In a bid to stimulate domestic consumption and promote local tourism, the government has announced a temporary public holiday on October 2nd, Monday. This move ensures a continuous six-day holiday period from September 28th to October 3rd, bridging the gap between the Chuseok holiday and National Foundation Day.
Breaking Down the Holiday Types:
- Legal Public Holidays: Established by law, these are days when government offices remain shut. Notable examples include National Foundation Day, Hangul Day, New Year’s Day, and Chuseok, among others.
- Temporary Public Holidays: Not regular holidays, but can be designated as such by the government after Cabinet Council deliberation.
- Substitute Public Holidays: These come into play when a legal public holiday falls on a regular day off.
Compensation for Working on the Temporary Holiday:
Employees working on this temporary public holiday are in for a bonus, but there’s a catch. For businesses employing five or more individuals, workers are entitled to holiday pay as per the Labor Standards Act. This means an additional 50% of the regular wage for up to 8 hours, and double the wage for any time beyond that. For instance, if an employee earns 10,000 won per hour, they’ll receive 15,000 won for the first 8 hours and 20,000 won thereafter.
However, smaller businesses with fewer than five employees are exempt from this rule.
A Note on Annual Leave:
For those who’ve marked October 2nd as annual leave, there’s a change in plans. Given its new status as a temporary public holiday, annual leaves set for this day will be revoked. Companies insisting on counting it as annual leave are in violation of the Labor Standards Act.
Stay tuned to TEFLNews.org for more updates on this and other labor-related news.
