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Newsletter | April 2015, Issue 1
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LABOR & EMPLOYMENT
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Key Changes to Employment and Labor Laws in 2015
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There have been some important new labor laws and regulations that went into effect recently or are scheduled to take effect in later this year.
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1.
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Reduction of working hours for the period of childcare may be used for an extended duration, and in more increments.
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Before the amendment, employees were allowed to reduce work hours for the care for young children, for the remaining period of their childcare leave to which they are still entitled. From July 1, 2015, however, the period during which working hours could be reduced will be extended and employees will be allowed to use twice the remainder of their childcare leave (i.e., up to 2 years maximum). For example, if an employee took time away from work for 3 months on childcare leave, when such employee was allowed up to 1 year for his/her leave, the employee may apply to have working hours reduced for 18 months (i.e., 9 months of unused childcare leave * 2) for childcare.
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Further, before the amendment, employees were allowed to use the reduction of working hours for a period of childcare in two increments only; however, the new rule will permit employees to split the period of reduced working hours up to three times.
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2.
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Employers must establish a workplace nursery.
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Previously, employers with 300 or more female employees or with 500 or more employees (regardless of gender) were not required to establish workplace nurseries if they provided childcare allowance. From January 1, 2015, the relevant law abolished the option of providing childcare allowance, and relevant employers are now required to establish workplace nurseries or otherwise provide childcare support by using the services provided by local private nursery facilities.
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Employers in violation of the above requirements may be ordered to comply and/or may be subject to enforcement fines up to two times per year, in an amount up to KRW 100 million each time from January 1, 2016.
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3.
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Employer’s failure to establish workplace nurseries will be more widely publicized.
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Under the old rules, an employer's failure to establish a workplace nursery was publicized in the official gazette or in the Ministry of Health and Welfare homepage for 6 months or longer.
From January 1, 2015, such employers will be listed in more than 2 daily newspapers in addition to being disclosed on the homepage of the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Employment and Labor for one year.
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4.
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The Act on Fair Recruiting Procedures took effect.
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Pursuant to the rules under the Act on Fair Recruiting Procedures that is being phased in from January 1, 2015, employers are now required to return job application related documents upon request by an unsuccessful job candidate. Further, employers are required to retain such documents for a certain period of time as candidates might ask that they be returned. Violation of such requirement may subject the employer to a corrective order by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and an administrative fine up to KRW 3 million.
The above rule is applicable to employers with 300 or more employees or public employers as of January 1, 2015. Employers with 100 to 300 employees must comply with the rules from January 1, 2016, and smaller companies with 30 to 100 employees must start complying from January 1, 2017.
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5.
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National Health Insurance premium for 2015
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National Health Insurance premium for 2015 has been increased to 6.07% in 2015 from 5.99% in 2014.
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The minimum wage for 2015 is KRW 5,580 per hour. This is a 7.1% (or KRW 370) increase from KRW 5,210 per hour in 2014. The 10% reduction in minimum wage that was applicable to surveillance/intermittent workers is no longer applicable as of December 31, 2014. Therefore, surveillance/intermittent workers must be paid at or above the minimum wage.
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Back to Main Page
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If you have any questions regarding this article, please contact below:
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For more information, please visit our website:
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