From November, paid leave for infertility treatment will increase from 2 days to 4 days. The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 27th that it will revise the Labor Standards Act and relevant enforcement decrees to expand paid leave for infertility treatment from 2 days to 4 days per year for workers. Currently, under the Labor Standards Act, employers are obligated to provide 2 days of paid leave per year for workers who have been undergoing infertility treatment for at least 6 months. However, many workers have complained that 2 days of leave is insufficient for infertility treatment, and there have been frequent cases where workers were forced to take unpaid leave or were subjected to disadvantages such as changes in work schedules. In response, the Ministry of Employment and Labor plans to revise the Labor Standards Act to increase the paid leave for infertility treatment from 2 days to 4 days. The revised bill also strengthens penalties for disadvantageous treatment of workers who take leave for infertility treatment. If an employer unfairly treats a worker who takes leave for infertility treatment, such as by demoting or changing their job, the employer will be punished with imprisonment for up to 3 years or a fine of up to 30 million won. The Ministry of Employment and Labor said, "We expect that the expansion of paid leave and strengthened punishment will help create a warm workplace culture that supports workers' health and fertility." The revised Labor Standards Act and relevant enforcement decrees will take effect on November 19th.
We haven't written up this one. Hankyoreh has the full story — the link below goes straight to it.
