"I was late once this week. Do I lose my weekly holiday pay?" "My last day is Friday. Do I still get paid for that final week?" "My boss says our shop has fewer than five employees, so there is no weekly holiday pay. Is that true?" If you work part-time in Korea, you have probably asked something like this. Most explanations stop at one sentence: work 15 hours or more a week with perfect attendance and you get it. The cases where people actually disagree fall outside that sentence. Your contract may say one number while you worked another. Your hours may drop below 15 once breaks come out. Or it may be the week you quit. This guide starts from the statutes, works through the confusing cases in a table and ends with a way to check your own weekly pay, holiday pay included.
1. The three conditions for weekly holiday pay, straight from the law
Weekly holiday pay (주휴수당, juhyu sudang) is not a separate bonus. It is one day's wage paid for the paid weekly rest day that the law guarantees. Three provisions define it:
- Labor Standards Act, Article 55(1): employers must give workers at least one paid holiday per week on average.
- Enforcement Decree, Article 30(1): that paid holiday goes to workers who attended every scheduled working day of the week.
- Labor Standards Act, Article 18(3): Article 55 does not apply to workers whose scheduled weekly hours are under 15. The hours are averaged over four weeks, or over the whole period if the job lasts less than four weeks.
Put together, you qualify when:
- Your scheduled (contracted) hours are 15 or more per week, on a four-week average.
- You showed up on every scheduled working day that week.
- Your employment relationship lasted through that week. This is the condition that matters in the week you quit.
Employment type is not a condition. Full-time, fixed-term and part-time workers all qualify, including students and foreign workers. Freelancers paid under a 3.3% business-income contract are generally not "workers" under the Act. However, if you actually followed set hours and took direct orders, you may still be recognized as a worker.
2. "15 hours" means scheduled hours, not time spent at work
The most common confusion is what counts toward the 15 hours. The standard is scheduled working hours (소정근로시간): the hours you and your employer agreed to in the contract. It is not how long you stayed on the premises, and it is not the extra time you worked when asked.
Break time is excluded
Article 54 requires at least 30 minutes of break for 4 hours of work and at least 1 hour for 8 hours, given during the shift. Break time is yours to use freely, so it is not working time. That means "I'm at the shop 5 hours a day" and "I work 5 hours a day" are different statements.
Say you work three days a week, 10:00 to 15:00, with a 30-minute break. That is 4.5 working hours a day, or 13.5 a week, which falls short of 15. Work the same three days from 10:00 to 16:00 with a 30-minute break and you get 5.5 hours a day, or 16.5 a week, so you qualify. If your "break" really meant standing by to serve customers the moment they walked in, that time can count as work. Look at what actually happened, not just the label.
Overtime generally does not count
Suppose your contract says 14 hours a week, but one busy week your boss asks you to stay 2 more hours, for 16 in total. Your scheduled hours are still 14, so as a rule that week does not produce holiday pay. The extra 2 hours must be paid separately as overtime. But if the "14-hour contract" is a formality and you have worked 16 or more hours every week for months, you can argue that your real agreed hours are 16. That is why you should keep clock-in records and shift schedules.
Variable schedules use a four-week average
If your hours change week to week, Article 18(3) averages them over four weeks. A schedule of 12, 18, 16 and 14 hours averages exactly 15, so you are not an "ultra-short-time worker" excluded from the rule.
3. Case-by-case eligibility table
The table below collects situations people search for most and shows the usual outcome and why. These are general interpretations. Your employment contract or workplace rules can change the result.
| Situation | Holiday pay? | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 3 days × 5 hours on site (incl. 30-min break) | No | 13.5 working hours after breaks, under 15 |
| 3 days × 5.5 working hours (break separate) | Yes | 16.5 hours a week, paid with full attendance |
| 14-hour contract + 2 hours overtime this week only | No (as a rule) | Scheduled hours count, overtime does not |
| Late once or left early once that week | Yes | You still showed up, so it is not an absence (unworked minutes may be deducted) |
| One unexcused absence that week | No (that week only) | Attendance condition fails; next week is judged fresh |
| Shop closed at the employer's choice | Attendance kept | Days off not caused by the worker are not absences |
| Convenience store with 4 regular staff | Yes | Article 55(1) applies under 5 employees too |
| Full attendance Mon–Fri, resignation dated Friday | No (per ministry guidance) | Employment did not last the full week |
| Full attendance Mon–Fri, resignation dated next Monday | Yes (per ministry guidance) | Employment lasted the week + full attendance |
| First week, joined on a Thursday | Case by case | Many view it as not arising, since there was no full week of employment |
Being late is not the same as being absent
Attendance asks one question: did you show up on each scheduled day? Arriving 10 minutes late or leaving an hour early still counts as showing up, so your attendance stays intact. The employer may deduct pay for the minutes you did not work. As a rule, it may not withhold your whole weekly holiday pay for that reason. An unexcused absence, meaning you skipped a scheduled day entirely, cancels holiday pay for that week. The penalty stops there: attend fully next week and you are paid again.
4. The week you quit: how the "next week" requirement changed
Many older guides say holiday pay only arises if you are scheduled to work the following week. In 2021 the Ministry of Employment and Labor clarified its position (guidance 임금근로시간과-1736, August 4, 2021). If your employment lasts through the whole week and you attend every scheduled day, holiday pay arises even when no work is scheduled for the eighth day.
In practice, it works like this. Suppose you work Monday to Friday. Friday is your last shift, and your resignation date (when employment ends) is also Friday. Employment did not last seven days, so there is no holiday pay for that week. If you work through Friday but your resignation date falls on the following Monday, so employment runs past the weekly rest day, you receive holiday pay for the final week.
So when you resign, settle two dates with your employer: your last working day and your official resignation date. One day's difference on the resignation letter can be worth a full day's pay. Ministry guidance is not legally binding the way a court ruling is. If there is a dispute, check with the Ministry's call center (1350 in Korea).
5. Workplaces under five employees still owe weekly holiday pay
"We have fewer than five employees, so no holiday pay" is simply wrong. The Labor Standards Act applies in full to workplaces with five or more regular employees. Workplaces with four or fewer are covered only by the provisions listed in Appendix 1 of the Enforcement Decree, and that list includes Article 55(1), the weekly paid holiday. Even a shop run by its owner with a single part-timer must pay holiday pay to someone who works 15 or more hours a week with full attendance.
What does change under five employees:
- No legal duty to pay the 50% premium for overtime, night or holiday work.
- Article 55(2), which makes public holidays paid days off, does not apply.
- The annual paid leave rules do not apply.
A simple way to remember it: weekly holiday pay and the minimum wage apply regardless of workplace size. For how social insurance applies to short-hour workers, see the four major insurance guide.
6. If you qualify, how much is it?
The amount is simple to work out. At 40 or more scheduled hours a week you get one day's scheduled hours (capped at 8). Below 40, it is proportional:
Weekly holiday pay = (scheduled weekly hours ÷ 40) × 8 hours × hourly wage
Using the 2026 minimum wage of KRW 10,320:
| Scheduled hours/week | Holiday hours | Holiday pay (1 week) | Weekly pay incl. holiday |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 0 | KRW 0 | KRW 144,480 |
| 15 | 3 | KRW 30,960 | KRW 185,760 |
| 20 | 4 | KRW 41,280 | KRW 247,680 |
| 25 | 5 | KRW 51,600 | KRW 309,600 |
| 30 | 6 | KRW 61,920 | KRW 371,520 |
| 40 | 8 | KRW 82,560 | KRW 495,360 |
Going from 14 to 15 hours adds only one hour of work, yet weekly pay rises by KRW 41,280. You gain one hour's wage (KRW 10,320) plus KRW 30,960 in holiday pay. That is why the 15-hour line matters when shifts are planned. Past 40 hours, holiday hours stay capped at 8 and the extra time is paid as overtime. For converting hourly pay into a monthly figure, see the 2026 minimum wage calculator guide.
7. What to check if you were not paid
If you met the conditions but did not receive holiday pay, work through these steps:
- Check your contract for scheduled hours, working days and breaks. If you never received a written contract, that is a separate violation.
- Check whether your payslip lists holiday pay separately, or whether you agreed to an "hourly wage including holiday pay." If it is included, the base hourly wage left after removing the holiday portion must still meet the minimum wage.
- Keep clock-in records, photos of shift schedules and wage deposit records.
- Ask your employer to correct it. If that fails, file a wage arrears petition with the Ministry of Employment and Labor. Wage claims expire after three years (Article 49), so unpaid holiday pay from up to three years back can still be claimed.
8. Frequently asked questions
Q1. If I work exactly 15 hours, do I qualify?
Yes. The law excludes only "under 15 hours," so exactly 15 qualifies. Your holiday hours are (15 ÷ 40) × 8 = 3, which comes to KRW 30,960 at the 2026 minimum wage. Just make sure you still reach 15 after breaks are removed.
Q2. Does taking sick leave or annual leave break my attendance?
Days of statutory annual leave or leave approved by the employer are generally not treated as absences. Days off without approval may be. Sick leave depends on your workplace rules, so confirm approval and how the day will be recorded before you take it.
Q3. Is a contract with holiday pay "built into" the hourly wage valid?
Such an agreement is allowed. But the base hourly wage, after removing the holiday portion, must meet the minimum wage (KRW 10,320 in 2026). For a 40-hour worker, the inclusive hourly rate must be at least KRW 12,384 (10,320 × 1.2) to stay legal.
Q4. I work at two places. Are my hours combined toward 15?
No. Eligibility is judged separately for each workplace. Ten hours at shop A plus ten at shop B makes 20 in total, but each is under 15, so neither owes holiday pay.
9. Check your weekly pay with holiday pay using the hourly wage calculator
Once you have worked through the conditions and concluded "I qualify this week," the next question is "so how much should I get?" Enter your hourly wage and your weekly working hours (breaks removed) into the hourly wage calculator. It shows whether you cross the 15-hour line, along with your weekly and monthly pay including holiday pay. Compare the result with your payslip to see whether holiday pay was left out. If you have moved to a monthly salary, or want your take-home pay after tax and social insurance, continue with the salary take-home calculator. The logic behind converting hourly pay to monthly pay is covered in the 2026 minimum wage calculator guide.
This article is general information based on Korea's Labor Standards Act and Ministry of Employment and Labor guidance as of 2026. Individual cases depend on the employment contract and workplace rules. For disputes, contact the Ministry's call center (1350) or a certified labor attorney.
