The Ministry of Employment and Labor said, “This reform of the system involves changing the control unit and the operating method of working overtime from 12 hours per week to an average of 8.5 hours per week per year, rather than 80.5 hour per week or 69 hours per week. a week.”
[기사 내용]
ㅇ (Hankyoreh) 80.5 hours assumes 11.5 hours of work 7 days a week, and 69 hours of work assumes 6 days a week. According to the current interpretation of the law, it is possible to work △7 days a week △11.5 hours a day △80.5 hours a week. The Labor Standards Act states that ’employees must be guaranteed an average of one paid holiday per week’, but at the same time, additional wages (benefits) are required for holiday work. In other words, it means that working 7 days a week is not against the law as long as the allowance is paid… (shortcut)
ㅇ (Trend) When the government announced on the 6th the ‘Working Hours System Reform Plan’ which allows workers to work up to ’69 hours a week’, there are concerns among office workers “I’m afraid that I will go back to the old days when I was suffering from overwork”. … (shortcut)
ㅇ (Hankyoreh) The government announced that it would promote long vacations by introducing a ‘working time saving account’, but office workers pointed out that it was “not realistic”… (shortcut)
[고용부 반박]
Expansion of overtime management unit
□ The maximum of 80.5 hours per week is a figure that can be calculated based on the assumption of a 7-day working week, but according to the Business Workforce Survey, the average number of working days per week for full-time employees in 2021 was 4.7 days and the number of days off was 2.3 days
ㅇ Currently, the Standards Act mandates the granting of paid vacation at least once a week (2 years, 20 million earned or less), and in the case of labor supervision, an immediate ‘correction’ is implemented (recognized as an uncorrected crime)’. without a correction period for holidays without a grant It is impossible to reach a labor agreement including work on weekly holidays, and working on weekends without an agreement between the parties is forced labor (Article 7 of the Labor Standards Act).
* In addition to this, overtime, evening and holiday work are regulated directly and indirectly through a high level of additional allowance premium (more than 50%) compared to other countries.
ㅇ Calculating the maximum weekly working hours by assuming cases where statutory weekly holidays are mandatory by law and not fulfilled is a generalization of cases that are not common.
□ This reform to the system does not increase the total number of working hours as it removes the ‘weekly’ overtime barrier within the framework of the 52 hour working week.
ㅇ If overtime is added to a specific week within the 52-hour work week, other weeks cannot do so.
ㅇ It is not appropriate to calculate and compare the maximum working hours per week only because the approach is different to extended work ‘per week’.
ㅇ 12 hours per week → 8.5 hours per week on average per year (reduce the total overtime in proportion to the period of the unit), change the management unit and the approach to overtime work in the direction of expanding labor management options and reducing actual working hours .
□ In addition, according to the survey of the labor force in businesses, ① the average weekly working hours for the last five years did not exceed 40 hours (38 hours in 2022), ② the average monthly overtime hours was 10 hours (approx. 1/5). of the legal limit), ③ The average number of working days per week is 4.7.
ㅇ Considering the current status of actual working hours, working methods in the workplace (5-day work week, 9-18 hours, etc.), and work patterns (shift system, etc.), it is not common for families to use overtime work to the extreme.
ㅇ Submitting the total overtime work requires a written agreement with the employee’s representative, and currently, an agreement between the parties is required to implement overtime work.
□ In addition, workers are protected by “triple health protection devices” such as an average of 64 hours every 4 weeks, 11 consecutive hours of rest per working day, or a maximum limit of 64 hours per week.
Working time savings account system
□ Korea’s annual leave utilization rate is increasing, and as of 2021, 40.9% of all companies had used all their annual leave (100% utilization rate), so there will be incentives to use the working hours savings account system.
*Corporate labor cost survey: (’18) 69.7% → (’19) 75.0% → (’20) 77.4% → (’21) 76.9%
* 40.9% of companies used all their annual leave (from 2021, pilot survey on company labor costs)
□ Employees can take long-term vacations such as sabbaticals and ‘life experiences (eg, living in Jeju for a month)’ by using the annual vacation and working time savings account system together.
ㅇ The time accumulated in the savings account system can be used when needed, such as rest, self-development, child care, etc.
ㅇ This not only enables work-life balance throughout working life, but is also effective in reducing actual working hours, and will also be an opportunity to promote the use of holidays in other workplaces.
□ The working hours savings account system is a system where employees can choose whether they want to receive overtime hours as wages or use them as holidays.
ㅇ It is also different from the fact that the system that gives employees the right to choose will be abused as a trick according to the needs of the company.
ㅇ In addition, the accrued hours not used for savings leave must be recalculated and paid as salary. Breaking this rule is equivalent to salary arrears.
□ We will respond strictly to illegal and expedient acts through active supervision and the operation of an abuse reporting centre.
Enquiries: Wages and Working Hours Policy Group, Ministry of Employment and Labor (044-202-7543)
