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 the employees had actually worked on their weekly day off—should be based on the average prescribed working hours per day (i.e., the total prescribed weekly working hours divided by the number of prescribed working days in that week).

However, the Supreme Court held that it is unreasonable for employees who work fewer than five days per week and 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 have higher total weekly working hours, merely because their “average” daily working hours (e.g., eight hours) are the same. Accordingly, the Supreme Court concluded that the method of calculation should be applied differently.

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

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. Applying this principle, the Court determined the Weekly Paid Holiday Hours to be 4.75 hours (i.e., 23.78—the total prescribed weekly working hours—divided by five days), overturning the lower court’s calculation of eight hours.

Comparison Table

2.

Inclusion of Conditional Allowances in Minimum Wage Calculations

The Minimum Wage Act stipulates that, for taxi drivers, wages included in minimum wage calculations encompass: (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 both allowances paid when employees work all prescribed working days in a month (i.e., 13 days) and conditional attendance allowances (paid when employees meet a minimum threshold of working days, i.e., ten days), constitute “wages paid once or more per month for prescribed labor.” The Court reasoned that 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.