On the 22nd, SK On announced that it will implement a parental leave system that extends the parental leave period up to two years.
According to the Act on Equal Employment and Support for Work-Family Reconciliation, employees with children under eight can choose one year of parental leave followed by one year of reduced working hours or two years of reduced working hours.
SK On has extended the legal parental leave period by an additional year, allowing for a maximum of two years of parental leave. Any member who is pregnant or needs to care for a child under eight (second grade in elementary school) can use it.
SK On implements a Pre-birth Leave System for pregnant employees that can be used for up to three months, separate from the statutory maternity leave (90 days). Pregnant women can use the company parking lot and are excluded from regular health check-ups or security screenings to prevent exposure to harmful substances such as X-rays.
SK On expects more employees to participate in the company’s parental leave system. The average age of SK On’s employees is 34.5, close to the average age of marriage and childbirth. The average age of childbirth for Korean women last year was 33.6, an age that is increasing every year.
As parental leave is not limited to men or women, fathers are expected to become more involved in childcare. As of this month, SK On’s male employees on parental leave account for half of all employees on leave.
SK On operates family-friendly systems to support work-family balance, including family care leave, flexible work hours, infertility leave, and wedding anniversary leave. They also support life-cycle events, such as providing celebration money when children enter kindergarten, elementary school, and middle school and supporting tuition fees.
Previously, an employee of SK On became a hot topic when she gave birth to quadruplets through natural childbirth for the first time in Korea last year. At that time, the couple, Song Li Won PM, said that SK On’s welfare system, such as the medical expense support policy and flexible work hours, was a great help in the pregnancy and childbirth of the quadruplets.
A representative from SK On said, “The form of the family is becoming diverse, but the value of the family never changes.” He added, “We will contribute to solving the low birth rate, a national issue, and creating social value through meticulous welfare policies that everyone in SK On can use in various ways according to their situation so that they can happily balance work and family life.”
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