Useful Info

Article 58 of the Labor Standards Act allows exceptions to the working hour restrictions stipulated in the Labor Standards Act for businesses with strong public interest, considering that strictly adhering to them could cause inconvenience or disruption to the general public's daily life or make it difficult to achieve business objectives. It permits extended work beyond the weekly 12 hours of overtime limited by Article 52, Paragraph 1 of the Labor Standards Act, or changes to rest periods under Article 53, under certain conditions. This is called the 'Special Exception for Working Hours and Rest Periods' or 'Special Exception Overtime.' To implement special exception overtime, the business must qualify as a target business specified in Article 58 of the Labor Standards Act, and a written agreement with the worker representative is essential.
The target businesses for special exception overtime are:
① Transportation services, goods sales and storage services, financial insurance services
② Film production and distribution services, telecommunications services, education research and survey services, advertising services
③ Medical and hygiene services, hospitality services, incineration and cleaning services, rental services
④ Social welfare services. The worker representative, who is the subject of the written agreement, refers to the labor union if there is a union organized by more than half of the workers in the business or workplace; if there is no such union, it refers to the person representing more than half of the workers.
While the content and scope of the written agreement are not specifically stipulated by law, since abuse of special exception overtime could significantly threaten workers' health and daily life,
① Reasons for overtime exceeding 12 hours per week or changing rest periods
② Daily overtime limit
③ Implementation period
④ Date of agreement establishment
⑤ Reasons for termination of the agreement, etc., should be specifically stated. The reasons for overtime exceeding 12 hours per week or changing rest periods should be limited to the minimum scope temporarily necessary, in light of the purpose of this system, from the perspective of public convenience or the nature of the work. Additionally, even if the special exception for working hours and rest periods applies, paid weekly holidays and monthly paid leave under the Labor Standards Act must still be provided, and premium wages must be paid for overtime, night work, and holiday work. On the other hand, young workers, pregnant workers, or workers engaged in hazardous or dangerous tasks are subject to separate restrictions on overtime, so overtime or rest period changes under the special exception for working hours and rest periods are not permitted.