1.

Introduction

The Supreme Court recently issued a significant decision (Supreme Court Decision 2022Da291153, rendered on August 14, 2025) regarding (i) the calculation of weekly paid holiday compensation for taxi company employees working alternating-day shifts (“Alternating-Day Shift Employees”) and (ii) whether conditional allowances based on meeting specific working day requirements should be included in minimum wage calculations.
 

2.

Key Highlights of the Decision
 

(1)

Calculation of Weekly Paid Holiday Compensation for Alternating-Day Shift Employees
 
The Supreme Court has recognized that, in principle, absent special circumstances, the number of working hours used to calculate weekly paid holiday compensation (“Weekly Paid Holiday Hours”)—allowance paid as if employees had actually worked on their weekly day off—should be based on the average prescribed working hours per day (i.e., total prescribed weekly working hours ÷ the number of prescribed working days in that week).
 
However, the Supreme Court held that, in this case, it is unreasonable for employees who work fewer than five days per week whose “total” weekly working hours are therefore lower to receive the same amount of weekly paid holiday compensation as employees who work five or more days per week and thus have higher total weekly working hours, merely because their “average” daily working hours such as eight hours are the same. Accordingly, the Supreme Court concluded that the method of calculation should be applied differently.

The Supreme Court further stated that, in order to prevent this unreasonable outcome, the calculation method should be adjusted as follows: when an employer and employee have agreed only on prescribed working hours and the employee works fewer than five days per week, Weekly Paid Holiday Hours should be calculated assuming a five-day work schedule (i.e., total prescribed weekly working hours divided by five).

Applying this principle, the Supreme Court ruled that Alternating-Day Shift Employees with eight prescribed daily working hours but fewer than five prescribed weekly working days should have their Weekly Paid Holiday Hours calculated by dividing their total prescribed weekly working hours by five assuming a five-day work schedule. The Court determined the Weekly Paid Holiday Hours to be 4.75 hours (total prescribed weekly working 23.78 hours ÷ five days), overturning the lower court’s calculation of eight hours.
 

(2)

Inclusion of Conditional Allowances in Minimum Wage Calculations
 
The Minimum Wage Act specifies that for taxi drivers, wages included in minimum wage calculations are comprised of (i) “wages paid once or more per month according to payment conditions specified in collective bargaining agreements, rules of employment, or employment contracts” and (ii) “wages paid for prescribed working hours or prescribed working days.”
 
The Supreme Court held that allowances paid when employees work all prescribed working days in a month (e.g., 13 days), as well as conditional attendance allowances paid when employees work a required minimum number of working days (e.g., ten days), fall within the scope of “wages paid once or more per month for prescribed labor.” In particular, conditional attendance allowances are granted not for full attendance, but when an employee has worked the specified minimum number of prescribed working days that is less than the full requirement. Therefore, such allowances must be included in wage calculations for minimum wage compliance.
 

3.

Key Takeaways
 
This Supreme Court decision provides important guidance by (i) establishing a specific methodology for calculating weekly paid holiday hours for employees working fewer than five days per week, and (ii) clarifying that attendance-based allowances—provided the required working days fall within prescribed monthly working days—must be included in minimum wage calculations as allowances for prescribed labor.