Employment insurance coverage shifts from hours worked to income — effective 1 January 2027 | multiple part-time jobs can be combined
From 1 January 2027, whether you are covered by employment insurance is decided by income, not hours. Workers whose pay is below the income threshold set by Presidential Decree are excluded, but day laborers and anyone who has worked three months or more continuously are covered. Pay from two or more workplaces is combined, and a worker who applies for combination gains insured status at every workplace.
Conditions used in the video
- Effective date
- 2027-01-01
- Promulgated
- 2026-03-17
- Basis
- Employment Insurance Act Article 10(1)2 and (2) · Article 18(1) proviso
- Current test
- excluded under 60 contractual hours a month (Enforcement Decree Article 3)
- New test
- excluded if pay is below the income threshold set by Presidential Decree
- Threshold amount
- not yet set by decree
Results
- Now
- excluded under 60 hours a month
- From 2027-01-01
- excluded below the income threshold
- Exception ①
- day laborers are covered
- Exception ②
- three months or more of continuous work: covered
- Exception ③
- pay from two or more workplaces combined (on application)
- If pay later falls below
- status kept until leaving the job
Why it works this way
Today, a worker whose contractual hours at one workplace are under 60 a month falls outside employment insurance. Two or three part-time jobs are each judged on their own, so someone working 30 hours a week in total can be uninsured everywhere. That is where eligibility for unemployment benefit stops.
Employment Insurance Act Article 10(1)2 (effective 2027-01-01).
- Nowexcluded under 60 hours a month
- Amendedexcluded if pay is below the income threshold
- Exceptionsday laborers · three months or more of continuous work are covered
The threshold amount is set by Presidential Decree and has not been issued.
Where you work at two or more places, pay is combined to test the threshold. A worker who applies for combination gains insured status at every workplace. This is where fragmented part-time jobs come together.
Employment Insurance Act Article 10(2) · Article 18(1) proviso.
- Workplace A + Bpay combined
- At or above the thresholdapply for combination
- At every workplaceinsured status
Only on the worker's application. Combination is not automatic.
Once covered, a worker whose pay later falls below the threshold keeps insured status until leaving the job. A single lean month does not push you out.
This video and page describe a measure that has been promulgated but has not taken effect. Details may change through a decree or notice.
In short, from 1 January 2027 employment insurance coverage is decided by income and pay from several workplaces can be combined on application. The threshold amount awaits the decree.
The legal basis
Drawn from government announcements and the statutes themselves as primary sources, covering only the relevant part.
Employment Insurance Act Article 10(1)2 and (2) (Exclusion from application)
In force Effective 2027-01-01 (promulgated 2026-03-17; Addenda Article 1)
Workers whose pay is below the income threshold set by Presidential Decree are excluded, except day laborers and workers who have worked three months or more continuously. Where a worker works at two or more workplaces, pay is combined and the Act applies if the total meets the threshold.
What this means
The 60-hour step becomes an income step. Fragmented part-time jobs can clear it by combination.
Employment Insurance Act Article 18(1) proviso (Acquisition of insured status)
In force Effective 2027-01-01
A worker who has applied for application by combining pay acquires insured status at all of those workplaces.
What this means
Combination must be applied for. Once applied, you are insured everywhere, not at just one place.
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.
Frequently asked
What is the income threshold?
Not yet set. It is delegated to Presidential Decree, so the amount is known only once the decree is issued.
Are part-time workers under 15 hours a week covered?
The test is pay, not hours. Pay at or above the threshold means coverage, and even below it a day laborer or anyone working three months or more continuously is covered.
Is pay from two jobs combined automatically?
No. Only workers who apply for combination. On application you gain insured status at every workplace.
Do I lose coverage if my income drops after joining?
Not until you leave the job. Falling below the threshold does not immediately remove insured status.
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.