Evaluation of Law: The Parental Leave Claues in the Act on Equal Employment and Work-Family Compatibility

Abstract

An evaluation of law was conducted on various aspects of the parental leave clauses of the Act on Equal Employment and Work-Family compatibility to identify problems and potential solutions. Legal parsimony, effectiveness, efficiency, legal accordance, and application conformity were set as evaluation criteria. Many problems were found to be present in the expansion of the parental leave system. In prticular, consultation with the business sector was inharmonious; it is unlikely that there will be spontaneous cooperation from the business sector for the improvement of the paternity leave system if incentives are not offered to participating companies. The possibility of systematic opposition from the business sector should be kept in mind. In-depth discussion is needed in order to strengthen cooperation between the government, the business sector, and civil society on the establishment of reasonable parental leave guidelines by considering work-family compatibility as well as the burden on the business sector and the government.