Extension of Special Overtime Period from 90 to 150 Days for Emergency Response and Workload Surges

4,380 Overtime Work Approvals from January to September This Year
Ministry of Employment and Labor: "Supporting Companies Burdened by 52-Hour Workweek"

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The special extended working hours period, allowed for companies that need to handle emergencies or face a surge in workload, will be temporarily extended from 90 days to 150 days.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 25th that from the 26th, the special overtime period will be expanded from 90 days to 150 days. This is to support companies struggling with the 52-hour workweek system. It will apply only to companies that apply within this year.

Special overtime is a system that allows workers to work beyond the 52-hour workweek with the consent of the worker and approval from the Minister of Employment and Labor in cases of special circumstances such as disasters, protection of human life, handling emergencies, workload surges, and research and development (R&D).

In principle, when using special overtime for handling emergencies or workload surges, it is limited to within 4 weeks per occurrence and within 90 days per year. To receive approval for special overtime exceeding 90 days, companies must submit measures to reduce working hours such as hiring new personnel or expanding facilities to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

Despite these restrictions, the number of approved special overtime cases has noticeably increased: 204 cases in 2018, 906 cases in 2019, 4,204 cases last year, and 4,380 cases from January to September this year. It is expected that the number of approvals will increase further after extending the allowed special overtime period to 150 days.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor introduced cases of root companies and information technology (IT) companies complying with the 52-hour workweek system.

Company A, an automobile and agricultural machinery company with fewer than 30 employees, introduced a two-week unit flexible working system through labor-management agreement, maintaining an average weekly working time within 60 hours. As a company with fewer than 30 employees, it fully utilized the system that allows up to 8 hours of additional extended work per week (maximum 60 hours per week) if agreed upon with the employee representative until the end of next year.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, many IT and R&D companies operated a selective working hours system or reduced working hours. Among root companies, some introduced flexible working hours or automated facilities.

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