Weekly Holiday Allowance in Korea: 5-Minute Eligibility Check for Foreign Workers

What Is the Weekly Holiday Allowance (주휴수당)?

The weekly holiday allowance (주휴수당) is one day's wages paid to a worker who has worked all of their scheduled workdays in a given week. Article 55 of the Labor Standards Act (근로기준법 제55조) states: "An employer shall guarantee a worker at least one paid holiday per week on average." The wages paid for that paid holiday are the weekly holiday allowance.

3 Conditions to Receive the Weekly Holiday Allowance

According to the administrative interpretation of the Ministry of Employment and Labor (고용노동부, Labor Standards Policy Division), a worker must satisfy all three of the following conditions to receive the weekly holiday allowance.

1. Scheduled Weekly Working Hours of 15 Hours or More

Article 18, Paragraph 3 of the Labor Standards Act (근로기준법 제18조 제3항) states that the weekly holiday provisions do not apply to workers whose scheduled weekly working hours average less than 15 hours over a 4-week period. Therefore, ultra-short-hour workers working fewer than 15 hours per week are excluded from the weekly holiday allowance.

Example: 3 hours/day × 4 days/week = 12 hours/week → No weekly holiday allowance
Example: 4 hours/day × 4 days/week = 16 hours/week → Weekly holiday allowance applies

2. Perfect Attendance on All Scheduled Workdays

The worker must report to work on every scheduled workday (소정근로일) in that week. Being late or leaving early is not treated as an absence, so attendance is still considered perfect. However, even one day of unauthorized absence means no weekly holiday allowance for that week.

A workplace closure due to the employer's fault, or the use of annual leave (연차유급휴가), is not treated as an absence and does not affect the perfect-attendance requirement (see Supreme Court Decision 2000다27671).

3. Work Must Be Scheduled for the Following Week

If the week in question is the worker's last week due to resignation, contract expiry, or similar reasons, the Ministry of Employment and Labor's consistent administrative interpretation is that no weekly holiday allowance arises, because no work is scheduled for the following week. However, if the employer unilaterally dismisses the worker, the worker bears no fault and may still claim the weekly holiday allowance.

Do Part-Time and Hourly (아르바이트) Workers Also Qualify?

Yes, they do. The Labor Standards Act makes no distinction between full-time, non-regular, or part-time/hourly workers. As long as the three conditions above are met, the weekly holiday allowance must be paid regardless of employment type. Failure to pay it may subject the employer to imprisonment of up to 2 years or a fine of up to 20 million won (₩20,000,000) under Article 110 of the Labor Standards Act (근로기준법 제110조).

Note: Your employment contract may specify terms different from the statutory minimum, but the employer cannot pay less than what the law requires.

How to Calculate the Weekly Holiday Allowance

The weekly holiday allowance is calculated as daily scheduled working hours × hourly wage.

For part-time workers whose scheduled weekly hours are less than 40, the daily scheduled working hours are calculated as scheduled weekly hours ÷ 5.

What If You Haven't Been Paid the Weekly Holiday Allowance?

Failure to pay the weekly holiday allowance constitutes unpaid wages (임금체불). You may file a complaint with the competent Regional Employment and Labor Office within 3 years of leaving the job, or report it through the Ministry of Employment and Labor's online civil petition system.

To calculate exactly how much weekly holiday allowance you are owed, use the Bylaw (workbylaw.com) Weekly Holiday Allowance Calculator. Simply enter your working hours and hourly wage to instantly see your weekly holiday allowance and your effective hourly wage. If you suspect your weekly holiday allowance has not been paid, also try Bylaw's AI labor law search and complaint drafting features.

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