South Korean businesses are worried they won’t be able to cut it if workers are limited by law to a measly 52 hours of work…
South Korean businesses are worried they won’t be able to cut it if workers are limited by law to a measly 52 hours of work a week.
While the 40-hour workweek may be the standard in the U. S. — and 35 hours the maximum in France, the statutory cap on the workweek in South Korea had been 68 hours before the parliament in March approved a measure cutting the maximum to 52 hours (including up to 12 hours over overtime) starting July 1 for companies employing 300 or more workers.
Companies are being given a six-month “grace period” to fall in line, and some are still wondering if they’ll make it.
While that is still the equivalent of six 8.6-hour days, big employers are nervous and many hard-working South Korean officer workers are skeptical that the new limitations will hold, according to a report late last week in the Korea Herald newspaper.
The Korea Pharmaceutical and Biopharma Manufacturers Association (KPBMA) announced Monday it would ask for an exemption for the drug industry from the 52-hour ceiling, saying it doesn’t qualify for a break as the new law is written for special periods when the extra hours might be needed.
“We’re reviewing ways to seek for ways to potentially introduce wider application of flexible work hours that meet the reality,” a KPBMA spokesperson told the South Korean newspaper.
Under the new mandate, South Koreans can work 40 normal hours and at most an additional 12 hours of overtime.
