China’s central Henan province issued a notice last week urging companies to ensure employees take their full paid annual leave and encouraging employer flexibility around workers leaving early on Fridays, domestic media reported Wednesday. The move was designed to encourage travel and spending on holidays and weekend getaways.

However, on Friday, local authorities said that the notice contained “inaccurate wording” and had “not undergone proper approval procedures,” and in response to public concerns, would be revised and reissued.  

The original notice required employers to simplify leave approval procedures and called on company leaders to “lead by example” by taking time off themselves. It also clarified that all employees are entitled to the same paid annual leave regardless of whether they are permanent, temporary, dispatched, or contracted workers.

In addition, it encouraged employees to maximize their breaks by combining leave with weekends and public holidays, and said those with school-age children should receive priority when applying for leave during school breaks.

Henan is among several provincial-level regions that have introduced measures this year to better enforce paid annual leave, in line with China’s latest and first specific five-year plan on boosting consumption, approved by the State Council in July.

The Henan notice sparked heated discussion on social media, jumping to the trending topics list on microblogging platform Weibo. Some users voiced support and called for a nationwide rollout of the policy. Others took the opportunity to criticize a long-standing workplace culture in the country that promotes skipping leave to demonstrate dedication.

“I no longer have to lose pay to travel,” an employee who has worked at a state-owned enterprise in the Henan city of Luoyang for 10 years told Sixth Tone. “We were so excited when we saw the news that afternoon, and everyone cheered when our company issued (its own) notice the next day.”

She said taking time off previously meant losing a significant portion of her salary. “Now, (the notice) makes me feel more motivated to work,” she said. “People will complete their tasks more thoroughly before going on leave.” The employee added that she is already planning to combine her annual leave with the weeklong National Day holiday, at the beginning of October, for a longer break.

Two private-sector employees in Henan, however, told Sixth Tone that they had yet to receive any notice of a change in annual leave from their companies. 

Similar notices have also been issued this year in the northern port city of Tianjin, the eastern provinces of Zhejiang and Anhui, the northwestern province of Shaanxi, and the southwestern province of Guizhou. 

Many notices state they aim to change “unhealthy workplace norms,” while attempting to allay workers’ concerns that taking leave could affect their pay, performance evaluations, or chances for promotion. 

In 2025, Lü Guoquan, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and then an official with the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, said only around 57% of China’s workers entitled to paid annual leave actually take it.

Under national regulations implemented in 2008, employees with one to 10 years of cumulative work experience are entitled to five days of paid annual leave; those with 10 to 20 years receive 10 days; and those with more than 20 years receive 15 days.

“To fundamentally change the situation, China also needs routine labor inspections, accessible channels for workers to defend their rights, and better job rotation systems to reduce operational pressure on employers,” Song Xiangqing, vice president of the Commerce Economy Association of China, told domestic business outlet Caijing.

In January, China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security also announced that it would revise national regulations to promote better enforcement of the paid leave system.

“Paid leave is no longer simply about work-life balance or employee welfare,” state-run Guangming Daily wrote in a commentary published Thursday. “It has become part of the country’s strategy to boost consumption and expand domestic demand. Only with sufficient, uninterrupted, and predictable time off will people have both the time and willingness to spend.”

Editor: Marianne Gunnarsson.

(Header image: Visuals from Horstgerlach/Getty Creative/VCG, reedited by Sixth Tone)