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Newsletter | October 2016, Issue 3
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LABOR & EMPLOYMENT
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Korea’s Employment Ministry Announces New "Smart Labor Audits" and Stronger Enforcement of Maternity Protection Laws
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On May 31, 2016, the Ministry of Employment and Labor (the "MOEL") announced that it will implement so-called "smart labor audits" by using its existing data concerning childbirth and pregnancies ("Data") to identify companies likely to be in violation of Korea's maternity protection laws ("High Risk Companies").
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After identifying the High Risk Companies, the MOEL has begun conducting full-fledged, unannounced inspections on such companies starting in June 2016.
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What We Know About These Audits:
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The MOEL will conduct these inspections even in the absence of an employee complaint or report, and employers may be prosecuted and punished by the MOEL for unfairly terminating an employee in connection with her pregnancy or childbirth, and/or failing to grant childcare leave to a qualifying employee.
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This year, the MOEL intends to make a list of 1,500 High Risk Companies, and send segments of the list to the relevant regional labor offices. The regional labor offices will then assess the actual working conditions at these companies, and thereafter, narrow down the list to 500 companies with the greatest likelihood of being in violation of maternity protection laws. These 500 companies will then undergo on-site investigations.
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These measures by the MOEL build on a recent trend in Korea towards strengthening employees' maternity protections and the enforcement of maternity protection laws.
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MOEL May Now Receive Data from the National Health Insurance Corporation:
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The Data will be based on "National Happiness Card" submissions, which are provided by employees to the National Health Insurance Corporation (in connection with their pregnancy and childbirth-related medical insurance coverage).
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The MOEL will use the Data to identify High Risk Companies, and the subsequent inspections will focus on uncovering companies, where: (a) pregnant employees are not granted maternity leave, (b) less than 30% of the employees who took maternity leave then took childcare leave, and (c) employees are unfairly terminated on grounds of pregnancy, childbirth, or childcare.
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Expected Impact:
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In the past, employees were hesitant to report their employers' violations of the maternity protection laws to the MOEL, and such employers went mostly unpunished. However, since the MOEL may now receive Data from the National Health Insurance Corporation, and investigate of High Risk Companies, even without any employee complaint or report, these MOEL measures are expected to bolster the regulation of maternity protection laws and prevent related violations.
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In light of MOEL's above plans, it is advisable for your company to examine your maternity protection-related policies and practices, and check whether they are compliant with the law.
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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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