To Encourage Childbirth and Expand Childcare Support
POSCO has become the first Korean company to apply a telecommuting system for working parents.
The newly established system enables working parents to focus on both their work and childcare at the same time, thus encouraging childbirth and preventing career breaks of employees. POSCO will receive applications from prospective employees and put the policy into full practice from July.
POSCO employees with children under the age of eight are eligible for the telecommuting system. Depending on employees’ working conditions, they can apply for full-day (8 hours) or half-day (4 hours) telecommuting.
Employees applying for the full-day telecommuting system will have the same working hours — from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. — as other employees and will receive the same salary as well.
The half-day telecommuting system is a combined system that includes the ‘system of working reduced hours during the child-rearing period’ of the government and POSCO’s ‘system of flexible working hours.’ Employees can choose their working hours according to the parenting environment from the following options: 8 to 12, 10 to 15, and 13 to 17.
POSCO employees can utilize this system for up to two years, whereas, in the case of the half-day telecommuting system that adopts the government’s system, the policy is valid for a maximum of two years per child and combined with parental leave.
For example, an employee with one child can work from home for a maximum of four years: 1) full-day telecommuting system or half-day telecommuting system (with POSCO’s ‘system of flexible working hours’) for two years and 2) half-day telecommuting system (with the government’s ‘system of working reduced hours during the child-rearing period’) for another two years. In the case of employees with two children, the system can be utilized for up to six years.
POSCO is to provide the telecommuting employees with the same salary, welfare, and promotion system as those working in the offices. The company hopes that this new system will help relieve the worries of employees concerned about parental leave due to multiple reasons. POSCO plans to expand the telecommuting system to its group companies.
Since 2017, POSCO has been operating a POSCO-type childbirth promotion policy to encourage employees to have children and to support their parenting. Employees can use up to 10 days of leave for infertility treatment, including artificial insemination procedures. The company expanded its maternity benefit to 1 million won for the firstborn child and 5 million won from the second. POSCO has also established shared daycare centers in Pohang and Gwangyang for the children of POSCO employees and partner companies.
Presenting a role model to resolve low birth rate issues has been one of the six major corporate citizenship projects of POSCO. The project focuses on enhancing the quality of life of employees, as well as resolve the social issue of the country’s declining birthrate. In partnership with a related association, POSCO will hold a symposium regarding this issue. Due to COVID-19, the event will be broadcasted live on the Corporate Citizenship website (corporatecitizenship.posco.com) and YouTube.