In the aftermath of a not-so-well-received one-day national vaccination leave program, labor activists and others in South Korea are pushing for an expanded national sick leave program in the important OECD country.
According to reports in the
Korea Herald, starting this month, South Korea launched a program to provide workers with a day of leave for vaccination-related symptoms without needing a note from a physician. The program though, is limited and has been acknowledged to be somewhat voluntary and potentially leaving many workers outside of the ability to receive benefits.
The voluntary nature has earned criticisms to the policy by labor groups which are pushing for time-off to be required. The push is combining with a general move stemming from the COVID pandemic to give sick leave in South Korea a fresh look.
According to the Korea Herald, at the moment, paid leave in Korea is only reserved for those who become ill or injured on the job due to industrial accidents and paid leave for those falling ill outside of work is not contemplated. This is like the United States which does not have a national paid sick leave program.
To explore a potential change, the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs is working internally to create a trial-run for a sick benefits program in 2022. Employers should take notice that mandatory paid leave programs may be in the future cards for South Korea.
