“As soon as I took parental leave, my position was taken away” Parental leave is still difficult

“The day after childcare leave, I was told by the company that I would be clearing my desk. A new employee would be sitting there. I regret it.”
 
Mr. A, who recently took childcare leave due to his wife's birth, complains that he is afraid of the next six months. The company said they encouraged childcare leave, but as soon as he went on leave, they immediately cleared his place and put another employee in his place.
 
Mr. A, who heard about this situation from his colleagues, complained, “I don’t feel at peace.” This is due to the belief that there may be disadvantages in personnel management or discrimination after reinstatement.
 
As the low birth rate and aging population become more serious, the government is trying hard to increase the birth rate by encouraging child care leave, but in some parts of our society, there are many people like Mr. A who are concerned about child care leave.
 
In fact, on the 10th, the day before the civic group Workplace Gapjil 119, there were many people who received counseling with concerns similar to Mr. A's in the report 'Suggestions for a workplace where pregnancy, birth, and childcare are possible', which included information on the current status of power abuse and system improvement regarding childbirth and childcare.
 
As a result of the organization's analysis of 41 identified cases among e-mail reports related to pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare abuse received from January last year to May this year, the most common type of disadvantage (duplicate counting) was 'workplace bullying' at 63.4% (26 cases).
 
In addition, 'unfair evaluation/appointment' (31.7%, 13 cases), 'refusal to work shortened hours, etc.' (24.3%, 10 cases), 'dismissal/recommended resignation' (12.2%, 5 cases), and 'refusal to use annual leave' (12.2%, 5 cases).
 
Eight cases of power abuse that the organization found through public recruitment also said that it was not easy to use even basic systems such as maternity leave and childcare leave.
 
Person A said, “When I said I would use childcare leave following maternity leave, the manager was very displeased and tried to persuade me not to use the leave.”
 
In relation to this, the organization argued, “It is difficult to solve the problem simply by improving the maternal rights system and emphasizing the necessity of ‘resolving low birth rates.’ We need to raise overall working conditions and increase the effectiveness of the system from the perspective of gender equality.”
 
He went on to point out, “Korean society is establishing a system to protect women’s labor rights and maternal and paternal rights, but this is not properly reaching the ground level.”
 
Dae-eun Kim, a lawyer at Daeryun Law Firm related to parental leave, said in a phone call with Segye Ilbo that day, “The current parental leave system is continuously being reformed according to the needs of the beneficiaries, and as social consensus on this is increasing, some companies are starting to guarantee the parental leave system as a basic rule, but are also proactively implementing a more active system for those on parental leave.”
 
He gave an example, “In fact, at Daeryun Law Firm, the existing parental leave system is guaranteed as standard, and in addition, work from home is also guaranteed to ensure both child care and maintenance of income level.”
 
“Nevertheless, there has not yet been a consensus on maternal protection, so there are many companies that do not properly comply with it. As a result, sanctions against companies that do not guarantee childcare leave are becoming increasingly stronger, and the standards for determining treatment for those on childcare leave are also becoming increasingly stringent and sophisticated,” he said. “With regard to work upon reinstatement after childcare leave, it is stipulated that after the end of childcare leave, employers must return to work that pays the same or equivalent level of wages as before the leave. He pointed out that “returning to the ‘same work’ as before should be considered as a priority.”
 
However, he said, “If there are unavoidable reasons such as organizational reorganization, it is possible to return to another job, but even in this case, it is required that the job pays the same level of wages.”
 
He added, “Therefore, rather than waiting for a report, it would be helpful to proactively inspect whether each company is properly guaranteeing this system or to implement a system such as providing government subsidies or corporate evaluation benefits to companies that sufficiently guarantee the parental leave system, so that each company can actively guarantee parental leave on its own.”

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