Inside my office, we don’t have any separate room for recess or rest and each worker takes their breaks at their own desk. Since customers frequently visit the office, it is not easy for workers to take their breaks comfortably without being disturbed, such as taking a nap during lunch. I heard that recent legal revisions have made it mandatory to install recess facilities at workplaces, so does that also apply to offices where there are only office workers?
According to Article 128-2 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which takes effect on August 18, 2022, employers must have recess facilities that workers can use during breaks. In particular, businesses or workplaces with at least 20 full-time workers are subject to fines if they do not meet the installation standards under the relevant laws or do not have recess facilities.
If the company does not install a recess facility, it may be fined up to KRW 15 million, while if the company does not comply with the installation and management standards such as size, location, temperature, and lighting, it may be fined up to KRW 10 million.
Recess facilities shall be installed by the employer, contractor, sub-contractor, contractor, and related contractor, who shall be obligated to comply with the installation and management standards. In addition, even if you work outside the contractor's workplace, if the facility or place is under the control of the contractor, the company shall install a recess facility as it is considered to be included in the "contractor's workplace.”
Employers using dispatched workers must install recess facilities for those workers and operate them so that dispatched workers used by contractors, sub-contractor, and related contractors can use them as well (Article 35 (1) of the Dispatch Workers Protection Act).
Since civil servants are also people who provide work for wage purposes, the provisions related to recess facilities under the Occupational Safety and Health Act apply to government employers as well as private-sector workers.
Even if a workplace is composed of only office workers, recess facilities according to the legal standards must be installed if there are at least 20 ordinarily employed workers. However, if the workers can rest without interference in the "work space" during their breaks, the company does not need to install separate rest facilities for office workers. This applies for when breaks can be strictly separated from work times. If the break is interrupted by phone calls or permission for visits by work-related people, a separate recess facility shall be installed.