4th Population Emergency Measures Meeting and Work-Family Balance Achievement Sharing
Regular Tax Audit Deferral by National Tax Service for Outstanding SMEs
Institutionalization of Flexible Work System for Pregnant and Childcare Workers
The government announced additional measures to address low birth rates, including deferring regular tax audits by the National Tax Service for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) certified as family-friendly or recognized as excellent companies for work-life balance. The Labor Standards Act will also be amended to allow employees working four hours through shortened work hours or half-days to leave immediately without a 30-minute break. Flexible work systems permitting telecommuting and staggered working hours for pregnant and childcare workers will also be promoted. Additionally, 18 workplace daycare centers operated in government buildings will be opened to the private sector in October.
The Low Fertility and Aging Society Committee (LFASC) held its 4th Emergency Population Countermeasures Meeting and Work-Family Balance Excellent Companies Performance Sharing Session on the 25th at the Yeouido Korea Federation of SMEs, chaired by President Yoon Seok-yeol, announcing supplementary measures reflecting field opinions.
The government plans to defer regular tax audits by the National Tax Service for SMEs certified by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family as family-friendly or recognized by the Ministry of Employment and Labor as excellent companies for work-life balance. It will also discuss expanding deferrals for local governments and local tax audits. Currently, Seoul, Busan, Gwangju, Daejeon, and Chungbuk have indicated positive consideration of this plan.
The Labor Standards Act will be amended to allow employees working four hours a day through shortened work hours or half-days to leave immediately without a 30-minute break. The current Labor Standards Act mandates a 30-minute break for employees working four hours.
Flexible work systems for pregnant and childcare workers will also be promoted. To reduce the burden of long commutes and increase family time, flexible work systems allowing telecommuting, staggered working hours, and selectable working hours will be introduced for pregnant and childcare workers who desire them. Specific plans will be prepared after discussions with the Economic, Social and Labor Council.
For SMEs experiencing workforce gaps due to childcare leave, the pool of substitute personnel will be expanded, and online recruitment centers by job category will be newly established and expanded.
For self-employed workers, platform workers, special employment workers, and artists who fall into the blind spots of low birth rate measures, plans will be prepared through inter-ministerial task force (TF) discussions by the end of the year. Currently, LFASC is conducting research on the scope of support, support methods, and funding plans.
The Federation of Medium-Sized Enterprises and the Korea Federation of SMEs will establish a "Work-Family Balance Committee (tentative name)" to share best practices and continuously discover policy tasks through field opinion gathering.
Additionally, to change social perceptions related to low birth rates, broadcasting content that conveys the value of family and the joy of childcare will be produced and promoted, while child-customized cultural content and dedicated cultural facilities will be expanded.
On this day, Vice Chairman Joo Hyung-hwan of LFASC said, "According to two perception surveys on marriage and childbirth conducted by LFASC in March and September, the intention to marry among unmarried men and women increased by 4.4 percentage points, and the intention to have children among men and women without children increased by 5.1 percentage points. We will make every effort to turn this positive momentum into a definite turning point in the low birth rate trend."
Sharing Best Practices for Work-Family Balance in Companies... LG Electronics Offers Childcare Leave Up to 1 Year and 6 Months
Meanwhile, at the event, best practices for work-family balance from companies and local governments were also shared. Witch Factory, a mid-sized cosmetics manufacturer, operates a fully autonomous attendance system without core hours by utilizing attendance management systems, cloud, and online collaboration tools for all employees.
Hanwha Pharmaceutical, a small and medium-sized pharmaceutical manufacturer, operates flexible work systems considering the job characteristics of production, office, and sales staff. A four-day workweek has been introduced at production plants requiring collective work, staggered working hours are applied to office and research staff working in the metropolitan area, and smart work is used by sales staff who frequently work outside the office.
LG Electronics, a large corporation, provides detailed support throughout all stages from pre-pregnancy to pregnancy and childcare. Before pregnancy, it operates an infertility treatment leave system for up to three months annually to overcome infertility. During pregnancy, in addition to statutory childcare leave, it grants a separate six-month pregnancy leave and operates a pregnancy period reduced working hours system without salary reduction.
POSCO operates win-win joint workplace daycare centers (two locations in Pohang and Gwangyang) available not only to group and partner company employees but also to children of employees from local SMEs. These daycare centers serve children of employees from a total of 190 companies, including group and partner companies, with a principle that 50% of the total capacity is allocated to children of partner companies.
Shinhan Financial Group is promoting social contribution activities covering the entire process from pre-pregnancy to childbirth and parenting. From October last year to March this year, it supported diagnostic test fees for 585 infertile couples and is preparing additional support for test fees and hospital room fees for high-risk pregnant women starting next month. To address care gaps in dual-income families, it is establishing 200 Shinhan Dream Doctors joint childcare facilities nationwide and contributed 10 billion KRW to the Large-Small Business Win-Win Cooperation Fund to support substitute personnel hiring for childcare leave in SMEs.
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