Mitra KoreaIf You Are Made to Work During Lunch Break: Time You Could Not Rest Is Time You Worked
If you work 8 hours, you must get 1 hour to rest freely. If you were made to work during your break, you can get paid for that time.
Quick summary
- If you work 4 hours, you must rest at least 30 minutes. If you work 8 hours, you must rest at least 1 hour.
- Your break must be given in the middle of your work. It is not given after work ends.
- You use your break freely. If you must answer the phone, watch a machine, or go right away when called, it may not be a real break.
- Time you worked without rest is calculated as time you worked, and you can get paid for it.
- This rule also applies to workplaces with fewer than 5 workers. For farms, livestock barns and fish farms, look at your contract (근로계약서, employment contract) instead of this law.
When does this apply?
- You watch a machine while you eat.
- Your lunch break is only 15 minutes, but your pay slip (급여명세서) counts it as a 1-hour rest.
- Even during your break, you must receive goods right away when they arrive.
- Your contract says 2 hours of rest, but you can almost never rest.
How much money you lose
In this example, you agreed to work 8 hours a day and rest 1 hour, but you kept working during the break. The time you really worked is 9 hours. This calculation is for a factory with 5 or more workers, at the 2026 minimum wage of 10,320원 per hour.
- 1 missing hour × 15,480원 (1.5 times the hourly wage) = 15,480원 per day
- For 22 days in a month: 340,560원
Workplaces with fewer than 5 workers do not pay the extra rate. So it is 10,320원 for 1 hour, or 227,040원 for 22 days.
What to do
- Check the break time in your contract. See what time it starts and what time it ends.
- Write down the time you really rested. Write the date, start time, end time, and the work you were told to do during that time.
- Collect evidence. Keep photos of you working during the break (the time must be visible), text messages from your manager, work orders, and the names of coworkers.
- Ask by text message. "Please let me rest during my break time, 12:00 to 13:00. Please pay me for the time I worked."
- If nothing changes, call 1350 for advice. For money you did not receive, you can file a report of unpaid wages.
Be careful
- Even if it is written as "break time," what really happens is what matters. If you wait for orders and cannot leave your place, that waiting time can be accepted as working hours. The local office of the Ministry of Employment and Labor (고용노동관서) makes this decision.
- Time you rest back in the dormitory is different. If you really rested freely, it is not time you worked. Do not write down more time than is true.
- Farms and livestock barns are different. Under 근로기준법 (Labor Standards Act) Article 63, the break rules do not apply. But if you worked during the break time written in your contract, you can still ask for that time to be counted as time you worked. See E-9 workers on farms and livestock barns.
- This is also about safety. If it is dangerous because you cannot rest, see Workplace safety.
Frequently asked questions
Q. Can my employer split my break into small parts? A. The law sets the total time and says the break must be "during working hours." But if the parts are so small that you cannot rest, ask 1350.
Q. My employer says they will let me finish early, but will remove my break. A. Breaks must be given in the middle of work. Moving the break to after work does not follow the rule.
Q. I am afraid to speak up. A. You can start by only collecting records. Your employer must not treat you badly because you made a report. See If your boss harasses you after you report.
Where to get help
- 고용노동부 (Ministry of Employment and Labor) customer counseling 1350
- 외국인력상담센터 (Foreign Workforce Counseling Center) 1577-0071 (Nepali available, 365 days, 09:00~18:00)