Right to paid annual leave often ignored

Employees work at a firm in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province, on Aug 20, 2015. [Photo/IC]

Zhao Pin, a leading job platform in China, has released the results of its survey of white collar workers, which found over 40 percent of those surveyed did not take their annual paid leave. Southern Metropolis Daily commented on Monday:

Even though most employees know they are entitled to annual paid leave, many working outside government-affiliated departments and institutions dare not take the days off. That is usually because the calculation of wages is closely linked to monthly quotas. Once an employee takes leave for some days, his or her earnings for the month will be reduced almost to the minimum.

The fact that nearly 40 percent of white-collar workers do not take their annual leave reflects the poor protection of labor rights in the country. This requires that the relevant departments should improve the implementation of the paid vacation system. After all, paid annual leave is a social benefit.

Employers should ensure workers take their full annual leave entitlement and pay workers their wages in full during their holidays as required by law.

If employees waive their right to leave, they should be paid for those days, up to three times their normal wages.

It is important to safeguard the basic rights and interests of workers.