Labor Attorney Choi Chang-gyun's Guide to Hospitality HR 09
Labor Attorney Choi Chang-gyun's Guide to Hospitality HR
09. Managing Working Hours in Hospitality
Writer: Choi Chang-gyun, CEO, Seocho Labor Law Firm (Labor Attorney)
Editor: Somora Manager, ONDA
Seocho Labor Law Firm specializes in hospitality HR and labor management. We currently advise numerous hospitality businesses and conduct training for major franchise headquarters (Yanolja, Yeogi Eottae, etc.), helping create happier workplaces for everyone in the industry.
We believe happy workplaces make happy lives. This series is our contribution to the people building those workplaces together— practical HR knowledge you actually need.
Hello, I'm labor attorney Choi Chang-gyun from Seocho Labor Law Firm. Last time we covered holidays and leave policies in hospitality. Today we're tackling something accommodation business owners ask about constantly: managing working hours in hospitality. How should you structure and track employee hours at your property?
Hospitality is a 24/7 industry by nature, which means employees work longer shifts than most other sectors. The line between work time and break time gets blurry, making hour management absolutely critical.
Then came the 2018 Labor Standards Act amendment. Starting July 1, hospitality was removed from the list of industries exempt from hour restrictions. The stakes got higher. Before, if you had a written agreement with employee representatives and paid wages correctly, you had flexibility on hours. Now you must also comply with hour limits. In other words: hospitality operators used to worry mainly about wage compliance. Now you need to make sure the hours themselves are legal.
So today we'll cover labor law principles on working hours, then walk through practical considerations for applying these rules in hospitality settings.
1. What Is the 52-Hour Workweek?
1) Basic Principles of Working Hours
Working hours are defined as "time during which an employee provides labor and the employer pays wages for that time." In other words, working hours are paid time that must be compensated.
First, businesses with fewer than 5 employees have no legal hour restrictions. But for businesses with 5 or more employees, work is limited to 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week. These are called 'statutory working hours.'
Any hours beyond statutory limits are 'overtime hours'. Overtime requires mutual agreement and is capped at 12 hours per week. Then there's night work. Work between 10 PM and 6 AM is designated 'night work.' Finally, work on designated rest days is 'holiday work.' Labor law requires a 50% premium on the base wage for overtime, night work, and holiday work.
The 52-hour workweek introduced in 2018 combines 40 statutory hours plus up to 12 overtime hours by agreement. Before July 2018, the limit was 68 hours per week. The 2018 Labor Standards Act revision phased in the 52-hour rule, with expanded application taking effect January 1, 2020.
2) What Are Break Times?
Break times are periods during the work shift when employees can use time freely. Unlike working hours, break times are unpaid. Labor law requires at least 30 minutes of break time for every 4 hours worked.
3) Distinguishing Standby Time from Break Time
A term that often gets confused with break time is standby time. Standby time means waiting to perform work. For example, a front desk employee waiting for guests to arrive, or housekeeping staff waiting for checkout — these are standby periods.
Labor law treats standby time as working hours — meaning it's paid time.
So how should hospitality businesses distinguish between break time and standby time for staff? Let's explore that next.
2. Application in Hospitality Operations
1) The Foundation for Solving Break Time vs. Standby Time Issues: "Employment Contracts"
As we've seen, distinguishing break time from standby time in hospitality is crucial. But in practice, it's incredibly difficult. Why? Because proving when it's break time versus standby time is hard.
Given the nature of hospitality, perfectly clean separation may not be realistic. Your best bet is reducing dispute risk.
To minimize disputes, you want to shift the burden of proof to the other party on break and standby time. The key document here is the employment contract. If break and standby time are clearly defined in the employment contract, anyone challenging it must prove the contract is inaccurate. So from the operator's perspective, clearly documenting break times in employment contracts is essential.
Of course, you also need to actually honor those break times, right? To genuinely guarantee breaks, provide break areas, deploy backup staff, and do everything possible to separate work time from break time.
How to Minimize Break Time vs. Standby Time Disputes
- Clearly define break times in employment contracts
- Ensure wage calculation methods and components meet minimum wage standards when factoring in breaks
- Verify overtime, night, and holiday premiums meet legal minimums when break time is factored in
- Create mechanisms to actually guarantee break time (automation, signage, backup staffing, etc.)
- Establish designated rest areas—guest rooms, break rooms, dining areas—separate from work zones, and ensure they're accessible
2) Working Hour Violations with 24-Hour Alternating Shifts
Small businesses with fewer than 5 employees face no hour restrictions, so 24-hour alternating shifts don't create legal risk.
But businesses with 5+ employees must comply with the 52-hour workweek, making true 24-hour alternating shifts practically impossible. So you'll need to switch to 3-team 2-shift rotations, or carefully structure employment contracts so break time brings working hours into compliance.
Closing Thoughts
The most common labor disputes in hospitality right now stem from ambiguous boundaries between break time and standby time. If you have well-drafted employment contracts and documentation proving you guarantee breaks—like automation systems—you can minimize these disputes significantly.
Take today's guidance to heart and build a successful hospitality operation.
Next time, we'll dive into the heart of hospitality HR: wages. Thank you.
Hospitality HR Inquiries (Seocho Labor Law Firm)
Website: www.노무법인서초.com
Blog: https://blog.naver.com/cpla7582
