The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said on the 23rd that it determined it was discrimination for a public institution to pay family allowances and provide condolence support based on a traditional view of the family, and recommended improvements.
An employee of Company A filed a petition saying Company A was treating certain family relationships differently without a reasonable cause when applying standards for paying family allowances and providing condolence items.
Company A pays family allowances to the eldest son and eldest daughter regardless of whether they actually live with their parents. But younger sons and younger daughters must meet the cohabitation requirement to receive family allowances. Condolence items are also provided when a paternal grandparent dies, but there is no separate support when a maternal grandparent dies.
Company A explained, "We established criteria recognizing family allowances by comprehensively considering the sociocultural background in which the eldest son and eldest daughter have traditionally borne responsibility for supporting the household and whether there is actual support or contribution to the household."
Company A also said, "Limiting the recipients of condolence items to paternal grandparents is an unavoidable standard set through labor-management agreement to provide substantial benefits to a large number of employees within a limited budget."
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) committee for remedying discrimination found that it constituted discrimination. The NHRC said, "In modern society, family forms and support structures are diverse, making it difficult to see parental support as exclusively assigned to children of a particular birth order," and added, "Setting different rules for paying family allowances based solely on birth order has no direct relevance to actual support relationships or economic burdens."
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) also said, "Even though both paternal and maternal grandparents are the same 'lineal blood relatives' under the Civil Act, limiting recipients of condolence items to paternal grandparents only constitutes discriminatory treatment that differentiates family relationships based on a patrilineal blood relationship."
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) recommended that Company A revise its rules to pay family allowances regardless of cohabitation with parents based on birth order, and to provide condolence items equally in the event of a maternal grandparent's death.