--- title: "How Do You Calculate Full-Time Employee Count in Hospitality?" description: "Standards and methods for calculating full-time employee count in hospitality businesses" published: 2022-10-17T00:00:00+00:00 author: "ONDA 편집팀" category: "Insights" image: "https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/65a9e121c9515d144b615aa8_634d205599facd30d12f5cbe_thumbnail_labor_20qna_204.png" canonical: https://global.onda.me/en/blog?slug=sugbageob-sangsigeunroja-su-eoddeohge-gyesanhanayo locale: en --- # How Do You Calculate Full-Time Employee Count in Hospitality? ### **Labor Q&A for Hospitality by Attorney Choi Chang-gyun** #### **04. How Do You Calculate Full-Time Employee Count in Hospitality?** #### **Hospitality Labor Q&A Series #4** ##### Writer: Choi Chang-gyun, Labor Attorney ##### Editor: Lee Chae-eun, Manager, ONDA Seocho Labor Law Firm is the leading expert in hospitality labor management, currently managing labor affairs for multiple hospitality businesses and conducting seminars for hospitality franchises (Yanolja, Yeogi Eottae, etc.) We're dedicated to helping hospitality professionals build happier workplaces. With the belief that happy workplaces create happy lives, we've launched this series to provide essential labor management information to those building meaningful careers together. If you've been following this series, you've likely heard phrases like "5 or more full-time employees" and "fewer than 5 full-time employees." **Article 11 (Scope of Application), Paragraph 1 of the Labor Standards Act** states: "This Act applies to all businesses or workplaces that regularly employ five or more workers. However, it does not apply to businesses or workplaces that employ only cohabiting relatives or domestic helpers." In other words, if you have 5 or more full-time employees, the full Labor Standards Act applies. If you have fewer than 5, only certain provisions apply. _In short, the scope of the Labor Standards Act changes based on your full-time employee count._ This makes determining whether you have 5 or more full-time employees critical for hospitality labor management. Since hospitality businesses operate 24/7 with shift work as the primary work arrangement—and often hire external housekeeping staff—we get many questions about how to calculate full-time employee count. Let's explore **the standards and methods for calculating full-time employee count in hospitality**, focusing on what operators ask about most. ### 1. Why Does Full-Time Employee Count Matter in Hospitality? As mentioned, the Labor Standards Act applies differently based on full-time employee count. Details are shown in the chart below. ![Labor Standards Act application scope by full-time employee count](https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/65a8b242d3eb3cfc2fa18d4b_634d20c881f7f710325db735_E1_84_89_E1_85_A1_E1_86_BC_E1_84_89_E1_85_B5_E1_84_80_E1_85_B3_E1_86_AB_E1_84_85_E1_85_A9_E1_84_8C_E1_85_A1_E1_84_89_E1_85_AE_20_E1_84_8B_E1_85_B5_E1_84_86_E1_85_B5_E1_84_8C_E1_85_B5.png) See how different regulations apply based on employee count? Determining full-time employee count is the most basic step in figuring out which legal standards apply. Especially in hospitality, most labor disputes involve regulations that kick in at 5 or more employees. So pay close attention to 👇**provisions that apply to workplaces with 5+ employees**. > **Key Provisions for Hospitality Businesses with 5+ Full-Time Employees** #### (1) Premium Pay for Overtime, Night Work, and Holiday Work When employees exceed 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week (overtime), or work between 10 PM and 6 AM (night work), you must pay **1.5× the ordinary wage** for those hours. Hospitality often uses rotating shifts. Since overtime is calculated based on continuity of work—not daily—a rotating shift can rack up serious overtime hours. For instance, if a rotating shift employee has 3 hours of break time, their overtime could reach 13 hours in a single shift. #### (2) Annual Paid Leave Employees working less than one year earn 1 day of paid leave for each full month worked. Employees working one year or more receive 15 days of paid annual leave. _\*Annual leave increases by 1 day for every 2 years beyond the first year, up to a maximum of 25 days._ #### (3) Restrictions on Personnel Actions There are restrictions on **transferring, disciplining, or terminating** employees to other motels or hotels. Affected employees can file for relief with the Labor Relations Commission. #### (4) Working Hour Limits Weekly working hours, including overtime, cannot exceed **52 hours (40 regular hours + 12 overtime hours)**. ### 2. How Do You Determine Full-Time Employee Count? This is what operators ask about most. Full-time employee count is determined based on these criteria: 1. **"Divide the total number of workers used during the month prior to the calculation date by the number of operating days during that period"** 2. **"Determine whether the number of days with 5+ employees during the prior month exceeds half the month"** For example, if Hotel A's daily employee count varies—4 one day, 5 the next, 6 the day after—first calculate the total number of employees who worked each day over the month, then divide by the number of days in the month. That's your baseline full-time employee count. Additionally, even if this calculated number is under 5, if you had 5+ employees for more than 15 days during the month, you're considered a workplace with 5+ full-time employees. Not too complicated, right? ### 3. Do Family Members Count as Full-Time Employees? If a business is run only by cohabiting relatives (spouse, children, etc.), the Labor Standards Act doesn't apply (Article 11, Scope of Application). However, if there's even one non-family employee, all family members except the owner are included in the employee count (Labor Standards Act Enforcement Decree Article 7-2, Paragraph 4). **Labor Standards Act Enforcement Decree Article 7-2, Paragraph 4** ④ The total number of workers under Paragraph 1 includes all workers listed below, excluding dispatched workers under Article 2, Item 5 of the Act on the Protection, etc. of Dispatched Workers: 1. All workers employed at the business or workplace, regardless of employment type—regular workers, fixed-term workers under Article 2, Item 1 of the Act on the Protection, etc. of Fixed-term and Part-time Workers, part-time workers, etc. **2. If there is even one worker under Item 1 in addition to cohabiting relatives at the business or workplace, cohabiting relatives who are workers** ### 4. Does External Staff Count Toward Full-Time Employee Count? Only employees who belong to your business count toward full-time employee count. External cleaning company staff, contracted parking attendants, and dispatched workers supplied through licensed agencies are excluded from the calculation. ### 5. Do Foreign Workers and Employees Not Enrolled in the 4 Major Insurance Programs Count? Yes. Foreign workers—including undocumented workers—and employees not enrolled in the 4 major insurance programs are included in the full-time employee count. ### 6. How Do You Count Rotating Shift and 3-Team 2-Shift Workers? For hospitality's common work arrangements—rotating shifts and 3-team 2-shift schedules (day-day, night-night, off-off)—all workers on the rotation are included in the full-time employee count. However, for workers hired to work specific days (e.g., weekend cashiers), only their scheduled workdays are counted. --- We've covered the most common questions hospitality operators ask about full-time employee count. How many full-time employees does your property have? Use the standards and calculation methods explained above to assess your count and ensure you're complying with Labor Standards Act provisions. > **Hospitality Labor Management Inquiries (Seocho Labor Law Firm)** Website: [www.노무법인서초.com](http://bit.ly/laborseocho) Blog: [https://blog.naver.com/cpla7582](https://bit.ly/laborseocho_blog) ![](https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/65a8b22dfde87aa48a159223_630db2c2b1a996c21fc5eb50_202202_labor_AD_fin.jpeg)