Shanghai launches maternity leave social insurance subsidy programme

At a glance

• Effective from 1 January 2025, Shanghai introduced a shared-cost maternity leave subsidy to ease employer financial burden.
• Employers may claim 50% reimbursement on five statutory social insurance contributions during eligible female employees’ maternity leave.
• Applies only if the employee gave birth on or after 1 January 2025, is employed at the time, takes statutory leave, and the employer contributes to social insurance.
• Employers must apply within one year after the leave ends, submitting required documents to the local Human Resources and Social Security Bureau.
• The policy applies retroactively throughout 2025, but not to births before 1 January 2025, even if leave continues into the year.

Background and policy overview

Effective 1 January 2025, Shanghai has officially implemented a new maternity leave subsidy programme under a shared-cost mechanism designed to alleviate the financial burden on employers during female employees’ statutory maternity and childbirth leave. Under this programme, eligible employers may apply for a social insurance subsidy covering 50% of the employer-paid portion of five statutory insurance categories - basic pension, medical (including maternity), unemployment, and work-related injury insurance during the employee’s maternity leave period.

Eligibility criteria

To qualify for the subsidy, all of the following conditions must be met:

• The female employee must give birth on or after 1 January 2025.
• The birth must occur during their employment with the company.
• The employee must take statutory maternity and childbirth leave.
• The employer must contribute to the employee’s social insurance during the leave period.
• The employer must be registered in Shanghai and fall within the scope of eligible entities (including enterprises, social organisations, law firms, accounting firms, and sole proprietorships participating in social insurance as a unit).

Please note that, employees who gave birth prior to 1 January 2025 are not covered under this programme, even if their maternity leave extends into 2025.

Subsidy standards and duration

The subsidy reimburses 50% of the employer’s actual social insurance contributions for the eligible employee over a six-month period, starting from the month of childbirth. The subsidy is issued as a lump-sum payment following approval.

Application timeline and process

Employers must submit the subsidy application within one year following the conclusion of the employee’s maternity and childbirth leave. The application must be filed with the local Human Resources and Social Security Bureau in the district where the company is registered.

Core documents include:

• a completed subsidy application form; and
• proof of childbirth (eg, medical birth certificate).

Special considerations for labour dispatch

For labour dispatch arrangements, the dispatching entity - not the host company - is responsible for submitting the subsidy application.

Next steps

We recommend that employers in Shanghai review their current maternity leave practices and confirm employee eligibility to ensure compliance with the subsidy application requirements.