일본의 일하는 방식의 개혁과 근로시간법개혁

In Japan, the Action Plan for the Realization of Work Style Reform includes a measure to regulate working hours that was not included in discussions on revision of the Labor Standards Act in 2015. The purpose of this action plan is to regulate maximum overtime hours and intervals between periods of work. The Japanese action plan calls for repealing the maximum working hours per day and securing the interval system between periods of work. Under the current Labor Standards Act, working hours are still under strict regulations. Current rigid working hours do not account for digitization of labor. The regulation requiring eight working hours per day is the main issue. The European directive (Art. 6 RL 2003/88/EG) dictates that the average working time for each seven-day period should not exceed 48 hours, and stipulates a minimum rest time of 11 consecutive hours per 24-hour period. Following this example, any new working hours laws in Korea, rather than removing limits on maximum hours, should introduce minimum consecutive rest hours. Flexible working hours systems can be found in Germany, France, and Japan. Japan introduced a ‘high-level professional system’ that pays according to performance rather than hours worked. The Japanese system mimics the white-collar exemption system used in the U.S. Thus measures to lessen working time or to restrain prolonged work should also be considered in Korea; for instance, implementing a leave system that accumulates working hours; growing the flexible working hours system (from two weeks to one month and from three months to one year); and introducing a white-collar exemption system (such as the high-level professional system used in Japan). As employment types diversify, existing working hours regulations will not be able to keep up with changes in the labor market. Therefore, it will be necessary to develop a flexible working time system so as to build robust contracts suitable for individual workers personalities and job performances.