"Leave Work Exactly 1 Minute Early on Thursdays"... Job Posting Sparks Controversy

Controversy Over "Sneaky" Job Postings to Avoid Weekly Holiday Allowance
Systemic Paradox Raised
Calls Grow for Reform

A cafe's job posting, which set the weekly working hours at "14 hours and 59 minutes" to avoid the requirement to pay weekly holiday allowance, has sparked controversy. By exploiting a loophole in the current system—where the payment of statutory allowances is determined by just a one-minute difference—the posting is drawing criticism as a "distorted split contract" intended to reduce labor costs.

The cafe's job posting specifies work conditions as three days a week, with Tuesday and Wednesday shifts from 1:30 PM to 6:30 PM, and Thursday until 6:29 PM. The Thursday shift was intentionally shortened by one minute to limit the total weekly working hours to less than 15 hours. Getty Images

Leaving Work at '6:29 PM' on Thursday by Cutting One Minute

On June 16, a cafe's job posting spread widely on social media. According to the posting, the work schedule is three days a week: Tuesday and Wednesday from 1:30 PM to 6:30 PM, and Thursday until 6:29 PM. The Thursday shift was intentionally shortened by one minute to keep the total weekly working hours below 15 hours.

Under the current Labor Standards Act, employers are required to pay a weekly holiday allowance to those who work 15 hours or more per week. This system guarantees at least one paid day off per week to workers who have worked all scheduled days, effectively providing them an extra day's wage. Based on this year's minimum wage, a worker who works 15 hours per week would receive an additional weekly holiday allowance of about 30,000 won per week.

Controversial Job Posting. Screenshot from Social Media

Online commentators have criticized this as a typical example of "splitting shifts." Comments included: "They might as well make you leave an hour earlier," "I wouldn't want to visit a place like that even as a customer," "It's so obvious, who would apply?" "You should never work somewhere like that," "You can already tell what kind of boss they are," and "I wonder if they are strict about leaving on time even when it's busy."

Rapid Increase in Ultra-Short-Time Workers Outside Employment Safety Nets

The real issue is that these "split-hour" job postings are becoming increasingly widespread. As employers adjust weekly working hours to less than 15 hours to reduce labor and associated costs, the number of so-called "ultra-short-time workers" is rapidly increasing.

Passengers who got off at Jamsil Station are leaving the ticket gate.

A worker who works 14 hours per week works only one hour less than someone who works 15 hours, but misses out on the weekly holiday allowance, resulting in a monthly income gap of about 150,000 to 190,000 won.

In addition, these workers are excluded from eligibility for paid annual leave and severance pay, and are also ineligible for major social insurance programs such as health insurance and the national pension, which further deepens polarization in the labor market.

Furthermore, employees working less than 15 hours a week are excluded from most employment safety nets except for industrial accident insurance. Employment insurance may also not be mandatory for those working less than three months, so concerns about job security continue to be raised.

System Paradox: "Protective Measures Create Blind Spots"

Experts point to the structural limitations of the current system as the root cause of this phenomenon. By only protecting workers who work a certain number of hours, the system actually encourages employers to "evade the threshold."

Citizens are hurrying on their way to work at the Gwanghwamun Intersection in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

In particular, the current weekly holiday allowance system was established when long, full-time work was the norm in past industrial environments, and is now seen as unsuited to the diversified employment types of today's labor market, where platform, short-term, and flexible work are common. Regulations intended to protect workers are paradoxically worsening job quality and creating more vulnerable workers—a phenomenon described as a "paradox." Accordingly, there are growing calls for a comprehensive review of the weekly holiday allowance system and for the urgent establishment of a flexible employment protection framework based on income.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.