South Korea to expand use of replacement workers during parental leave handover periods

Starting Wednesday, companies will be able to use fixed-term and dispatched replacement workers not only during an employee's parental leave but also during the handover periods immediately before and after the leave. The Ministry of Employment and Labor said the change aims to reduce workplace disruptions and encourage greater use of parental leave, amid rapidly growing demand for replacement workers.

The ministry announced Tuesday that it will revise its administrative interpretation of the Act on the Protection of Fixed-Term and Part-Time Workers and the Act on the Protection of Dispatched Workers, effective Wednesday. Under the revised interpretation, when a company hires a fixed-term or dispatched worker to fill a vacancy created by parental leave, the replacement worker may be used not only during the leave period itself but also during the handover periods before and after it.

The move reflects a sharp rise in demand for replacement workers. The number of workers supported through the parental leave replacement worker subsidy under the Employment Insurance Fund grew from 6,643 in 2023 to 7,242 in 2024, then nearly doubled to 14,174 last year. The number of hiring cases handled by the Talent Filling Bank — a government-run service that helps companies recruit replacement workers — also consistently increased over the same period, rising from 3,811 to 5,914 and then to 7,961.

Under the previous interpretation, the permissible period for using replacement workers under the fixed-term and dispatch laws was strictly limited to the duration of the leave itself, making it difficult for companies to have replacement workers on the job during handover periods. The Employment Insurance Fund's replacement worker subsidy, however, already covered up to two months before the leave begins and one month after the employee returns — a mismatch that drew persistent complaints from workplaces.

The ministry revised its interpretation after consulting legal experts, holding on-site meetings and gathering opinions from labor and management groups. Under the new reading, the phrase "until the relevant worker returns" in the fixed-term act and "the period necessary for the cause to cease" in the dispatch act now include the handover periods before and after parental leave.

However, the ministry also put safeguards in place to prevent companies from exploiting the handover provision to extend replacement workers' contracts beyond their intended purpose. The primary duties performed during the handover period must genuinely consist of handover work, and that must be objectively verifiable through documentation such as a handover report. The arrangement is also limited to a short, predetermined period.

"We hope this change in administrative interpretation will help companies minimize workplace disruptions and support workers in adapting to their roles and returning smoothly," said Seo Myeong-seok, the ministry's director-general for labor standards policy. "We also ask companies to use replacement workers in line with the spirit of this reform, and not to exploit the handover provision as a pretext for circumventing the rules."