? Do you have the time and resources to fill a complaint with the labor board and see it through? Even after having received a favorable ruling, you'd still have to go to the courts to compel them to pay since the labor board has no enforcement authority.

After going through all the hurdles, there is still the problem of contract renewal at the end of the contract year, they'll simply decide not to renew and any benefits still owed is not binding, i.e., they'd only have to pay maternity leave up until the end of the contract.

So the amount of time left on the contract is going to be a factor on deciding if it is worthwhile to pursue maturity leave.

So, as with all things Chinese, the final outcome will depend heavily on the personal relationship you have with the school rather than on what the laws or norms allow on this matter.

PS, I'm no expert, just like to ramble

But unlike other labor (pun intended) disputes where the employee, foreign or not, has the option to just leave quietly and find new work, having a baby makes it a bit more complicated - or easier, depending on ones point of view.

No employer worth the license to hire foreigners will risk a newborn foreign child getting neglected because of them. It'll make news.

Plus foreigners will find out about employers' reputations through various channels, including sites such as this one. So employers that fail to treat foreign employees properly thereby undercut their own ability to hire foreign staff in the future.