Introduction of hourly use of annual leave and special provisions on recess (effective May 7, 2027 & November 7, 2026, respectively)
5/24/2026
Introduction of hourly use of annual leave and special provisions on recess (effective May 7, 2027 & November 7, 2026, respectively)
On December 30, 2025, labor, management, and the government reached an agreement through the “Task Force for Actual Working Hours Reduction Roadmap” on measures such as strengthening workers’ right to choose recess/break time and allowing the use of annual leave on an hourly basis.
The amendment passed the National Assembly plenary session in May 2026 and is expected to come into full effect one year after promulgation, following a grace period for preparing the detailed Enforcement Decree (the amendment related to recess/break time will take effect six months after promulgation). Therefore, the specific operational standards will be confirmed once the relevant Enforcement Decree is announced. New provisions are expected to be added to Article 54(2) of the Labor Standards Act (LSA) concerning recess and Article 60(5) concerning hourly use of annual leave.
Previously, the LSA required workers to take a statutory 30-minute break time during working hours before leaving work, even on days when they worked only four hours. As a result, there had been continuous calls from workplaces for improvement.
Under the amended LSA, on days when a worker works only for four hours, the worker may choose to leave work without taking a recess.
In addition, under the amended LSA, annual leave which was allowed to be used only in daily unit previously can be used by dividing into hourly units within the hours and days of annual leave provided under the Presidential Decree.
In line with the changing labor environment, these amendments are expected to expand and guarantee workers’ right to choose use of their break time and annual leave.
On December 30, 2025, labor, management, and the government reached an agreement through the “Task Force for Actual Working Hours Reduction Roadmap” on measures such as strengthening workers’ right to choose recess/break time and allowing the use of annual leave on an hourly basis.
The amendment passed the National Assembly plenary session in May 2026 and is expected to come into full effect one year after promulgation, following a grace period for preparing the detailed Enforcement Decree (the amendment related to recess/break time will take effect six months after promulgation). Therefore, the specific operational standards will be confirmed once the relevant Enforcement Decree is announced. New provisions are expected to be added to Article 54(2) of the Labor Standards Act (LSA) concerning recess and Article 60(5) concerning hourly use of annual leave.
Previously, the LSA required workers to take a statutory 30-minute break time during working hours before leaving work, even on days when they worked only four hours. As a result, there had been continuous calls from workplaces for improvement.
Under the amended LSA, on days when a worker works only for four hours, the worker may choose to leave work without taking a recess.
In addition, under the amended LSA, annual leave which was allowed to be used only in daily unit previously can be used by dividing into hourly units within the hours and days of annual leave provided under the Presidential Decree.
In line with the changing labor environment, these amendments are expected to expand and guarantee workers’ right to choose use of their break time and annual leave.