"What's the Use of Knowing? Workers Who Can't Use Family Care Leave Despite School Opening Delays"

Nationwide Kindergarten and Elementary, Middle, High School Openings Delayed
Working Parents Concerned About Childcare Gaps
Only 23.6% of Workers Use Family Care Leave
Small Businesses Hesitant to Approve Family Care Leave Due to Staffing Shortages

The Ministry of Education announced that it will sequentially implement 'online school openings' starting from the 9th, causing working parents to express concerns. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suwan] "What’s the use of knowing about family care leave? I can’t use it," "Online school opening is just around the corner, and I’m worried."

As the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) has delayed the opening and start of kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide, some working parents are expressing concerns.

Although family care leave can be used to take care of children, workers feel pressured at their workplaces and thus cannot properly use it. Additionally, small businesses tend to avoid approving family care leave requests due to manpower shortages. As a result, there are complaints that the family care leave system is practically ineffective.

Family care leave is a system that allows workers who urgently need to care for family members to take up to 10 days of unpaid leave annually. The government offers preferential treatment to companies that actively utilize family care leave by selecting them as 'Work Innovation Excellent Companies' and 'Gender Equality Excellent Companies' to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Moreover, currently, workers with children under 8 years old or disabled children under 18 years old who take family care leave due to COVID-19 receive financial support of 50,000 KRW per day for up to 5 days per person. This is intended to alleviate the economic burden on parents caused by the COVID-19 aftermath.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, it has been found that workers are not actually applying for family care leave. According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) on the 1st targeting 500 workers with children under 13 years old regarding the 'Use of Family Care Leave,' 61.6% of respondents said they were aware of family care leave. On the other hand, only 23.6% of workers reported using family care leave.

Given this situation, there is criticism that although awareness of family care leave is high, the actual usage rate is low. Worker A (45), who has two elementary school children, said, "Because of COVID-19, the company’s situation has become difficult, so I feel pressured. Even if I take leave, someone else has to cover my work. Especially since many employees have quit due to the COVID-19 situation, I think it’s practically impossible to use it."

Worker B, in their 30s working at a small business, said, "I have a kindergarten-aged daughter. I’m uneasy about using emergency care services, so I’m currently leaving her with my parents or relatives. I heard from a colleague that there is a family care leave system, but it’s too busy due to the COVID-19 situation to use it. However, I can’t keep relying on my parents forever, so I’m very worried."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, some companies are reluctant to approve workers’ family care leave requests due to manpower shortages. A netizen who runs a small business complained on an online community, "Because of COVID-19, the company is almost on the verge of collapse. We are operating with a small number of staff, and even this is uncertain. It’s hard to pay employees’ salaries right now."

They added, "But we can’t just close the company until the COVID-19 situation calms down. So if an employee wants to take leave, we have no choice but to oppose it. I feel very sorry for the employees, but since everyone is going through a difficult time, I can only ask for understanding."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Employment and Labor is accepting anonymous reports of cases where workers were unable to take family care leave due to employers’ refusal and is taking administrative guidance and other measures. In particular, from the 9th to the 30th of last month, 146 reports were received, and administrative guidance was provided for 133 cases.

For workplaces where reports have been received, labor inspectors will directly provide guidance via phone or other means. If the issue is not corrected, with the consent of the reporter, the case will be formally processed and a fine of up to 5 million KRW will be imposed.

Additionally, the system will allow anonymous reporting, and the reporter’s personal information and report details will be strictly kept confidential during workplace guidance, as specified in the handling guidelines. Reports can be submitted through a separate banner on the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s website.

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