Government considers expanding child care leave to grandparents

The increase in grandparents' participation in child-rearing is leading the government to expand its scope for child care leave. [SHUTTERSTOCK]

The government is considering measures allowing grandparents to take child care leave under certain conditions, following the increase in grandparents participating in child-rearing.

The idea is to increase the flexibility of those eligible to take child care leave, as Korea's total fertility rate fell to a 0.72 last year.

Currently, only parents are able to take child care leave benefits, including reduced work hours, under the employment law. This does not align with the existing trend where more grandparents are partaking in looking after their grandchildren.

According to Statistics Korea, the household labor output of seniors over 65 years old was 80.9 trillion won ($ 60.7 billion) in 2019, up 64.4 percent from 49.2 trillion won in 2014.

The value of labor of elderly looking after their living grandchildren surpassed 3 trillion won in 2019.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, grandparents or relatives who took care of children during the school closure in 2020 due to Covid-19 accounted for 43 percent among those who looked after children, which was higher than the parents with 36 percent.

Considering the increase in grandparents’ child care participation, some say that the current system may no longer be adequate as more grandparents care for their grandchildren.

According to a report by the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education & Training acquired by the JoongAng Ilbo, the current Employment Insurance Act’s care measures only apply to parents.

In other words, the system does not acknowledge the caregiving provided by the grandparents, forcing them to give up their jobs or work in order to provide child care.

The report says that “there are demands to expand the child care leave’s scope to grandparents as an increasing number of grandparents participate in child-rearing.”

Following the demand, the report recommends gradually expanding the scope, especially toward households where parents are unable to take time off from work. This would reduce the side effects of the need for grandparents to work and care for children simultaneously.

According to the report, the scope should first include households where grandparents are the main caregivers of their grandchildren, then later include households with family members who have severe disabilities and single-parent households.

The report added that the payment and period for grandparents’ child care leave should be equal to those of parents, along with measures restricting grandparents and parents from using the leave simultaneously.

The government is considering implementing the measure under specific conditions.

“As some experts point out, we believe that implementing a child care leave for all grandparents is not appropriate for the current Korean situation,” an official from the Ministry of Employment and Labor said. “We are considering expanding the scope on special conditions, such as households where children are being cared for by their grandparents, based on the data acquired through surveys.”

There are many countries overseas that allow child care benefits to grandparents who lend a hand in parenting.

Australia is one country where “grandparent leave” is legislated. Grandparents can use their leave under any condition, though financial child support is only given to households when grandparents are the main guardians of their grandchildren.

In Germany, grandparents are qualified to receive child care leave support when the grandchildren's parents are severely ill or have a disability.

In Portugal, grandparents are allowed to use child care leave under conditions when grandchildren are underage or parents have disabilities hindering them from looking after their children.

In Finland, when the child’s mother dies or there is no one to look after the child, the government gives child care leave payment to those who are actually raising the children, including their grandparents.

As for Japan, though the central government does not legalize grandparent leave, the number of cases where Japanese companies and local governments operate the system is increasing.

Experts have various opinions regarding the matter.

“For parents, the most important factor [for child care] is ‘who can stably look after the children,'" said Prof. Shin Ja-eun from Korea Development Institute’s School of Public Policy and Management. “It is necessary to open opportunities for working grandparents to use child care leave when parents are unable to look after their children or hire a foreign caregiver.”

However, some experts show concerns that the implementation will shift the child-rearing responsibility toward the grandmother or other relatives systematically.

“Expanding the scope of child care leave is not simply expanding the benefit but also sending a political message that grandparents have the responsibility of providing care for their grandchildren,” a researcher who asked for anonymity said.

BY KIM EUN-BIN, KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]