The Korea Financial Industry Union (KFIU), which includes employees of commercial banks, regional banks, credit card companies, and capital companies, has rejected a recommendation from the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) to pay parental leave benefits to staff affiliated with the Research Institute.
The NHRCK announced on the 31st that it determined the KFIU did not accept its recommendation, issued on the 18th of last month, to pay parental leave benefits to the complainant, employee A, of its affiliate.
According to the NHRCK, A, a research fellow at the Financial and Economic Research Institute under the KFIU, applied for parental leave benefits from the institute last year. The request was for the amount paid by the employer, in addition to what is received from the Employment Insurance Corporation.
The Research Institute comprises a total of five staff members: two part-time positions, including the director and deputy director, and three full-time positions. It operates as a nonprofit corporation and utilizes the KFIU office. It receives full financial support, including personnel expenses, from the KFIU annually.
When A applied for parental leave benefits, the institute's director, B, initially approved the request but later reversed the decision. According to A, B said, "The institute consists of unmarried women, and if a precedent is set, it will be financially burdensome in the future," and thus did not grant parental leave benefits. Besides A, there are two other full-time employees, both unmarried women in their 30s. In making the decision not to grant parental leave benefits, the institute also consulted the legal office of the KFIU.
A claimed the decision was discriminatory based on gender and filed a complaint with the NHRCK. On the other hand, the KFIU explained, "Due to the limited number of staff at the institute, it is inevitable that additional resources would be needed to hire substitute staff if a parental leave taker arises, hence the decision not to provide parental leave benefits." They also argued that the KFIU and its affiliate are separate legal entities with distinct accounting.
The NHRCK confirmed through investigation that the KFIU has substantial operational authority over the institute. The institute is subject to the KFIU's direction and supervision in areas such as budgeting, project planning, attendance, and work reporting, and adheres to the KFIU's parental leave benefits regulations.
The NHRCK stated, "There is a precedent of parental leave benefits being given to male KFIU employees, and denying such benefits to the complainant due to budget constraints is an irrational discrimination." It recommended that the KFIU provide parental leave benefits to A.
In response, the KFIU stated, "The institute is a separate legal entity, and we have conveyed the details of the NHRCK's decision to the institute," adding, "We will proactively revise our parental leave-related compensation rules to also apply to the institute." However, they did not commit to providing parental leave benefits to A.
The NHRCK stated, "The KFIU has failed to properly acknowledge the intent of the recommendation and has maintained its previous stance," adding, "The KFIU, which has a duty to protect workers and promote labor rights, has not corrected its gender-discriminatory practices."