Resolving Employment Insurance Blind Spots for Farmers and Fishermen... 'Enrollment Available for Groups of 4 or Fewer'

Notice of Legislative Proposal for Partial Amendment of Subordinate Laws under the Employment Insurance Act and the Employment and Industrial Accident Insurance Premium Collection Act

From now on, agricultural and fishery workers with four or fewer regular employees will also be able to receive employment insurance benefits.

On the 27th, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that, together with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, it has prepared partial amendments to the subordinate laws of the "Employment Insurance Act" and the "Act on Collection of Employment and Industrial Accident Insurance Premiums" to enhance the choice of employment insurance enrollment for agricultural and fishery workers, and will publicly notify the legislation for 40 days starting today.

The main contents of this legislative notice include ▲ enhancing the choice of employment insurance enrollment for agricultural and fishery workers and agricultural and fishery business owners with four or fewer employees (non-corporate) ▲ expanding the employment insurance enrollment requirement for agricultural and fishery business owners to include registration as an agricultural and fishery management entity ▲ and revising the eligibility requirements for unemployment benefits to better fit the agricultural and fishery circumstances.

Until now, workers engaged in agriculture and fishery with four or fewer regular employees (non-corporate) were generally excluded from the scope of employment insurance. Exceptionally, employment insurance enrollment was possible only if the majority of workers agreed and the employer applied for enrollment. However, going forward, agricultural and fishery workers with four or fewer employees who wish to enroll in employment insurance will be able to do so individually without majority consent, and the procedure will be improved to allow workers to apply for enrollment directly.

Currently, agricultural and fishery business owners with four or fewer regular employees (non-corporate) can only enroll in employment insurance under limited conditions. Agricultural and fishery business owners who have not registered their business are unable to enroll, making it difficult for most agricultural and fishery business owners to receive employment insurance benefits. In the future, the enrollment threshold will be lowered so that agricultural and fishery business owners with four or fewer employees can enroll in employment insurance according to their own will, and those registered as agricultural and fishery management entities under the Act on Fostering and Supporting Agricultural and Fishery Management Entities will also be able to enroll.

Additionally, there have been criticisms that the current eligibility requirements for unemployment benefits for self-employed persons (monthly sales decrease) do not fit the agricultural and fishery field. Accordingly, improvements will be made so that agricultural and fishery business owners can receive unemployment benefits if their annual sales in the one year prior to closure decrease by 20% or more compared to the previous year. Furthermore, special provisions for agriculture and fishery will be established for legitimate reasons for unemployment benefit eligibility, including land use restrictions, measures to prevent the spread of animal and plant infectious diseases, and natural disasters or calamities.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor, together with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, will strengthen guidance on employment insurance system improvements and enrollment procedures in the agricultural and fishery sectors, focusing on institutions that accept agricultural and fishery management entity registration applications and agricultural and fishery organizations, and will operate a special enrollment period to provide various conveniences to agricultural and fishery workers who wish to newly enroll.

Lee Jeong-han, Director of Employment Policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, said, "Expanding the employment safety net for agriculture and fishery is a national agenda of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration. Based on close cooperation with related ministries, we have sufficiently collected field opinions to create the amendment." He added, "We will continue to cooperate with related ministries to ensure that these system improvements settle in the field, increase the convenience of employment insurance enrollment for agricultural and fishery workers, and reduce the burdens associated with enrollment."