What Changes Under the Labor Standards Act Amendment Passed in May
The amendment to the Labor Standards Act that passed the National Assembly plenary session on May 7, 2026 addresses two long-standing workplace frustrations. One is a statutory basis for taking annual leave in hourly units. The other is a break-time option for employees working four-hour shifts.
Article 54 currently requires a break of at least 30 minutes, given during working hours, whenever working time reaches four hours. As a result, an employee who starts at 9:00 and works only four hours on a half-day leave cannot go home at 13:00 and has to stay until 13:30.
Break option for four-hour shifts: effective December 10, 2026Split annual leave (Article 60) and the ban on unfavorable treatment for using leave: effective June 10, 2027. The unit and the number of days are set by Presidential Decree; the draft decree pre-announced on July 13, 2026 sets a half-day unit and a range of five days a year (not yet final)Skipping the Break on a Four-Hour Shift Requires the Employee's Explicit Request
The key point is that leaving without a break is allowed only when the employee wants it, not when the company decides. If an employer removes breaks across the board, it is still a failure to grant a break, which is punishable by up to two years in prison or a fine of up to KRW 20 million.
Recording the request: Keep it in writing or as an electronic request in the attendance system. Verbal agreements are hard to prove in a disputeCase-by-case request versus blanket consent: A blanket consent form signed at hiring may not count as an "explicit request." It is safer to take a request with each half-day leave application and to reconfirm part-time employees' wishes at set intervalsWhere it applies: Half-day leave and part-time work of four hours a day are the typical cases. The amended text is limited to days when working time is four hours, so a shift worker who adds four overtime hours to an eight-hour day is not covered and must still be given the breakRecord keeping: In a dispute, the employer will in practice have to show that a break was given or that the employee asked to skip it. Keep request records for at least three years, as with the employee register and wage ledgerSplit Annual Leave: Separate the Statutory Range from Company Rules
Amended Article 60 requires the employer to grant annual leave when an employee requests it in split form within the time unit and number of days set by Presidential Decree (effective June 10, 2027). Under the pre-announced draft decree, what the employer must grant is a half-day unit for up to five days a year. Whether to allow smaller units (one or two hours) or more days is for each company to set in its work rules, and the items below are for workplaces that choose to do so. Without rules in place by the effective date, each department will apply its own standard.
Conversion: Where the contractual working day is eight hours, 15 days of leave equals 120 hours. A part-time employee working 20 hours a week gets 15 days × (20/40) × 8 hours, or 60 hoursWhat the work rules should cover: The minimum unit (the statutory half day, or one to two hours if the company chooses to be more generous), the request deadline, and the criteria for rescheduling leave when it would seriously disrupt operationsBalances and settlement: Track remaining leave in hours instead of days. Calculate leave-use promotion notices and unused leave pay in hours as well (remaining hours × hourly ordinary wage)Staffing gaps: On production lines and shift operations, an absence of an hour or two can unbalance the line. Prepare backup arrangements such as multi-skilled staffing, a cap on simultaneous leave per process, and steering hourly leave toward the start or end of a shiftChecklist for Work Rules, Employment Contracts, and Attendance Systems
Work rules: Amend the break and leave provisions and hear the opinion of the majority of employees. Workplaces with 10 or more regular employees must report the change, and failure to report carries an administrative fine of up to KRW 5 millionEmployment contracts: Check whether the "30-minute break" wording in part-time contracts allows for the exception at the employee's requestAttendance and payroll systems: Ahead of the June 2027 effective date, enable leave to be deducted in half-day or hourly units. Modify the logic that automatically deducts 30 minutes from a four-hour shift so that it depends on whether a request was madeManager training: Telling staff to "skip the break and leave early" can look like pressure to give up a break. Managers should explain the option and leave the choice to the employeeOther Changes in the Same Amendment
New leave for a spouse's miscarriage or stillbirth (effective September 18, 2026): Up to five days are granted, the first three are paid, and wage support is available for priority support enterprisesStricter housing standards for foreign workers (effective June 2027): Providing unpermitted or illegal temporary structures such as vinyl greenhouses as housing will be prohibited, so workplaces with employment permits should check in advance whether their current accommodation is lawfulRevision schedule: For the break provision, draft amendments in October, hear employee opinions in November, and report the changes before December 10. For split annual leave, revise once more for the June 10, 2027 effective date after the decree is finalized, or introduce it earlier on the company's own termsKITIM HR and Labor Consulting
The two months left before the break provision takes effect are tight for revising rules, modifying systems, and training managers. KITIM supports work rule and HR policy reviews, drafting of amendments, and the redesign of attendance and wage systems, and also reviews which government subsidies you can use. If you need to check whether your rules are ready for this amendment, please submit a consultation request through the KITIM website.
