“Improvement Needed in Disability Employment Levy to Ensure Stress-Free Parental Leave”

• ACRC calls for adjustments to employer obligations regarding levy payments during disabled workers’ parental leave

(August 21, 2024, ACRC)

To ensure disabled workers can take parental leave without undue stress, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC, Chairperson Ryu Chul Whan) has recommended that the employer’s obligation to pay employment levies during such leave be relaxed.

* The disability employment levy is imposed on companies with over 100 employees if they fail to meet the requirement of employing at least 3.1% of their workforce as disabled individuals.

ACRC has pointed out that the current system imposes a uniform burden on employers, even when a disabled worker takes parental leave. This practice, in effect, restricts disabled employees from freely taking such leave. As such, the ACRC has recommended that the Ministry of Employment and Labor improve this system.

For instance, a hospital in Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province with approximately 190 employees met its obligation by employing six disabled workers (3.1% of the workforce). However, when one of its disabled nurses went on parental leave, the hospital failed to meet the mandatory ratio and had to pay a fine of approximately 5 million KRW.

The hospital filed a complaint with the ACRC, arguing that it was unfair to require a uniform levy payment without accounting for the time needed to recruit a substitute disabled worker during the parental leave period.

ACRC’s investigation revealed that the current system obliges employers to pay the employment levy without considering the necessary time for hiring replacement workers. This has made it difficult for disabled workers to take parental leave and has discouraged employers from hiring disabled workers who may require parental leave, creating unintended consequences.

In response, ACRC has recommended that the Ministry of Employment and Labor adjust the system to give employers a grace period for hiring replacement workers during the parental leave of disabled employees, thereby reducing the employment levy burden during this period.

Yang Jong-Sam, Director General for Ombudsman of ACRC, stated, “This decision highlights the need to improve the current employment levy system to prevent it from restricting disabled workers’ rights to parental leave. We hope this improvement will foster a more supportive environment for disabled employees seeking parental leave.”