"Utilized for Childcare"... 'Work-Life Balance Job Incentive' Support Performance Quadruples

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the number of applications for the 'Work-Life Balance Job Incentive' last month increased more than fourfold compared to the same month last year.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 30th that applications for the Work-Life Balance Job Incentive have surged recently due to the implementation of remote classes for elementary, middle, and high schools amid the resurgence of COVID-19.

The Work-Life Balance Job Incentive is a system that supports employers for up to one year (one year and two months for substitute workers) by providing indirect labor costs, wage reduction compensation, and substitute worker wages when the prescribed weekly working hours are reduced to 15?35 hours.

Indirect labor costs provide KRW 400,000 per month per worker for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies. Wage reduction compensation is KRW 600,000 for 15?25 hours per week and KRW 400,000 for 25?35 hours per week. Substitute worker hiring support is up to KRW 800,000 for SMEs and mid-sized companies, and up to KRW 300,000 for large enterprises.

Workers who reduce their working hours for child care, etc., can receive partial compensation for the reduced wage amount proportional to the reduced hours through their employer, and employers can receive support for indirect labor costs.

According to the Ministry of Employment, the number of users of the Work-Life Balance Job Incentive has significantly increased since March, when the spread of COVID-19 began in earnest.

The numbers surged from 1,737 in March to 2,316 in April, 3,792 in May, 6,192 in June, and 8,577 in July. Compared to the same months last year, May increased more than twofold (222.0%), June more than threefold (317.5%), and July more than fourfold (436.9%).

The reasons for receiving the incentive were pregnancy and childcare (47.8%), personal health (16.4%), studies (16.0%), and family caregiving (11.2%).

The Ministry encourages the use of reduced working hours for pregnant workers, who are vulnerable to infection. Pregnant workers receive preferential wage reduction compensation of up to KRW 600,000 per month regardless of the reduced hours.

Detailed information about the Work-Life Balance Job Incentive system can be found on the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s Work-Life Balance website.

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