Can You Use Annual Leave by the Hour in Korea? Complete Guide for Foreign Workers

Can You Use Annual Leave by the Hour?

When you only need to step away for an hour or two — a hospital appointment, a school event for your child, a visit to a government office — using a full day of annual leave (연차유급휴가) feels like a waste. That's why many workers wonder whether hourly annual leave is possible.

The short answer: it is legally permitted — but with conditions.

Legal Basis: Article 60(6) of the Labor Standards Act (근로기준법 제60조 제6항)

Article 60(6) of the Labor Standards Act (근로기준법 제60조 제6항) allows workers to use annual paid leave in hourly units. However, this requires a written agreement with the employee representative (근로자 대표). An employer cannot unilaterally introduce hourly leave, and a worker cannot arbitrarily split leave into hours without the employer's agreement.

In addition, the amount of annual leave that may be used in hourly units cannot exceed 5 days (40 hours) per year. For example, a worker with 15 days of annual leave may use at most 5 days (40 hours based on an 8-hour workday) in hourly units; the remaining 10 days must be taken in units of at least one full day.

Note for foreign workers: Your employment contract may set terms different from this statutory minimum. Always check your contract and workplace rules.

How Is Hourly Annual Leave Calculated?

Hourly annual leave is calculated based on the scheduled daily working hours (소정근로시간). If a worker whose scheduled daily hours are 8 uses 1 hour of leave, 1/8 of a day is deducted from the remaining leave balance.

Examples:
- Remaining leave: 10 days
- Use 1 hour → Remaining: 9 days 7 hours (or 9.875 days)
- Use 4 hours → Remaining: 9 days 4 hours (9.5 days)

For part-time workers with different scheduled daily hours (e.g., 6 hours per day), the deduction is calculated proportionally based on those hours.

Difference from Half-Day Leave (반차)

Half-day leave (반차) typically means taking half a day off — usually a morning or afternoon (4 hours) — and is operated by many workplaces through their work rules (취업규칙) or collective agreements. Half-day leave is not a concept explicitly defined in law, but it can be operated by labor-management agreement and is treated separately from statutory hourly annual leave.

Although hourly annual leave (statutory) and half-day leave (by agreement) are sometimes used interchangeably, their legal basis and limit-calculation methods differ, so you should carefully check your workplace rules or written agreement.

Practical Points to Watch

1. Forcing hourly annual leave without a written agreement is unlawful. An employer who splits and exhausts a worker's leave in hourly units without consent may be seen as evading the obligation to pay unused-leave allowance (연차 미사용 수당).
2. Use exceeding the 5-day annual cap is not recognized. Any excess may be treated as unpaid leave or give rise to a dispute.
3. Relationship with the annual leave encouragement system (연차 사용 촉진 제도): Even if an employer has lawfully carried out leave encouragement procedures, the hourly-leave portion must be managed separately.

Want to Know Your Exact Remaining Annual Leave?

If calculating your accrued and remaining annual leave from your hire date is difficult, try the annual leave calculator at Bylaw (workbylaw.com). Enter your hire date and leave usage history to instantly see your remaining leave and the expiry date. If you are unsure about your hourly leave usage or have a dispute with your employer, Bylaw's AI search feature can also help you quickly find relevant court decisions and administrative interpretations.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific cases, consult a certified labor attorney (노무사) or lawyer.