Local governments are increasing the payment of substitute duty allowances for parental leave hours given to public officials. This compensates colleagues who handle tasks for public officials who leave work early to care for their children.
Public officials can use up to 2 hours of parental leave per day to care for children aged 8 or younger than the second grade. Pregnant public officials can use 2 hours of maternity protection time per day. This system is intended to prevent dissatisfaction that could arise when other colleagues cover the duties of the absent public official.
Gyeongbuk Province established a substitute duty allowance for parental leave hours last month. If a public official uses 8 hours or more of parental leave or maternity protection time in a month, the public official covering the duties will receive 50,000 won per month. When a public official uses parental leave, they designate a substitute for their duties and obtain approval from their department head. If they receive approval for using parental leave from 4 to 6 p.m., the substitute will have 2 hours accumulated.
According to Gyeongbuk Province, more than 50 public officials used 8 hours or more of substitute duty for parental leave from last month until the 3rd of this month. A Gyeongbuk Province official noted, "We established this system to allow public officials to use parental leave with peace of mind."
Yongin City in Gyeonggi Province, Gwangju Gwangsan District, and Gimhae City in Gyeongnam Province introduced substitute duty allowances for parental leave this year. If public officials use 8 to 10 hours or more of parental leave and maternity protection time in a month, they will receive 50,000 won per month for those covering their duties. Gwangsan District plans to gradually provide the substitute duty allowance for all duties, starting with personnel handling civil complaints. Mayor Hong Tae-yong of Gimhae City stated, "It's not a large amount, but we established the allowance to consider employees who quietly cover the duties of their colleagues."
Goyang City in Gyeonggi Province plans to introduce parental leave substitute duty points starting next year. If a public official covers a colleague's duties, they will receive 1,500 won per hour, up to a maximum of 200,000 won in annual recreational points. These recreational points can be used like cash at accommodation businesses. Last year, over 200 employees in the civil complaint department used parental leave and maternity protection time.
However, there are opinions that even if parental leave is used, it is not easy to decide who to entrust the tasks to or how much work to assign. A public official in their 30s stated, "The civil complaint window already has a flow of work flooding in, and receiving a few thousand won more per month could feel burdensome if it increases the workload."