"Submit Annual Leave 40 Days in Advance"... The Job Where You Get Penalized for Being Sick and Can't Rest

Administrative Guidance from the Ministry of Employment and Labor to Improve Leave Policies
Eastar Jet and Air Busan Reflect 'Leave' in Personnel Evaluations
Korean Airlines Require Medical Certificates Even for Annual Leave

The government has taken action to address the unfair leave policies faced by airline cabin crew members. Some airlines have reportedly penalized crew members for taking leave due to illness, assigning demerit points, and requiring medical certificates even when annual leave, not sick leave, is used. There have also been cases where airlines required crew members to apply for annual leave as much as 40 days in advance.

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According to materials submitted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor to Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Jooyoung on August 11, Eastar Jet factors in a cabin crew member's inability to perform duties due to illness or injury after flight schedules are confirmed into their personnel evaluations.

Flight schedules are typically set about a month in advance, so if a crew member unexpectedly becomes unable to work during that period, it negatively impacts their personnel evaluation. However, leave due to injuries sustained on duty, medical checkups and procedures resulting from checkup results, and leave for Class 2 or higher infectious diseases are not reflected in the evaluation.

At Air Busan, if a cabin crew member uses sick leave or annual leave on the day of duty, it is also reflected in their performance evaluation. However, if the use of leave is deemed unavoidable, it is not considered in the evaluation.

In addition, domestic airlines have been found to require cabin crew members to submit supporting documents when applying for sick leave due to illness or injury, while also requiring them to use their annual leave first. Even though the leave is processed as paid annual leave rather than sick leave, documents such as medical certificates or proof of hospital visits must still be submitted.

An airline industry official stated, "If several crew members suddenly use annual leave without a specific reason, it can disrupt flight operations," adding, "It is necessary to manage the degree to which crew members adhere to their flight duty schedules to ensure the promised flight schedules with customers are met and to maintain stable operations."

Cabin crew members argue that these leave policies are unreasonable. One crew member, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "Due to irregular shifts and changes in time zones, the work intensity is high and it's impossible to always be healthy. We're not machines, so we can't predict when we might get sick, and it's unfair to be penalized just for being ill." Another crew member commented, "If annual leave has already been used, whether or not I visited a hospital is a private matter."

In response, the Ministry of Employment and Labor plans to continue administrative guidance to improve the airline industry's unfair leave policies. A ministry official stated, "It is not appropriate to impose disadvantages in personnel evaluations for using sick leave. Although labor and management have agreed to 'use annual leave first when taking sick leave,' requiring supporting documents such as medical certificates for annual leave may violate the Labor Standards Act."

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Eastar Jet responded, "We are reviewing changes to the system so that leave usage will not be reflected in personnel evaluations," adding, "We plan to implement the revised policy within this week."

Previously, following administrative guidance, Air Busan relaxed its annual leave application deadline from '40 days in advance' to '1 day in advance' starting last month. The company also established a recruitment plan for 82 new cabin crew members to create conditions for more flexible leave usage.

The Busan Regional Employment and Labor Office, under the Ministry of Employment and Labor, recently sent Air Busan an 'administrative guidance on the use of paid annual leave,' stating, "We have received complaints that requests for paid annual leave are not freely accepted. Except in cases where there would be significant disruption to business operations, please ensure that leave can be used freely and that there are no violations of the law by thoroughly managing labor affairs."

Lawmaker Kim stated, "The practice of effectively penalizing sick airline workers, thereby threatening their right to health and rest, is a serious problem," adding, "On the ground, the structure where workers 'cannot rest even when sick' still persists." He continued, "Protecting the lives of working people is the duty of politics. I will do my utmost to improve laws and systems so that all workers can fully enjoy their right to work in good health."