If You Reward Colleagues Helping with Shortened Working Hours for Childcare, You Can Receive a Monthly Subsidy of 200,000 Won

Notice of Legislative Proposal for Partial Amendment of Subordinate Legislation under the Employment Insurance Act

Small and medium-sized enterprises supporting work-sharing payments due to reduced working hours during childcare will be able to receive government subsidies of up to 200,000 KRW per month starting from the second half of this year.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 20th that it has given preliminary notice of partial amendments to subordinate regulations of the Employment Insurance Act with such content. The main points include the establishment of a childcare reduced work-sharing support fund, expansion of support for reduced working hours benefits during childcare, and clarification of eligibility for unemployment benefits in cases of business closure due to pregnancy, childbirth, or childcare.

The reduced working hours system during childcare is a system that allows workers in workplaces where it is practically difficult to take a complete leave of absence like parental leave to maintain their employment by reducing their working hours for a certain period.

Until now, since existing personnel often shared the workload gap caused by using the system, workers had difficulty utilizing the system due to concerns about their colleagues’ perceptions. After the legal amendment, starting from the second half of this year, a childcare reduced work-sharing support fund will be established so that workers can freely use the system without worrying about colleagues’ perceptions, even when it is difficult to hire replacement personnel.

The childcare reduced work-sharing support fund provides subsidies to employers up to 200,000 KRW per month when a worker reduces working hours by at least 10 hours per week during childcare and the employer compensates colleagues who share the workload.

Additionally, the reduced working hours benefit during childcare, which currently compensates workers’ income for reduced working hours due to childcare, will expand the 100% ordinary wage support range from the first 5 hours per week to 10 hours per week.

Lee Jeong-sik, Minister of Employment and Labor.

Along with this, an amendment to the 'Act on Gender Equality in Employment' is being promoted to expand the eligibility for reduced working hours during childcare from children aged 8 or younger (2nd grade in elementary school) to children aged 12 or younger (6th grade in elementary school), and to extend the usage period from a maximum of 24 months per parent to 36 months.

Furthermore, it will be explicitly stated in the Employment Insurance Act that self-employed persons currently enrolled in employment insurance who close their business due to pregnancy, childbirth, or childcare are eligible for unemployment benefits.

Lee Sung-hee, Vice Minister of Employment and Labor, said, "We created the amendment based on field opinions to revitalize the reduced working hours system during childcare, which is widely used in small and medium-sized enterprises. For infants, we will spread a culture of shared parenting through the ‘6+6 Parental Leave System,’ and thereafter, through the reduced working hours system during childcare, we will create an environment where work and childcare can coexist up to elementary school."