[vol.11] Hot line for Equality_ Is it true that when one uses her after-childbirth-days-off she can't use her
WORKING WOMAN 2008. 3. 20. 11:21Masan-Changwon Women Workers Association
Q: I am a career woman who works for the manufacturing company. I was 60 days off from work - from March 20th to May 19th - after childbirth and what the company told me was I can't use any more of my annual or monthly leave.
I thought that the days off because of before and after giving delivery was regarded as attendance at work. However. my company tells me that although it's paid vacation, it should be excluded from the days of annual or monthly leave. I want to know if this is right or wrong. Please tell me the condition of monthly leave after having used before and after childbirth leave.
A: Considering the before and after childbirth holiday as working is to prevent women from getting disadvantages from taking days off. Therefore, the days off for the childbirth should be included in the years of continuous service as well as serial step system and one shouldn't be placed at a disadvantageous position from it.
But in the case of annual or monthly leave, one is given these days off from work in order to get rid of stress accumulated in the unit of a year and a month. So, if one is to find out the annual or monthly leave days, she should exclude the childbirth vacation days and calculate.
For example, if others worked 300 days in a year then the woman who had days off during her childbirth should subtract her 60 days of vacation and if she perfectly attended the remain 240 days, she has 10 days of annual leave that is, in the case of workers who served for two years.
Speaking of monthly leave, if she worked all days before her leave on March 20, she can take a day off in March, no days off in April because she didn't go to work, and a day off in May if she went to work every day after her leave on the 19th.
Eventually, no days could be taken off in April if one didn't work that month.
In the case above, there could be some criticism on the way people translate the meaning of 'considering/regarding as having worked' but the principle and rule of Ministry of Labor these days translate as listed above.