Circular of the Ministry of Labour on Issuing the Measures (for Trial Implementation) for Child-bearing Insurance of the Staff and Workers in Enterprises

Date:    LMI [1994] No. 504 issued by the Ministry of Labour on December 14, 1994

Source:     the Policy and Legislation Department of the Ministry of labour

Subject:     child-bearing insurance, rights of female workers

To:  Labour (or Labour and Personnel) Bureaus of Provinces, Autonomous Regions, Municipalities Directly under the Central Government and Cities Specifically Designated in the State Plan, Social Insurance Bureau of Shanghai,

In coordination with the implementation of the Labour Law and for the purpose of safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of female staff and workers better, our Ministry has worked out the "Measures (for Trial Implementation) for Child-bearing Insurance of the Staff and Workers in Enterprises", and hereby issue it. It shall be implemented on trial as of January 1, 1995.

Measures (for Trial Implementation) for Child-bearing Insurance of the Staff and Workers in Enterprises

Article 1.    These Measures are worked in accordance with the provisions of relevant laws and regulations in order to protect the legitimate rights and interests of female staff and workers, to ensure economic compensations, medical treatment and health care they are entitled to obtain during their child-bearing, and equalize the burden of child-bearing insurance premiums among enterprises.

Article 2.    These Measures apply to enterprises in cities and towns and their staff and workers.

Article 3.    The child-bearing insurance shall be organized on the principle of locality. The collection of the child-bearing insurance fund shall practise the system of social overall plan.

Article 4.    The child-bearing insurance fund shall be raised according to the principle of "deciding the collection according to the expenses and making both ends meet on the whole". The enterprise shall pay child-bearing insurance premiums in due proportion as its total pay-roll to the agency in charge of social insurance funds, establish the child-bearing insurance fund. The collecting rate for the child-bearing insurance fund shall be determined by local people's government according to the baby number within the family planning and the expenses such as child-bearing subsidies, medical expenses for child-bearing, and may be readjusted suitably according to the expenditure. However, the maximum rate shall not exceed one percent of its total pay-roll. The child-bearing insurance premiums paid by the enterprise shall be listed as management expenses.

The staff and workers themselves shall not pay child-bearing insurance premiums.

Article 5.    After childbirth, female staff and workers shall be entitled to maternity leaves with pay according to the stipulations of laws and regulations. The child-bearing subsidies during maternity leaves shall be calculated in accordance with the average monthly wages of the staff and workers in the enterprises of the preceding year, and paid from the child-bearing insurance fund.

Article 6.    The expenses of the female staff and workers for prenatal examination, delivering children, operation, hospitalization and medicine shall be paid from the child-bearing insurance fund. Expenses exceeding the standard charges as provided for medical services and medicine (including charges for medicine at their own expenses and nourishing medicine) shall be paid by themselves.

The medical expenses for diseases caused by the child-bearing after their dehospitalization shall be paid from the child-bearing insurance fund; the medical expenses for other diseases shall be handled according to the provisions on

Medical treatment insurance benefits. Where the female staff and workers need rest and medical treatment due to illness at expiration of maternity leaves, they shall be handled in accordance with the provisions on sick leave benefits and medical treatment insurance.

Article 7.    After childbirth or abortion, the female staff and workers themselves or the enterprises they belong to shall, with certificates of family planning signed and issued by the local departments of family planning and certificates of babybirth, death or abortion, go to the local agency in charge of social insurance to handle the formalities concerned, receive child-bearing subsidies, and submit child-bearing medical expenses account.

Article 8.    The child-bearing insurance fund shall be collected, paid and managed by the agency in charge of social insurance subordinate to the labour department.

The child-bearing insurance fund shall be deposited in a special account of the child-bearing insurance fund in the bank opened by the agency in charge of social insurance. The bank interest of the child-bearing insurance fund shall be account, by the banks according to the interest rate of the individual deposits of the urban and rural residents at the same period of time, and the interests obtained shall be transferred to the fund.

Article 9.    The agency in charge of social insurance may extract from the child-bearing insurance fund management expenses, used as its personnel expenses, administrative expenses and other expenses needed for the work of child-bearing insurance. The standards for management expenses shall be set up by the labour administrative department according to the institution of the personnel in local agencies in charge of social insurance, and submitted to the local people's governments for approval after the examination and verification by the financial department. The maximum proportion of the extract for management expenses shall not exceed two percent of the child-bearing insurance fund.

The child-bearing insurance fund and management expenses are free of any tax or charge.

Article 10.    The raising and use of the child-bearing fund shall practise the system of financial budget and final accounts. The agency in charge of social insurance shall make the annual report on the fund, and accept the supervision of the finance and audit authorities at the same level.

Article 11.    The supervisory organs of social insurance of cities (or counties) shall conduct regular supervision over the management of the child-bearing insurance fund.

Article 12.    The enterprise must, on time, pay the child-bearing insurance premiums. Where an enterprise fails to make the payment at the expiration of the time limit, overdue fine of two per thousand for each overdue day shall be imposed. The overdue fine shall be transferred to the child-bearing insurance fund. The overdue fines shall be Listed as expenses out of business, and shall be readjusted when the enterprise pay taxes.

Article 13.    Where an enterprise makes a fraudulent application and claim for child-bearing subsidies or medical expenses for child-bearing, the agency in charge of social insurance shall recover all amount of money that it falsely applied and claimed, and the labour administrative department shall give it an administrative sanction.

Where an enterprise delays paying or refuses to pay child-bearing subsidies or medical expenses for child-bearing to its staff and workers, the labour administrative department shall order it to make corrections within a fixed period of time; where any harms have been caused to the staff and workers, the enterprise shall be liable for compensations.

Article 14.    If the functionaries of the labour administrative department or the agency in charge of social insurance abuse their powers, neglect their duties, engage in malpractices for selfish ends, graft or misappropriate the child-bearing insurance fund, they shall, if a crime is constituted, be investigated for criminal responsibilities according to law, or shall, if a crime is not yet constituted, be given administrative sanctions.

Article 15.    The measures for the implementation may be worked out by the labour administrative departments under the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government according to the provisions of these Measures and in the light of their local conditions.

Article 16.    These Measures shall be implemented on trial as of January 1, 1995.