Korean Job Discussion Forums

[pennymartin]

I am pregnant and planning to have my baby in Korea. I work in an Elementary School. My contract says I am entitled to 90 days maternity leave but it is unpaid. I have heard through the grapevine that it is illegal not to pay me. Can anybody please help? Is this true? Also, all Korean men are entitled to 3 days off when their wife has a baby. Is this also true for my husband?

[mindmetoo]

All I know is a lot of women simply quit their jobs or are forced out. And Korea wonders why it has a declining birth rate.

[ttompatz]

[mrsquirrel]

Do you think if I stick a pillow up my jumper I can get a 60 days paid vacation.

[periwinkle]

I'm going to file for compensation ASAP, but according to the maternity leave info on the molab site, it says you have to apply at your local employment insurance office. Is that the same thing as the labor board?

[excitinghead]

Korean Men will be able to take 3 days paternity leave from next July, but can't at the moment. See this post on my blog for more information:

http://thegrandnarrative.wordpress.com/2007/09/14/inadequate-childcare-and-falling-birthrates-in-the-korean-media-part-2-paternity-leave-in-korea-from-next-year/

I have little experience with maternity leave regulations in practice, but I have done a little research on it from academic journal articles. This paragraph summing up the laws at the moment below is taken from my post in the link below that:

"Legally, before 2001 Korean women received 8 weeks of maternity leave, with 100% of average wages paid for by their employers. Since 2001, they can also take an additional 4 weeks off, with 100% of their average wages paid for by their employers and or employment insurance (not like unemployment benefit: it is organised by the government, but is drawn from funds they contribute to it while working). After that, if they have been working for longer than 6 months previously, they can take an additional year off and receive 200,000 won (about the cost of 4 nights drinking for me) a month from employment insurance; there is also a provision banning dismissal from work due to this leave. But with sentiments like the above, and lack of political will, you can imagine what happens to a women�s career in practice: it is not unknown for women to be working until midnight almost right up to the expected birth date, and then pressured to come back as soon as possible afterwards. Regardless of this, Korean workplaces but especially chaebol still very much rely on years worked for promoting people, so career-minded women cannot afford to take extended periods of time off."

http://thegrandnarrative.wordpress.com/2007/09/05/manufacturing-childcare-and-salarymen-why-korea-is-a-such-fascinating-place-to-study/

Sorry I can't be more specific than that. I can find the relevant journal article and the exact names of the laws if you like.

It looks like you are certainly able to claim the "100% of average wages" for the first 8 weeks of maternity leave, but I'm not so sure about the next 4 weeks. It may depend on how long you have been here and if you've been contributing to the employment insurance scheme mentioned.

Please let me know how it goes. As you can see, I'm very interested in it!

[Pak Yu Man]

Seriously? We have it in our contract that guys get a week off if they have a kid.

[excitinghead]