New Labor Guidelines Allow Temporary Workers for Parental Leave Transition

The Ministry of Employment and Labor in Sejong City, South Korea. 2023.10.13[Photo by Yoo Dae-gil, dbeorlf123@ajunews.com]

Starting July 1, companies will be allowed to utilize temporary and dispatched workers not only during parental leave but also during the handover period before and after the leave. The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced this change on June 30, modifying its administrative interpretation of the Temporary Agency Work Act and the Fixed-Term Employment Act. Previously, the interpretation focused on the parental leave period, stating that temporary or dispatched workers could only be used when a position was vacant due to leave or dispatch. The interpretation of the dispatched worker usage was also limited to clear and objective reasons such as childbirth, illness, or injury, and only for the duration necessary for those reasons to cease. As a result, businesses have expressed difficulties in managing the handover of responsibilities before a parental leave employee departs or after they return. Meanwhile, the support funds for substitute workers through unemployment insurance cover not only the leave period but also two months prior to the leave and one month after the return, highlighting a discrepancy between legal interpretation and support systems. The ministry revised its interpretation after consulting legal experts and gathering feedback from labor and management organizations. Consequently, the use of temporary and dispatched workers during the handover period will now be included in the allowable usage period for parental leave replacements. However, the ministry emphasized that using the handover period as a pretext for circumventing regulations on temporary and dispatched workers will be restricted. The primary tasks performed during the handover must be directly related to the handover itself and must be verifiable through documentation such as handover reports. This change aims to expand the use of substitute workers while preventing abuse of the system. Utilizing the handover period to assign general tasks for extended periods or to bypass restrictions on temporary and dispatched workers would contradict the intent of the regulations. To ensure the parental leave system functions effectively, it is essential to establish mechanisms for managing work gaps in addition to workers' rights. If support funds, interpretations of temporary and dispatched worker usage, and return assistance operate independently, companies may view parental leave as a burden. This adjustment seeks to align related systems in a cohesive manner. Seo Myeong-seok, Director of Labor Standards Policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, stated, "In light of the increasing demand for substitute workers during parental leave, we hope this administrative interpretation change minimizes work gaps for companies and supports workers in adapting and returning to their roles. We urge businesses to utilize substitute workers in accordance with the intent of the system to prevent circumvention during the handover period."

* This article has been translated by AI.