read this mga kasulyap

by poyamps2002 Fri Jun 17, 2011 7:48 pm

40-hour workweek to apply to workplaces with fewer than 20 employees from July 1, 2011

The 40-hour workweek will apply to workplaces with 5~20 employees from July 1, 2011.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) said that an amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Labor Standards Act, containing these provisions, had been approved and confirmed at the cabinet meeting on December 21, 2010.

With the application of the 40-hour workweek to workplaces with fewer than 20 employees, the process of introducing the 40-hour workweek, which has been brought into force in stages since it first applied to workplaces with 1,000 or more employees on July 1, 2004, has been concluded.

Target workplaces

Workplaces with 1,000 or more employees

300?-1,000 employees

100-300 employees

50-100 employees

20-50 employees

5-20 employees

Date of introduction

Jul. 1, 2004

Jul. 1, 2005

Jul. 1, 2006

Jul. 1, 2007

Jul. 1, 2008

Jul. 1, 2011

* On Jul. 1, 2004, the 40-hour workweek was introduced in financial and insurance businesses, government-invested institutions, local public companies and corporations, public institutions, etc.

The number of workplaces with 5~20 employees, newly required to introduce the 40-hour workweek, is estimated to be 300,000 where a total of over two million employees are working.

* Since workplaces with fewer than five employees are not subject to the provisions of the Labor Standards Act concerning working hours and leave, the 40-hour workweek does not apply to them.

However, applying the 40-hour workweek to workplaces with fewer than 20 employees dose not necessarily mean that these workplaces must implement a five-day work week. They may introduce a six-day, five-day or four-day work week unless working hours do not exceed 40 hours a week.

In addition, it is possible to ask workers to work up to 16 overtime hours a week under labor-management agreement for three years after the introduction of the 40-hour workweek, and up to 12 overtime hours a week thereafter.

Along with the implementation of the 40-hour workweek, the working hour and leave system will be changed accordingly. Monthly leave will be abolished, and menstruation leave made unpaid. And the method of calculating annual leave will be changed. Instead of earning 10 days of annual leave after his/her first one year of service and accruing one day of leave for every year of service thereafter, an employee will be entitled to 15 days of annual leave after completing his/her first year of service, and accrue one day of leave for every two years of service thereafter.

Meanwhile, since 2004, MOEL has introduced the 40-hour workweek on a phased basis depending on size of workplace, and provided ?working hour reduction subsidy for SMEs' if a workplace voluntarily reduces working hours at least six months before the effective date of the law. However, that subsidy will expire at the end of this year as the 40-hour workweek will apply to workplaces with fewer than 20 employees from July 1, 2011.

When the 40-hour workweek is implemented, work arrangements, employment rules, employment contracts, leave systems, etc., need to be changed accordingly, In this respect, workplaces with less than 20 employees, which are not familiar with labor laws, may face difficulties in introducing the 40-hour workweek.

Under the circumstances, MOEL, in cooperation with employers' organizations, etc., plans to hold information sessions all around the country in 2011 to educate these workplaces in matters they should consider when introducing the 40-hour workweek. It will also provide online education to workplaces unable to participate in such information sessions.

MOEL will also set up a counseling center which provides counseling on the phone, via the Internet, or in person with regard to questions arising from the introduction of the 40-hour workweek.

Jeong Hyun-ok, Director-General of the Labor Standards Bureau, MOEL, said, "Korea still has the longest working hours among OECD countries. But once the 40-hour workweek is fully implemented, consequent shorter working hours are expected to greatly improve productivity and workers' quality of life."

"There is concern in some quarters that the 40-hour workweek could increase the burden of labor costs on small workplaces with less than 20 employees, but in practice, it will not cause a heavy burden given the reduction in the overtime rate, the abolition of paid monthly and menstruation leave, and so on." she added.

* Rate of extra pay for overtime work (overtime rate) : For three years after the introduction of the 40-hour workweek, the rate of extra pay for the first four hours of overtime worked can be lowered from 50% to 25%.

* About 80% of workplaces introducing the 40-hour workweek saw either no change or a fall in the total monthly wages of their workers (Survey by the Korea Certified Public Labor Attorneys Association, 2008).

Return to List

Back to top

my menu

Employment Policy
Employment Law
Major Statistics
FAQ

minister of employment and labor - Yim Tae Hee

2010 employment and labor policy in korea

more statistics

Minimum Wage/Hour
4,320 won 2011