2024-07-16 06:55:22
The ‘Foreign Housekeeper Pilot Project’ jointly promoted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Ministry of Employment and Labor to reduce the burden of housework and caregiving for foster families and prevent career gaps due to childcare is about to begin in earnest.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 16th that they will launch a ‘Foreign Housekeeper Pilot Project’ to reduce the burden of housework and caregiving and prevent career gaps due to childcare.
The city will recruit households to use the service for three weeks from the 17th to August 6th, and the service will be provided starting in early September.
The service can be applied for regardless of income standards by households with children under 12 years of age (born after July 18, 2011) or households expecting to have children. The city will give priority to single-parent families, families with multiple children, dual-income families, and pregnant women, but will also consider the children’s ages and duration of use to make the final selection.
The 100 foreign housekeepers who will provide the service have been selected by the Korea Human Resources Development Institute for Industry and the Ministry of Employment and Labor. They were selected after going through an evaluation of their language skills, including English and Korean, a health checkup, and a background check, including criminal records, among those with relevant qualifications recognized by the Philippine government.
A 45-hour pre-employment training program will also be provided to foreign housekeepers before their arrival in the Philippines. After their arrival in August, they will receive 4 weeks of practical housekeeper training and domestic life adaptation training, and matching with a host family will also be provided during the training period.
The job description of the housekeeping service is childcare and housekeeping services, providing various types of services that suit the situation of the user family, such as full-time and part-time services.
The service period is 6 months from early September to late February, and you can choose between full-time (8 hours) and part-time (6 or 4 hours). Available hours are from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM from Monday to Friday. However, the weekly working hours cannot exceed 52 hours.
The burden on households using the ‘Foreign Housekeeper Pilot Project’ is an amount that reflects the minimum indirect costs such as the minimum hourly wage (KRW 9,860) and the four major social insurances (Employment Insurance, National Pension, National Health Insurance, Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance), and is approximately KRW 1.19 million per month based on a household using the service for four hours a day. It is 9.2% cheaper than the current public child care hourly comprehensive type (care + housework) of approximately KRW 1.31 million per month and 21.7% cheaper than the monthly cost of private housekeepers of KRW 1.52 million.
To apply, sign up as a member on the mobile app of the service provider, Homestory Living Co., Ltd. (housekeeper) or Hubris Co., Ltd. (care plus), and then click on ‘Seoul City Foreign Housekeeper Pilot Project’ to apply.
Kim Seon-soon, the director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Women and Family Office, said, “We have launched the first pilot project for foreign housekeepers in Korea in order to support families raising children under the age of 12.” She added, “This could be a new option for families who have had a gap in their careers or are having difficulty raising their children, so I hope many people who are interested will apply to participate.”
Photo by Kim Jeong-hyeon, provided by Seoul Metropolitan Government
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2024-07-16 06:55:22