As an employee in Shanghai, you may have questions about the city's marriage leave policy, such as:

- How many days of marriage leave are employees entitled to in Shanghai?

- Can marriage leave be extended if it coincides with public holidays in Shanghai?

- Does taking marriage leave affect my annual leave entitlement for the year?

- How to calculate your salary during marriage leave?

The Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security answers these questions as follows.

1. How many days of marriage leave are employees entitled to in Shanghai?

Individuals who enter into a lawful marriage are entitled to one to three days of national marriage leave, plus an additional seven days granted by the Shanghai municipality.

The additional days should generally be taken consecutively together with the national marriage leave, and this period includes weekends.

2. Can marriage leave be extended if it coincides with public holidays in Shanghai?

Yes. The additional seven days of marriage leave in Shanghai may be extended if they fall on statutory public holidays.

For example, if an employee starts their marriage leave on April 27 and is entitled to a total of 10 days of leave, the leave period would end on May 6. However, if the additional seven days overlap with Labor Day on May 1 and May 2, the leave may be extended by two days, ending on May 8, and the employee would return to work on May 9.

3. Does taking marriage leave affect my annual leave entitlement for the year?

No. Under relevant regulations, statutory leaves such as family visit leave, marriage and funeral leave, maternity leave, and work-related injury leave, are not counted toward annual leave entitlement.

Therefore, marriage leave and annual leave do not conflict with each other. Employees are entitled to both separately.

4. How to calculate your salary during marriage leave?

According to Article 9 of the Measures of the Shanghai Municipality for Payment of Wages by Enterprises, employers must pay salaries as stipulated during legally approved marriage leave.

The salary during marriage leave is based on the employee's normal monthly wages for their respective positions under standard working conditions. The calculation excludes bonuses, commuting allowances, meal subsidies, housing allowances, night shift premiums, high-temperature allowances, overtime pay and other special payments. The specific rules for determining the salary are as follows:

If the labor contract specifies the monthly wage for the employee's position, the salary during marriage leave is calculated based on this agreed amount. In cases where actual practice differs from the contract, the actual monthly wage for the position is used.

If the labor contract does not specify the monthly wage but a collective agreement does, the salary is determined based on the wage specified in the collective agreement.

If neither the labor contract nor the collective agreement specifies the employee's monthly wage, it should be calculated as 70 percent of the normal monthly wage for full attendance, as defined in Article 2 of the above-mentioned measures. This wage includes regular hourly wages, piece-rate wages, bonuses, allowances and subsidies, but excludes overtime pay.

The salary base during marriage leave cannot be lower than the city's minimum wage.

Updated Sept 18, 2026

Source: Official WeChat account of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security (ID: "shrsjwx")