"Settling 52-Hour Workweek in Software... Incentives for Introducing Standard Contracts for Freelancers"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] The government has developed a standard contract for freelancers to establish the 52-hour workweek system in the software (SW) sector, a core element of digital innovation and artificial intelligence (AI), and plans to provide incentives to companies that adopt it. For SW development projects lasting more than one year, a long-term continuous contract system will be utilized, and measures such as linking substitute personnel will be promoted to cope with specific periods of unavoidable workload surges.

The Ministry of Science and ICT and related ministries discussed the 'Supplementary Measures to Reduce Working Hours in the SW Sector' at the National Policy Issue Inspection and Coordination Meeting chaired by the Prime Minister on the 6th. This measure was prepared through opinion gathering from SW companies, developers, and ordering agencies, as well as consultations with related ministries since September last year to improve the SW working environment and industrial competitiveness.

First, the government decided to manage all SW development projects conducted by public institutions to ensure timely ordering. This year, public SW projects amount to 4.789 trillion KRW, of which SW development projects account for approximately 1.2 trillion KRW.

For SW development projects taking more than one year, the long-term continuous contract system will be utilized to create an environment where companies can work without time constraints. Additionally, the government plans to prepare and distribute guidelines on task changes to prevent unnecessary task modifications during SW project execution.

Legal improvements will be made to operate a task change review committee composed of experts. Furthermore, related systems will be overhauled to adjust contract amounts and project durations following task changes. According to the 2018 SW Status Survey, 27.3% of participating companies experienced task changes, and more than half reported that contract amounts were not adjusted accordingly.

Efforts to improve the working environment of approximately 26,000 SW freelancers will also be intensified. Starting in the first quarter with the Guro and Geumcheon areas, where SW companies are concentrated, the standard contract will be piloted, and incentives such as additional points in public SW project evaluations will be provided to companies adopting the SW standard contract in the second half of the year. According to the SW Policy Institute, 18.8% of SW freelancers work more than 52 hours per week, and nearly half are unable to take vacations.

Moreover, the government will form and operate a consultative body to discuss win-win measures between ordering and ordered parties related to the 52-hour workweek, and actively strive for the National Assembly's passage of the full revision bill of the SW Industry Promotion Act to ensure fair contracts. While guiding SW companies on the revised special extended working hours system, a consultation hotline and advisory services (including labor attorneys) will be provided starting this month. To help companies implementing special extended working hours secure and connect with a pool of hard-to-find professionals, substitute personnel linkage will also be promoted.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.