Authorities in China’s central province of Henan have ordered state officials to take paid leave and lead by example in using their annual vacation as part of a broader effort to revive weak consumer spending amid the country’s economic slowdown.
The directive, issued on Aug. 5 by six provincial government departments, requires agencies and employers to ensure workers fully use their paid annual leave, establish records tracking employee vacations, and hold the heads of government offices and state-owned enterprises primarily accountable for implementation, according to state media Xinhua Daily via news portal Sohu on Aug. 6.
Henan has paired the new leave policy with discounts on tourist attractions, hotels, and transportation, making paid vacation part of a broader effort to boost domestic consumption.
However, two China-based analysts who spoke to The Epoch Times on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal questioned whether administrative orders can persuade people to spend when incomes are under pressure and job security remains uncertain.
Officials Told to Set an Example
Under the new rules, employees who have worked continuously for at least 12 months—including civil servants, contract workers, dispatched employees, and temporary staff—are entitled to paid annual leave. Workers with one to fewer than 10 years of cumulative service receive five days of leave; those with 10 to fewer than 20 years receive 10 days; and those with 20 years or more receive 15 days.
The notice places primary responsibility for implementation on the heads of government agencies, public institutions, and state-owned enterprises. Employers must develop annual vacation plans, maintain leave records, and make them public. State agencies will adopt a system in which employees apply for leave, and their departments record it, while businesses are instructed not to impose multiple layers of approval or otherwise restrict employees from taking vacation.
For workers unable to take leave because of major projects, emergency duties, or holiday staffing needs, employers must obtain the employee’s consent and provide compensation for unused vacation days. Labor authorities said compliance will be incorporated into routine inspections and special audits, and employers that refuse to arrange leave, fail to pay compensation, or ignore orders to rectify violations may be publicly named.
The campaign reflects the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) reliance on administrative measures to implement policies that have struggled to gain traction in practice.
A Zhengzhou-based independent writer told The Epoch Times that the hierarchical nature of the CCP’s political system discourages employees from taking leave if senior officials do not do so first.
“In the CCP’s officialdom, power flows from the top down. If leaders don’t take leave, subordinates usually don’t dare to take leave,” he said.
The author said administrative orders may be enforceable within government agencies, but conditions are different in the private sector, where many businesses face declining orders, shrinking profits, and layoffs.
“Writing paid leave into an official document doesn’t mean ordinary workers truly have the right to take vacation,” he said. “Whether employees can actually take leave still depends on whether their supervisors approve it and whether companies are willing to let them go.”
China’s Regulations on Paid Annual Leave for Employees took effect in 2008. Eighteen years later, Henan’s reliance on officials taking the lead, mandatory recordkeeping, inspections, and public exposure to enforce compliance suggests the policy has never been fully implemented, according to the author.
Weak Consumption
Henan’s plan encourages workers to combine annual leave with weekends, public holidays, and school spring or autumn breaks to create vacations lasting three to seven days.
However, a scholar from Hunan Province told The Epoch Times that the government’s emphasis on vacation misses the underlying reasons consumers have curtailed spending.
“The main reason people aren’t consuming is that incomes have fallen and household burdens have increased,” the scholar said. “Local governments are asking people to take vacations and offering discounts on tourist attractions and transportation, but that can’t change unemployment, wage cuts, or the loss of household wealth caused by the decline in the real estate market. The CCP has tried to stimulate the economy through boosting consumption, and it has already proven ineffective.”
The CCP included the implementation of a staggered paid-leave system in this year’s government work report, framing paid leave as both a labor-rights policy and a tool to increase consumer spending.
The scholar said the growing reliance on paid leave to drive consumption highlights the lack of effective options for expanding domestic demand.
