This month, I have been late, left early, and gone out four times for personal reasons. If I combine all the missed work time, it will be over 8 hours. I have never been absent. But when I received my monthly salary, I was paid less. I contacted the company and was told that all the hours for being late, leaving early, and going out were unpaid. In addition, since the missed work hours totaled more than 8 hours, one weekly holiday allowance was not paid. I know that you can receive a weekly holiday allowance if you have perfect attendance. If I am late or leave early, does it affect my attendance?
Workers are entitled to one or more “paid” holidays per week and must have perfect attendance in contractual working days that week. Wages paid for weekly holidays are often referred to as “weekly holiday allowances.” Perfect attendance is a condition for being paid, not for having a weekly day off.
When judging “perfect attendance” of a contractual work day, while the worker did not work the entire contractual work hours due to being late, leaving early, going out, etc., if the worker went to work and provided labor each day, it cannot be treated as being absent. Therefore, the Ministry of Employment and Labor has interpreted that treating three times of being late, leaving early, or going out as one day of absence and disadvantaging the employee in terms of weekly or annual paid leave is unfair.
Another example regarding whether the employer has to pay the paid holiday allowance if the worker’s combined hours of being late or going out exceed 8 hours and are treated as one day of absence, Article 55 of the Labor Standards Act and Article 30 of the Enforcement Decree of the same Act stipulate that an employer must grant one paid holiday for a worker who has had “perfect attendance” (completed the contractual working days) for one week. Here “perfect attendance” means not being absent on a contractual working day. Therefore, even if the combined hours of lateness or going out equal 8 hours, they do not equate an absence.
Therefore, even if the time away from work (due to being late, leaving early or going out) mentioned in the question exceeds 8 hours, the employer cannot treat the 8 hours as one absence and reduce or deduct the weekly holiday allowance.