Foreign Workforce Shortage: Companies with 30-49 Employees Can Implement '60-Hour Workweek' System

Overtime Allowed for Workload Surge Due to Foreign Entrant Delays
Supplementary Measures for 52-Hour Workweek Implemented Without Grace Period for Companies Under 50 Employees

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government has decided to allow exceptions for companies with 30 to 49 employees to implement the '60-hour workweek system' in the second half of the year. This means permitting an additional 8 hours of extended work per week if concentrated labor is necessary. Companies only need to prove that foreign workforce entry has been delayed and that their workload has surged. This follow-up measure was introduced after companies complained of labor shortages due to the forced implementation of the 52-hour workweek system for companies with fewer than 50 employees starting this month, without any grace period.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 4th that workplaces with 30 to 49 employees will be allowed to use the overtime system if their workload surges due to delays in foreign workforce entry. If foreign workers do not arrive even two months after the employment permit is issued, and the workload surges, overtime approval will be granted. While companies with 5 to 29 employees have been allowed to urgently use the '60-hour workweek system' with employee representative agreement until the end of next year, this means some regulatory relaxation will also be extended to companies with 30 to 49 employees. Companies must meet requirements such as employee consent and apply for special extended work approval at the local labor office along with the employment permit.

However, companies must implement health protection measures for overtime workers as stipulated by the Ministry of Employment and Labor's notice. They must provide at least one of the following: ▲rest within 8 hours of special extended work, 11 hours of rest between workdays, or rest time equivalent to the special extension, and ▲conduct health checkups if requested by the worker.

The government firmly stated that it cannot slow down the implementation speed of the 52-hour workweek system because it can no longer overlook various social problems caused by long working hours. Instead, it recommended that companies familiarize themselves with various flexible work systems such as the flexible working hour system, selective working hour system, and discretionary working hour system by industry, in addition to overtime. In particular, for workplaces with 5 to 29 employees, which account for about 95% of those with 5 to 49 employees (742,886 workplaces), an additional 8 hours of extended work can be applied with employee representative agreement until the end of next year.

Also, under the overtime system, if there are special circumstances such as a surge in workload, additional extended work of up to 12 hours per week is allowed through 'employee consent + approval from the Minister of Employment and Labor.' Previously, only 'disaster or accident recovery' was permitted, but since the revision of the Enforcement Rules of the Labor Standards Act in January, 'workload surge' and others have been added. Since the implementation of the 52-hour workweek system for companies with fewer than 300 employees, the number of overtime approvals has increased from 908 cases in 2019, 4,156 cases last year, to 2,282 cases from January to May this year.

Park Jongpil, head of the Labor Inspection Policy Division at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, said, "Along with the expanded implementation of the 52-hour workweek system, we plan to do our best to support companies facing some difficulties to operate their businesses while complying with the law." He added, "We will implement the measures immediately after issuing guidelines, and we hope this measure will help companies currently facing labor shortages while contributing to the smooth landing of the 52-hour workweek system."

This measure will be temporarily operated only in the second half of the year. It may end early once foreign workforce entry is completed.

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