Annual Paid Leave Rights    

Right to request Annual Paid Leave
Annual Paid Leave is designed to maintain an efficient labor force and provide a civilized life through the spiritual and physical rest of employees who attended fully during the preceding year.  Accordingly, an employer shall grant 15 days of paid leave to an employee who has an attendance rate of 80 percent or higher in the preceding year.  (Article 60 (1) of the Labor Standards Act).  An employee is granted the right of Annual Paid Leave according to the attendance rate of the preceding year.

Right to request Annual Paid Leave allowance 
The right to request Annual Paid Leave allowance is the right to ask for paid leave when the employee uses Annual Paid Leave accrued as remuneration for work in the preceding year.  This Annual Paid Leave allowance is considered wages.

Right to request unused Annual Paid Leave allowance
The right to request unused Annual Paid Leave allowance is the right to ask for allowance of unused Annual Paid Leave for the number of unused Annual Paid Leave days, if the employee provided labor service without using Annual Paid Leave accured as remuneration for work for the previous year.  This right occurs after the right to request Annual Paid Leave expires.  There is also the right to ask for an allowance of unused Annual Paid Leave for the number of unused Annual Paid Leave days due to the termination of an employment contract, for example, with retirement.  However, when the employer takes measures to promote the use of Annual Paid Leave, the right to request unused Annual Paid Leave allowance expires.      

Calculating Annual Paid Leave
Annual Paid Leave shall be calculated from the starting day of actual labor service, such as the employment date, in principle, but can be provided in a collective manner during the fiscal year in order to promote convenience in labor management according to the Rules of Employment or the Collective Bargaining Agreement.  In this case, the right to request unused Annual Paid Leave allowance occurs on the first day of the year after the current year available to use Annual Paid Leave.

Substitution of Annual Paid Leave
The employer may, by a written agreement with the labor representative, have employees take a paid leave on a particular working day in substitution for an Annual Paid Leave.  The particular working day means a particular day among contractual working days required for labor duty.  Accordingly, the employer cannot substitute a paid leave pursuant to Article 60 of the LSA with contractual holiday and leave as well as statutory holiday and leave.

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