Earlier this month a new kind of leave was introduced for civil servants, students, and teachers: 身心調適假, or Mental Health Leave. I asked my office today how that affects foreign teachers and was told the following:
First, it’s not in our contracts;
Second, despite this we do get mental health leave;
Third, it’s considered the same as a 事假, or Personal Leave, and so we’re restricted to only seven days each year before we lose our yearly bonus.
I asked, what’s the difference between this and a sick leave, then? They answered that if I take a sick day on a day when I need to teach or co-teaching a class, I need to find a substitute and also have a deduction in my salary to pay the sub; but with a mental leave day I don’t need to pay. I do still need to find my own sub though. Oh, and sick leaves are counted differently than personal leaves, and remember that mental health leave is a personal leave.
So we get a new leave, but one that is nearly worthless. Progress‽