From the 31st, Increase in Childcare Leave Benefits for Single-Parent Workers... Improvement in Post-Payment System

Amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Employment Insurance Act Approved at the Cabinet Meeting

The reality of career-interrupted women. Image.

Starting this month, parental leave benefits for single-parent workers will be increased. This is expected to alleviate the financial burden on single-parent workers who are solely responsible for both economic activities and childcare.

On the 24th, the government held a Cabinet meeting and deliberated and approved the amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Employment Insurance Act reflecting these changes. The amended decree will take effect from the 31st.

First, the parental leave benefits for single-parent workers will be raised. For the first three months of parental leave, they will receive 100% of their ordinary wage (up to 2.5 million KRW per month). From the 4th to the 6th month, they will receive 80% of their ordinary wage (up to 1.5 million KRW per month), and from the 7th month onward, 50% of their ordinary wage (up to 1.2 million KRW per month).

For example, a single-parent worker earning an ordinary wage of 2 million KRW per month previously received 13.5 million KRW in parental leave benefits over one year. After the 31st, they will receive an additional 3 million KRW, totaling 16.5 million KRW. Single-parent workers currently on parental leave will also receive the increased benefits for the leave period after the enforcement date, according to the respective periods.

An official from the Ministry of Employment and Labor stated, "With this system improvement, we expect single-parent workers to reduce their financial burden and actively utilize parental leave."

The post-payment system for parental leave benefits will also be improved. The post-payment system pays 25% of the parental leave benefits as a lump sum after the worker returns to work and completes six months of employment. However, there have been issues where workers who resigned due to reasons beyond their control, such as wage arrears, were unable to receive parental leave benefits.

Accordingly, through the amendment of the enforcement decree, workers will be able to receive the post-payment of parental leave benefits even if ▲ the company closes or goes bankrupt, ▲ the worker leaves due to downsizing caused by business needs or recession, or ▲ the worker resigns voluntarily due to wage arrears. However, workers who voluntarily resign for personal reasons will not be eligible for the post-payment.

This system improvement applies not only to workers currently on parental leave but also to those whose parental leave ended within six months as of the 31st.

Meanwhile, support funds related to parental leave that were previously paid to employers as post-payments will be restructured so that workers can receive part of these funds in advance during their parental leave period. This includes the monthly 300,000 KRW parental leave grant and the monthly 800,000 KRW substitute workforce support grant for childbirth and childcare periods. Previously, these employer support funds were paid in a lump sum after the worker returned and maintained continuous employment for a certain period.

Song Hong-seok, Director General of the Integrated Employment Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, said, "Since the improvements benefit both workers using parental leave and employers granting parental leave, this will serve as an opportunity to further activate parental leave."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.