“Overtime Should be Compensated Even When Childcare Time is Used”

• ACRC pushes for system improvements on ‘Overtime Pay for Public Officials Using Childcare Time’ to address low birth rate crisis

(September 5, 2024, ACRC)

Public officials who use childcare leave but are required to work overtime on the same day will now be eligible for overtime compensation.

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC, Chairperson Ryu Chul Whan) has officially recommended a policy reform to the Ministry of Personnel Management and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to correct the current policy, which does not recognize overtime for public officials who have used childcare time.

Currently, public officials with children under 8 years old or in the second grade or lower can take up to two hours of childcare leave per day, for a maximum period of 36 months. This special leave is intended to foster a family-friendly, flexible work environment, as part of broader efforts to tackle the low birth rate crisis.

Previously, public officials who used childcare leave on a given day were ineligible for overtime pay, regardless of the circumstances. For example, if a public official took an hour of leave to take their child to a medical appointment and then worked late to finish urgent tasks, they could not receive overtime compensation.

This limitation led to persistent demands for reform, with many pointing out that the current system failed to consider urgent work situations such as parliamentary inspections or critical business reports that required overtime on days when childcare leave was used.

Moreover, while overtime is recognized on days when family care leave* is used, the denial of overtime on days when childcare leave is used—despite both being forms of special leave—has been widely criticized as inequitable.

*Family care leave is a special type of leave granted for the purpose of attending events at daycare centers, kindergartens, or schools, or for taking minor children to medical appointments. The number of days granted varies depending on the number of children: one child entitles an official to two days per year, while two children entitle them to three days per year.

In response to these concerns, the ACRC has successfully recommended that the Ministry of Personnel Management and the Ministry of Interior and Safety amend the system to ensure that public officials are compensated for overtime work, even on days when childcare leave is used.

Park Jong-min, Vice Chairperson and Secretary General of the ACRC, said, “This reform will provide meaningful support for public officials in balancing work and family life. We believe this initiative will serve as a model personnel system, creating a more flexible work environment and helping to address the low birth rate crisis.”