Small biz faces easier transition to 52-hour work week under new measures
- 4 years ago
The South Korean government has announced measures to help small and medium sized companies adapt to new rules on working hours that'll take effect next year.
With the work week restricted to 52 hours, they'll get a longer grace period on compliance so long as they're making a good-faith effort and there'll be more leeway for companies in their busy seasons.
Hong Yoo has this report.
Starting from next year, the mandatory 52-hour workweek regulation will be expanded to small and medium-sized companies with 50 to 299 employees.
To help these firms cope with the change, the government announced some complementary measures on Monday morning.
The measures include an extension of the guidance period from 6 months to a longer period, during which companies will avoid punishment when they have employees who work more than 52 hours.
The guidance period will vary depending on the size of the company and the amount of effort a company has put into following the 52-hour workweek regulations.
The measures will also ease the requirements for granting special extended work hours for certain situations that require intensive labor.
Special extended hours are currently permitted for limited occasions such as natural disasters but they will be expanded to allow for times when there is a temporary surge in workload.
Lastly, the government says that they will support SMEs that are short of employees.
The government is planning to expand the employment of overseas Koreans for sectors suffering from labor shortages.
The Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jae-kap said these improved measures will be imposed sometime in January if the revised Labor Standards Act doesn't get through the National Assembly by then.
"However, even with the complementary measures, there are limitations to how much these measures will improve working conditions. It is essential to improve the system through a revision of the law to solve fundamental problems."
Labor representatives argue that the expansion of special overtime work could be used arbitrarily, and that it is tantamount to giving up on the attempts to shorten Korea's working hours.
Hong Yoo, Arirang News.
With the work week restricted to 52 hours, they'll get a longer grace period on compliance so long as they're making a good-faith effort and there'll be more leeway for companies in their busy seasons.
Hong Yoo has this report.
Starting from next year, the mandatory 52-hour workweek regulation will be expanded to small and medium-sized companies with 50 to 299 employees.
To help these firms cope with the change, the government announced some complementary measures on Monday morning.
The measures include an extension of the guidance period from 6 months to a longer period, during which companies will avoid punishment when they have employees who work more than 52 hours.
The guidance period will vary depending on the size of the company and the amount of effort a company has put into following the 52-hour workweek regulations.
The measures will also ease the requirements for granting special extended work hours for certain situations that require intensive labor.
Special extended hours are currently permitted for limited occasions such as natural disasters but they will be expanded to allow for times when there is a temporary surge in workload.
Lastly, the government says that they will support SMEs that are short of employees.
The government is planning to expand the employment of overseas Koreans for sectors suffering from labor shortages.
The Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jae-kap said these improved measures will be imposed sometime in January if the revised Labor Standards Act doesn't get through the National Assembly by then.
"However, even with the complementary measures, there are limitations to how much these measures will improve working conditions. It is essential to improve the system through a revision of the law to solve fundamental problems."
Labor representatives argue that the expansion of special overtime work could be used arbitrarily, and that it is tantamount to giving up on the attempts to shorten Korea's working hours.
Hong Yoo, Arirang News.