Refusal to Pay Employment Incentive for Early Clock-In During Commute Time... Rights Commission Calls It "Unfair"

"Haengsimwi, Entering Work 10 Minutes Early... Difficult to Conclude Overtime"

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok]

#The employer of Company A applied for the 'Work-Life Balance Job Incentive' at the Labor Office, claiming that employee B worked 'reduced working hours during pregnancy,' but the application was rejected. The reason was that B mostly clocked in earlier than the official start time during the reduced working hours period. Even after deducting the '15 minutes' which is not considered overtime, it was determined that the agreed working hours between the employee and employer were violated. Accordingly, the employer filed an administrative appeal with the Central Administrative Appeals Commission of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission.

The Administrative Appeals Commission under the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission announced on the 13th that it decided the refusal to pay the incentive on the grounds that the employee's clock-in time was before the start of work and thus exceeded the prescribed working hours was unfair. According to the commission, the government supports employers who set the prescribed weekly working hours between 15 and 35 hours upon the request of their employees by providing incentives. Employees who work beyond the prescribed weekly working hours are excluded from support. However, clocking in within 15 minutes before the start time or clocking out within 15 minutes after the end time is not considered overtime.

The commission stated, "Although B clocked in earlier than the start time, it is difficult to conclude that overtime was worked solely because the clock-in time was before the start of work," and "Considering that B, who is pregnant, arrived about 10 minutes early to avoid being late due to traffic and parking issues, it is unfair to regard the clock-in time before work as overtime."

Min Seongsim, Director of the Administrative Appeals Bureau of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, said, "This decision is meaningful in that it expands the scope of rights protection for small and medium-sized enterprises facing many difficulties due to COVID-19," and added, "We will continue to strive to provide practical help for employment stability in SMEs through proactive administrative appeal decisions."

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