On "Geunroja-ui Nal" (Labor Day), 60% of Small Businesses Require Attendance... Holiday Pay Is Out of the Question

Incruit Survey: 64.7% of Microenterprises with Fewer Than 5 Employees Do Not Pay Holiday Allowances
Civil Servants and Teachers Not Subject to Labor Standards Act, Work Normally

It was found that 60% of workers at small businesses with fewer than five employees go to work even on 'Labor Day.' Although Labor Day is a paid holiday under the Labor Standards Act, many people appear to head to work as usual due to company policies or work demands.

On the 25th, as the morning temperature in Seoul dropped to 5 degrees, continuing the autumn chill, office workers near Yeouido Station in Seoul are wearing coats on their way to work. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

According to a survey conducted by HR tech company Incruit on 1,095 office workers to investigate work status on Labor Day, 30.4% of respondents said they would go to work. This means that 3 out of 10 office workers still cannot take a break on Labor Day. On the other hand, 55.4% answered that they would have a day off, and 14.2% said that it had not been decided internally.

When dividing those who said they would work on Labor Day by company size, the proportion of small businesses was overwhelming. In fact, more than half (59.1%) of micro-enterprises with fewer than five employees were expected to go to work. The proportion of workers going to work in small and medium-sized enterprises with 5 to fewer than 300 employees was 28.7%, and in medium-sized enterprises with 300 to fewer than 999 employees, it was 24.4%. The proportion of workers going to work in large enterprises with 1,000 or more employees was 21.2%.

When asked whether workers scheduled to work on Labor Day receive holiday pay or compensatory leave, 39.0% responded that they do not. Those who said they do receive compensation accounted for 36.4%, and 24.6% said they did not know.

Among micro-enterprises with fewer than five employees, only 11.8% said they provide compensation even if employees work. 64.7% said they definitely do not receive compensation, and 23.5% said they did not know because they were not informed. Small and medium-sized enterprises also had relatively few places that provided holiday pay or compensatory leave, with only 34.0% offering such benefits.

This survey was conducted from April 20 to 24, 2023. The margin of error is ±2.83 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

Since Labor Day is not a statutory public holiday but a paid holiday under the Labor Standards Act, whether it is a holiday is determined at the discretion of the employer or due to internal company circumstances.

Public officials are not subject to the Labor Standards Act, so government offices such as city, county, and district offices operate normally.

Schools also operate normally, and teachers work as usual. This is because both public and private school teachers are not subject to the Labor Standards Act. Professors are also not considered workers, so universities operate normally without closing.

If working on Labor Day, in addition to the regular wage, holiday work allowance must be paid. Monthly salaried workers should receive 1.5 times their ordinary wage, and hourly workers should receive 2.5 times their ordinary wage.

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