Regions roll out policies to help parents living alone

Ningxia Hui autonomous region in Northwest China recently passed a regulation allowing employees to take paid nursing leave to take care of their aged parents who are hospitalized, Chinanews.com reported on Friday.

According to the regulation, the employers have been instructed not to deduct salaries of employees who avail of the leave. The employees who are the only child can take a maximum of 15 days' nursing leave per year, and those who have siblings in their families can take maximum of 7 days.

With China facing the rapidly aging population, many children are finding it difficult to take care of their parents, especially those who work and live away from their hometown. To address the problem, more than 10 provinces and regions in the country have formulated the policy to grant employees "nursing leave" so that they can fulfill their filial duties.

For instance, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region announced early last year that employers who are the only child should be given up to 15 days of nursing leave per year if either of their parents (aged 60 or above) is hospitalized. The only-child employees in Henan have been granted up to 20 days' paid leave per year to attend to their parents. The policy will come into effect on Jan 1.

To ensure the leave benefits all, regions like Hubei, Heilongjiang, Sichuan and Ningxia also included families with two or more children in the nursing leave arrangement. In 2016, the central government launched a long-term care insurance program piloted in 15 cities including Shanghai, Guangzhou and Qingdao, which has since greatly alleviated the burden on families that are not able to live together.

Some regions that have not yet specified the days of nursing leave also rolled out polices to show their supports for the seniors.

Besides, regions like Inner Mongolia and Guangxi even included "visiting families regularly" in local laws and regulations, as a way to urge the youths to fulfill their filial duties.