我國育嬰留職停薪相關規定之檢討及日本經驗之啟示

The Review on Parental Leave System in Taiwan and the Enlightenment from Japan's Experience

性別工作平等法促進工作平等措施一章中，規範育嬰留職停薪（同法第16條）、育嬰留職停薪復職（同法第17條）後，對於需照顧幼兒的勞工而言，有相當之幫助。不過，在法律運用上，育嬰留職停薪申請時是否一定要書面，以及何謂復職，也曾引起討論，2014年6月修法時也對於復職之規定定義。鄰國的日本，受到少子、高齡化社會變動的影響，為強化工作與生活的平衡，近年來在育嬰留職停薪與相關配套措施有一些新的發展，也值得我國留意。本文先介紹我國相關法制度，說明目前實務實際處理方式，並與日本法制進行比較。最後，本文認為在申請方式上，雇主若未命勞工補正便拒絕，解釋上應該構成同法第21條第1項之拒絕，並提出其他解釋上與政策上之建議，以作為我國運作上之參考。 In the chapter Promoting Gender Equality of Act of Gender Equality in Employment, regulations about parental leave (article 16) and reinstatement (article 17) are helpful for employees who should take care of their kids. However, there are some discussions about whether the application of parental leave should be limited in written form and the definition of reinstatement. Also, the amendment in 2016 additionally regulates the definition of reinstatement. It is worth noticing that Japan, affected by lower birth rate and aging society, recently has some developments in parental leave and relevant supplementary measures in order to enhance work-life balance. This article will introduce Taiwan's relevant regulations, explaining how the judicial practice deals with this issue and then compare to Japanese regulations. At last, this article considers that if the employer refuses the employee's application without additions and corrections, it will probably constitute “rejection” regulated in Article 21 section 1. Finally, this article further provides explanatory and political proposal as a reference for Taiwan's practical operation.