Cutting hours for childcare, the first 10 are worth more
Reduced working hours benefit prices the first 10 hours cut each week on the full ordinary wage and everything beyond on 80% of it. The same hour is worth more at the front.
Conditions used in the video
- First 10 hours
- on 100% of the ordinary wage
- Beyond that
- on 80% of the ordinary wage
- Ceiling on the first 10
- ₩2.5M
- Ceiling beyond
- ₩1.6M
- Floor throughout
- ₩500,000
Results
- First 10 hours, per hour
- ₩62,500
- Beyond that, per hour
- ₩40,000
- Gap per hour
- ₩22,500
- Cutting 10 hours, monthly
- ₩625,000
- Cutting 20 hours, monthly
- ₩1,025,000
- The divisor
- hours before the cut
At a glance
On a monthly ordinary wage of ₩3M, cutting from 40 to 20 hours a week.
- First 10 hours (per hour)₩62,500
- Beyond that (per hour)₩40,000
priced on 80%, so lower
Why it works this way
There is an alternative to taking parental leave: cut your hours instead. You keep working, and employment insurance makes up part of what you give up.
But there is something to know before deciding how much to cut. The first 10 hours and everything beyond are priced differently.
시행령 제104조의2제2항 splits the hours cut in two.
- First 10 hours a weekon the full ordinary wage (capped at ₩2.5M)
- The remaining hourson 80% of it (capped at ₩1.6M)
Both pieces divide by the contracted weekly hours **before** the reduction, not after.
Take actual figures. A monthly ordinary wage of ₩3M, cutting from 40 hours a week to 20, a reduction of 20 hours.
For the first 10 hours, ₩3M is above the ₩2.5M ceiling, so ₩2.5M is the base, multiplied by 10 over 40, which is a quarter. That gives ₩625,000.
For the remaining 10 hours, 80% of the wage is ₩2.4M, above the ₩1.6M ceiling, so ₩1.6M is the base, again multiplied by a quarter. That gives ₩400,000.
The same 10 hours, ₩225,000 apart.
- First 10 hours₩625,000
- Remaining 10 hours₩400,000
- Total₩1,025,000
Per hour that is ₩62,500 at the front and ₩40,000 behind. The further you cut, the less each hour is made up.
So cutting 10 hours pays ₩625,000 while cutting 20 pays ₩1,025,000. Twice the hours, well short of twice the benefit.
There is one more place people get this backwards. The divisor is not the hours after the reduction but the hours before.
Easy to invert when reading the provision quickly.
- Cutting 10 from 40 a week10 ÷ 40 = a quarter
- Not a third40 before, not 30 after
Someone working 20 hours a week who cuts 10 divides 10 by 20, which is a half. The same 10 hours means something different depending on where you started.
Check the floor as well. Both pieces are floored at ₩500,000. Parental leave benefit has a floor of ₩700,000, which is not the same. Remembering the two schemes with one number will get you wrong.
And the point of this scheme is that wages keep coming. Your pay falls in proportion to the hours cut and insurance makes up part of that. Parental leave has no wage at all, only the benefit. So comparing the two on the benefit alone is wrong. Compare the monthly total of wages plus benefit.
The conditions match parental leave: the reduction must run at least 30 days, and the insured unit period before it begins must total at least 180 days. The claim runs from one month after it starts until 12 months after it ends.
So when deciding how much to cut, look at the difference between the first 10 hours and the rest. When weighing it against parental leave, compare monthly totals including wages.
The legal basis
Drawn from government announcements and the statutes themselves as primary sources, covering only the relevant part.
고용보험법 시행령 제104조의2제2항 (the formula)
In force amended 2025-12-23
The first 10 hours cut each week are the monthly ordinary wage as at the start of the reduction (capped at ₩2.5M, floored at ₩500,000) multiplied by 10 (or the actual hours cut where under 10) divided by the contracted weekly hours before the reduction. The remaining hours cut are 80 hundredths of the monthly ordinary wage (capped at ₩1.6M, floored at ₩500,000) multiplied by (hours before − hours after − 10) divided by the hours before.
What this means
Two pieces. The first 10 hours are on the full wage and the rest on 80%, so the amount made up per hour differs. Both divide by the hours before the reduction.
같은 항 단서 (an incomplete month)
In force in force
Where the period falls short of a month, the monthly figure is divided by the days in that month and multiplied by the days the reduction was actually used.
What this means
It is calculated monthly and then pro-rated. Starting or ending mid-month reduces that month only.
고용보험법 제73조의2제1항 (conditions)
In force in force
It is paid to an insured person who has reduced working hours for childcare for at least 30 days and whose insured unit period before the reduction began totals at least 180 days.
What this means
The same conditions as parental leave. Any period overlapping maternity leave is excluded from the 30 days.
고용보험법 제73조의2제2항 (claim deadline)
In force in force
The claim must be made from one month after the reduction begins until 12 months after it ends.
What this means
Miss it and it is lost. Best not to put it off once you are back on full hours.
Run it on your own numbers
The calculator opens with these conditions already filled in. Change the figures and your own case comes straight out.
Open the Reduced Working Hours Benefit
Frequently asked
Why are the first 10 hours different?
시행령 제104조의2제2항 splits the formula in two. The first 10 hours are priced on the full monthly ordinary wage (capped at ₩2.5M) and the rest on 80% of it (capped at ₩1.6M). So cutting the first 10 hours makes up more per hour.
Is cutting 20 hours twice as much as cutting 10?
No. On a ₩3M wage and a 40-hour week, cutting 10 hours pays ₩625,000 a month and cutting 20 pays ₩1,025,000. The second 10 hours are priced lower.
Does it divide by the hours after the reduction?
No. Both pieces divide by the contracted weekly hours **before** the reduction. Cutting 10 from 40 is a quarter, not a third.
Is parental leave or reduced hours better?
They do not compare directly. On parental leave you stop working and receive only the benefit; on reduced hours you receive the benefit for the hours cut and keep being paid for the rest. Compare monthly totals of wages plus benefit, not the benefit alone.
What if the ordinary wage is very low?
The floor is ₩500,000. Note that it differs from the ₩700,000 floor for parental leave benefit.
What if a month is not completed?
The monthly figure is divided by the days in that month and multiplied by the days the reduction was actually used. Starting or ending mid-month reduces that month only.
Results are estimates based on the inputs and on the rules as at the stated date. They may differ from a lender's actual assessment, and the rules change often. Take professional advice before any decision that matters.