Starting Next Year, Workplaces with 30 to 299 Employees Will Also Guarantee 'Red Days' as Paid Holidays

Public Holidays for Government Offices Guaranteed as Paid Leave
Amendment to Labor Standards Act... Gradual Implementation
Applied to Companies with 5-29 Employees from 2022

Citizens are boarding buses on their way home at a bus stop near Gwanghwamun Intersection in Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Starting next year, employees of companies with 30 to 299 workers will also be guaranteed paid holidays on public office holidays.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 23rd, the Labor Standards Act was amended in March 2018 to gradually implement the application of public office holidays to the private sector.

From this year, it has been first applied to companies with 300 or more employees and public institutions, and next year it will be implemented in companies with 30 to less than 300 employees. In 2022, companies with 5 to 29 employees will also be guaranteed paid holidays on public office holidays.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor sent notices to 104,000 workplaces with 30 to 299 employees on this day to inform them once again of this matter and to provide guidance on precautions.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, in cooperation with related ministries, is promoting the "Support Plan for the Settlement of Public Office Holiday Application in the Private Sector."

For companies facing increased burdens due to the application of public office holidays in the private sector, preferential support will be provided when participating in various government policies in the future.

Points will be awarded when selecting support targets for competitive employment incentives and smart factory dissemination projects, and preferential support will also be given for manpower support in the agriculture and food sectors and innovation vouchers for tourism small and medium enterprises.

Companies applying public office holidays in the private sector will be regarded as companies reducing working hours, and the employment limit for foreign workers will be temporarily raised. If desired, they can participate in the voluntary improvement support project for working conditions, and participating companies will be exempt from regular labor inspections for three years.

For companies with fewer than 30 employees, if they proactively apply public holidays in the private sector before the legal enforcement date, they can receive additional incentives.

Points will be awarded when deciding the successful bidder for public sector procurement contracts, preferential interest rate benefits will be provided when using national policy bank job financial products, and the credit guarantee fund guarantee fee rate will also be reduced.

In some industries such as manufacturing, the industrial accident insurance rate can be reduced by 10% until the legal enforcement date.