7 in 10 workers get no extra pay for covering parental leave: survey

A recent survey conducted by workplace advocacy group Gabjil 119 reveals that seven out of ten Korean workers who took on additional responsibilities while colleagues were on parental leave or reduced hours for childcare did not receive any extra pay for their increased workload. The survey, which polled 1,000 workers nationwide from September 1 to 7, found that 47.8% of respondents reported an increase in their workloads due to colleagues taking maternity or parental leave.

Despite this, only 29.5% of those who reported taking on additional duties received compensation, such as allowances, while the remaining 70.5% did not receive any extra pay. The survey suggests that employers are instead burdening existing employees with the staffing shortages caused by parental leave or reduced working hours, rather than hiring replacements or adjusting workloads.

However, awareness of government subsidies aimed at compensating workers who take on extra duties is also limited. Only 37% of respondents were aware of the government's workload-sharing subsidy for parental leave.