Who can apply and the administrative procedures

Application for Maternity Leave Pay Subsidy

Who can apply and what are the eligibility requirements?
To apply for the Subsidy, a female employee must meet the following eligibility requirements at the same time:
  1. Within three years after Law No. 8/2020 came into force (i.e. from 26 May 2020 to 25 May 2023), a female employee who is in any of the following situations where she is legally entitled to maternity leave:
    • Childbirth;
    • Give birth to a stillborn baby;
    • Involuntary miscarriage after more than three months of pregnancy;
    • Live birth baby dies during the female employee’s maternity leave.

  2. When the fact referred to in Point 1 occurs, the female employee must be holding a Macao SAR Resident ID Card and must have established a labour relationship with her employer for more than one yearNOTE.

    NOTE: 
    If a female employee’s labour relationship with her employer only reaches one year during her maternity leave, she will be entitled to basic remuneration for the maternity leave that she may still enjoy after one year of labour relationship. In this case, the employer must pay at least 56 days of the maternity leave pay, and the female employee may apply to Social Security Fund for the Maternity Leave Pay Subsidy if there is any remaining maternity leave pay to which she is entitled.

How to apply?
The applicant may apply by completing a dedicated form and bringing the following documents:

  1. Present the applicant’s original Macao SAR Resident ID Card;

  2. Give a written consent to the Social Security Fund for requesting the birth registration information of the child from the Civil Registry Office of the Government of the Macao SAR;
    or submit a photocopy of the child’s birth registration certificate/a photocopy of the brief report of birth registration (required to present the original);
    or submit a photocopy of the medical certificate issued by a doctor licensed by the Government of the Macao SAR or a doctor accepted by the employer (required to present the original);

  3. Payslips for the last three months before the start of maternity leave (the original must be presented), as a reference for the vetting and approval of applications NOTE;

    NOTE:
    • Under normal circumstances, the applicant only needs to provide payslips for the last three months before the start of maternity leave. Examples are as follows:
      （1） If the applicant gives birth on 2 May 2022, and the maternity leave is from 2 May to 10 July 2022, the payslips from February to April 2022 must be submitted;
      （2） If the applicant gives birth on 2 May 2022, and the maternity leave is from 25 April to 3 July 2022*, the payslips from January to March 2022 must be submitted.
      （* According to Law No. 7/2008 (Labour Relations Law), as amended by Law No. 8/2020, female employees are entitled to 70 days of maternity leave for childbirth, of which 63 days must be taken immediately after giving birth, the rest of the days may be enjoyed in whole or in part before or after giving birth, at the discretion of the female employee.）
    • In the exceptional case of unpaid leave for an entire month before the start of maternity leave:
      （1） The applicant must supplement in writing the specific date (year/month/day) when the absence from work without pay begins;
      （2） Provide payslips for the last work month before the start of maternity leave and the two months before that.
      Example 1: If the applicant took an unpaid leave from 6 February 2022 until the day of delivery, she is required to submit the payslips for December 2021, January 2022 and February 2022 (a total of three months).
      Example 2: If the applicant took an unpaid leave for the entire month from 1 February to 28 February 2022, and worked in March, and then took an unpaid leave again from 1 April until the day of delivery, she is required to submit payslips for January, February and March 2022 (a total of three months).

  4. Photocopy of the applicant’s MOP bank account information (the applicant is exempt from submitting this document if she has previously received benefit payment from the FSS and there is no change to the bank account information);

  5. If an applicant needs to update the contact information (address, contact phone number/mobile phone number for receiving text messages), he/she can complete the " Change of Personal Particulars Form "or log in to the Social Security Fund’s Electronic Service Platform using  “My Government Account of Macao SAR” to apply;

  6. If a live birth baby dies during the maternity leave of a female employee, a photocopy of the baby’s death certificate must be submitted (the original must be presented);

In the following cases, relevant documents must be supplemented as well:

Case

Required documents

1.

The income on the payslip is composed  of different items

- The employer must explain in writing the nature of each item, the conditions of payment and the calculation method;

- Employment contract or pay agreement.

2.

The payslip for the last month before the start of maternity leave shows the items of “overtime pay, extra pay for night shift or shift work”

The payslips for the last six months before the start of maternity leave must be submitted.

3.

The items on the payslip are “pay determined according to the actual production result of the individual” (e.g. piece work, private commission, incentive bonus, etc.)

Attendance records for the last three months before the start of maternity leave.

4.

The items on the payslip are “pay determined according to the actual working time” (e.g. daily wage, hourly wage, meal allowance or transportation allowance calculated according to the actual working time, etc.)

Attendance records for the last month before the start of maternity leave.
Application submitted by a third party

Application submitted by a third party If the applicant is unable to submit the application in person, she may ask someone to submit the application for her.

Application deadline
Within 120 days from the date of childbirth or the date of occurrence of other circumstances where the female employee is entitled to maternity leave according to law.
Where to apply
Social Security Fund’s St. Lazarus Parish Field Office

Monday through Thursday: 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. – 5:45 p.m.
Friday: 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Macao Government Services Centre (Social Security Affairs)

(Rua Nova da Areia Preta, No. 52, 1.º andar, Área P, Macao)
Monday through Friday: 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. (No lunch break)

Macao Government Services Centrein Islands (Social Security Affairs)

(Rua de Coimbra, Nº 225, 3.º andar, Zona G ,Taipa )
Monday through Friday: 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. (No lunch break)

Required processing time and the payment method
The Social Security Fund will process the case within 60 days from the date on which the applicant meets all the eligibility requirements and submits all the required documents. The Subsidy will be paid into bank account within the month following the approval decision.
Points to note
  • Employers must pay at least 56 days of maternity leave pay to eligible local female employees, and the Social Security Fund will pay the employee a subsidy equal to the difference between the maternity leave pay actually given by the employer and the maternity leave pay that the employee is entitled to receive according to law, and the upper limit is 14 days of basic remuneration;
  • Applicants who hold birth certificates or medical certificates issued by countries and regions outside Macao may also apply for the Subsidy;
  • Female employees are also entitled to maternity leave in the following situations, and they can also apply for the Maternity Leave Pay Subsidy if they meet the eligibility requirements of the Subsidy:
    1. A female employee will be entitled to 70 days of maternity leave if she gives birth to a stillborn baby;
    2. A female employee will be entitled to at least 21 days and up to 70 days of maternity leave (depending on the female employee’s health condition and a duly proven medical advice) if she has involuntary miscarriage after more than three months of pregnancy;
    3. If a live birth baby dies during the maternity leave of a female employee, the maternity leave will be extended to ten days after the baby’s death, and the female employee must be guaranteed at least 70 days of maternity leave in total.
  • If the female employee also meets the eligibility requirements of the Social Security System's birth allowance, she may also submit the birth allowance application together.