"No Extension of Grace Period"... Full Implementation of 52-Hour Workweek for SMEs Starting January Next Year

Minister Lee Jaegap's Briefing on the 52-Hour Workweek
Official Implementation from Next Year for Workplaces with 50-299 Employees

Lee Jae-gap, Minister of Employment and Labor / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The government will officially implement the 52-hour workweek system for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with 50 to 299 employees starting next year.

Lee Jae-gap, Minister of Employment and Labor, held a briefing at the Government Seoul Office on the morning of the 30th and stated, "The grace period for companies with 50 to 299 employees will end by the end of this year." He added, "As a result of various government policy supports over the past year and active cooperation between labor and management on the ground, the preparation status for the 52-hour workweek system appears to have significantly improved compared to before." He continued, "I hope that the 52-hour workweek system will be quickly established in our society, that the original purpose of introducing the system will be realized, and that it will serve as an opportunity to improve the quality of life for the people."

This means that the one-year grace period granted to workplaces with 50 to 299 employees, which started in January this year, will end, and full legal enforcement will begin from January next year. During the grace period, workplaces were exempt from Employment Ministry’s long working hours inspections and enforcement, allowing work beyond 52 hours per week. Even if workers filed complaints about working over 52 hours per week, the Ministry of Employment and Labor granted a correction period of up to six months for voluntary improvement. This leniency was given considering the SMEs’ request for time to prepare for the implementation of the 52-hour workweek system.

However, with the government deciding to end the grace period at the end of this year, employers who violate the 52-hour workweek system from next year will face imprisonment of up to two years or fines of up to 20 million KRW. A Ministry of Employment and Labor official said, "The grace period was a temporary and exceptional measure," adding, "It is a significant burden for the government to continue extending the grace period while the amended Labor Standards Act is clearly in effect." The official also explained, "Even if the law is violated, judicial processing will not begin immediately, and a four-month correction period will be provided."

The Ministry of Employment and Labor cited the results of a full survey conducted in September targeting about 24,000 workplaces with 50 to 299 employees as the basis for enforcing the 52-hour workweek system. Compared to the survey conducted in November last year, the preparation status of companies has greatly improved. Minister Lee said, "In the September full survey, more than 80% of companies responded that they are 'complying' with the 52-hour workweek system, and over 90% forecast that they will be 'able to comply' next year." He added, "Considering that in the November survey last year, 57.7% of companies were 'complying' and 83.3% said they would be 'able to prepare' by the end of last year, there has been a significant improvement over the past year." The percentage of companies that had not completed preparations decreased from 42.3% in November last year to 19.0%.

The amended Labor Standards Act applies the 52-hour workweek system in stages according to the size of the workplace. Workplaces with 300 or more employees have been subject to the system since July 2018, those with 50 to 299 employees since January this year, and those with 5 to 49 employees will be subject starting July next year. Considering the law was amended in March 2018, workplaces with 50 to 299 employees were given a total preparation period of 2 years and 9 months.

Minister Lee stated that during the grace period, various efforts such as consulting, wage and policy fund support were made to help companies prepare for the 52-hour workweek system. He also judged that supplementary measures considering the COVID-19 situation were implemented earlier this year, allowing special extended work hours to be used for reasons such as unexpected situations and sudden increases in workload. To support the establishment of the 52-hour workweek system on the ground, the government plans to extend the flexible working hours system’s unit period from 3 months to 6 months within this year and to expand the autonomous improvement program.

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