Parents can take same-day parental leave if child falls ill under new rules

Parents will soon be able to take one to two weeks of parental leave starting the same day their child is suddenly hospitalized or a school or daycare center closes on an emergency basis. Husbands will also be able to take parental leave before their child is born if their pregnant wife faces a risk of miscarriage or premature birth, and spousal birth leave will be expanded so it can be used starting 50 days before the expected due date.

The government approved amendments to the enforcement decrees of the Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act and the Employment Insurance Act at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday. The amendments flesh out details delegated by the two laws, which were revised and promulgated in February and March.

The first change to take effect is the introduction of "short-term parental leave" on Aug. 20. Workers will be able to take parental leave once a year in blocks of one or two weeks when their child's school, daycare center, or other care facility closes or suspends operations, during school vacations, when a child is hospitalized due to illness or accident, or when a child is quarantined or barred from attending school because of an infectious disease.

Short-term parental leave does not add to the total parental leave entitlement — the days used are deducted from the existing parental leave balance. Using short-term parental leave does not count toward the limit on how many times parental leave can be split. Parents with multiple children may take short-term parental leave once per year per child.

Benefits will also be paid. While standard parental leave generally requires a minimum of 30 days before benefits can be claimed, short-term parental leave benefits can be applied for after just seven or 14 days. The benefit rate matches that of standard parental leave, calculated and paid proportionally based on the number of days taken.

Application timing varies by reason. Workers taking short-term parental leave during a school vacation must apply at least 30 days in advance. In urgent situations — such as a sudden school or daycare closure or a child's hospitalization due to illness or accident — workers may apply on the day the leave begins.

Starting Sept. 18, parental leave and spousal leave entitlements for male workers will also be significantly expanded.

Currently, male workers may in principle only take parental leave after their child is born. Going forward, they will be able to take parental leave before the birth if their pregnant spouse faces a risk of miscarriage or premature birth. Workers in such cases must apply at least seven days before the intended start date of the leave.

The window for using spousal birth leave will also widen. Currently it can only be used after the birth; going forward, it will be available from 50 days before the expected due date through 120 days after the birth.

If a worker notifies the employer in writing of the spouse's expected due date and the dates on which leave is to be taken, the employer must grant 20 days of paid leave within that period. Spousal birth leave may be split into up to three separate installments.

A separate new leave entitlement will be created for male workers whose spouse has a miscarriage or stillbirth. Workers may claim up to five days of leave if they apply within 20 days of the miscarriage or stillbirth, with the first three days paid.

Workers at companies designated as priority support targets can receive government reimbursement of 100 percent of their ordinary wages during the paid leave period. The daily reimbursement cap is 84,210 won ($59), 168,420 won for two days and 252,630 won for three days.

The grounds on which employers may refuse requests to reduce working hours during the child-rearing period will also be narrowed. Previously, employers could refuse on the grounds that hiring a replacement worker was impossible, in addition to cases where the worker had less than six months of continuous service, where the nature of the work made it difficult to divide hours, or where granting the reduction would seriously disrupt normal business operations.

From Sept. 18, however, employers will no longer be able to deny a request to reduce working hours during the child-rearing period solely on the grounds that they could not find a replacement worker.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor said the introduction of short-term parental leave would help employers and workers respond to sudden childcare needs. The ministry also expressed hope that a package of three new spousal support measures — parental leave during a spouse's pregnancy, expanded spousal birth leave, and the new miscarriage and stillbirth leave — would increase men's participation in caregiving throughout the pregnancy and birth process.