Cautionary Notes for Applying for Job Stability Support Fund

When the minimum wage is increased and more workers are hired, small businesses, particularly small-scale enterprises such as small traders and microenterprises, may face financial burdens. Consequently, they may not be able to engage in additional hiring. The Job Stability Support Fund is a system designed to alleviate the burden of wage payments to workers and promote and support employment.

 

 

Eligibility Criteria:

• Businesses with less than 30 employees: based on the average number of employees in the 3 months preceding the payment month
• Businesses with taxable income of less than 300 million won (individuals: based on business income, corporations: based on net income for the year)
• Workers with a monthly average salary of less than 2.3 million won
• Security guards and cleaners working in condominiums(apartments): can also apply for businesses with more than 30 employees
• Businesses without a history of wage arrears
• Businesses that pay all employees at or above the minimum wage
• Businesses with employment insurance coverage
• Workers who have been employed for at least 1 month
• Business owners and their family members are excluded (spouses and direct relatives)
• Businesses with less than 300 employees: businesses that employ workers aged 55 or older, located in employment crisis areas or special industrial crisis response areas are also eligible
• Social service organizations employing vulnerable workers are eligible regardless of business size

 

 

Amount of Support:

• Up to 30,000 won per month for workers with a monthly average salary of less than 2.3 million won
• Workers working more than 30 hours but less than 40 hours per week: 26,000 won per month
• Workers working more than 20 hours but less than 30 hours per week: 22,000 won per month
• Workers working less than 20 hours per week: 18,000 won per month
• Daily workers working for 22 days or more per month: 30,000 won
• Daily workers working for 19 to 21 days per month: 26,000 won
• Daily workers working for 15 to 18 days per month: 22,000 won
• Daily workers working for 10 to 14 days per month: 18,000 won

 

 

Important Considerations:

If the worker's monthly average salary is less than 2.3 million won, it refers to the amount excluding non-taxable wages. Lunch allowances are commonly included in this category. From 2023, lunch allowances up to 200,000 won are exempt from taxation. By excluding these non-taxable items from the total salary, if the amount falls below 2.3 million won, the worker is eligible to apply. Non-taxable wages include meal expenses, transportation expenses, vehicle maintenance expenses, welfare-related wages, overtime pay, and on-call duty allowances. Even if the actual salary exceeds 2.3 million won, it can still be eligible if it falls below that threshold after excluding non-taxable items.

 

 

Worker Retrenchment:

During the period of receiving Job Stability Support Fund, workers cannot be laid off. If it becomes inevitable to terminate a worker's employment, proper justification is required.

 

 

Disbursement Method:

If approved as eligible after applying, the first payment will be made by the Employee Welfare Agency within 3 days of the decision date. From the second payment onwards, for individual business owners and corporate entities, it will be deposited into their business accounts on the 15th of each month. In the case of condominiums(apartments), it will be paid into the representative account of the occupants.

 

 

Application Process:

Applications can be made online or offline. Online applications can be submitted through the 4 Major Social Insurance Information Exchange Centers (here).

 

 

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