South Korea plans support for workers who cover for colleagues with kids
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Effective on July 1, the revision will allow the government to make up for the employers’ compensation to employees.
PHOTO: PEXELS
SEOUL - South Korea’s Cabinet approved a Bill on June 18 to reward employees taking up the duties of coworkers who work reduced hours for childcare with government subsidies.
Effective on July 1, the revision will allow the government to make up for the employers’ compensation to employees who handled the tasks of co-workers who, for example, leave the workplace early for childcare purposes.
Moreover, parents of young children who work two hours fewer than the regular working hours every day in a workplace will be eligible for the same salary through the revision.
Currently, a full salary was available only to those who worked up to an hour less than the regular daily hours, and those who reduced working time by two hours a day saw a 20 per cent wage cut.
In South Korea, parents with a child aged eight or younger may apply for the state-backed policy for reduced work hours for child-rearing parents.
The revision of the Employment Insurance Act’s enforcement decree was aimed at “alleviating the burden of both enterprises and workers”, according to the government on June 18.
The Bill will also allow more workers to take advantage of the work-hour reduction policy for parents. South Korea’s Labour Ministry proposed the Bill in March.
This was one of the Bills that gained approval on June 18 at the Cabinet meeting presided over by President Yoon Suk-yeol.
In 2023, South Korea recorded a historically low birth rate of 0.72, as the figure has been on a downtrend for eight straight years.
Mr Yoon had earlier hinted at launching a new ministry dedicated to handling the population crisis from the low birth rate, and establishing a new senior presidential secretary post to address the problem. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
