Mitra Korea'Sunday money' (주휴수당, weekly holiday pay): You still get it even if the company gave you less work and you did not reach 40 hours
주휴수당 (weekly holiday pay) is one extra day's pay. You get it when you go to work on every day set in your contract. If the company sends you home early because there is no work, that is not an absence, so you still get the full 주휴수당. For a 40-hour week, it is 82,560원 per week.
Quick summary
- Nepali workers call it "Sunday money". Its official name is 주휴수당 (weekly holiday pay). If you go to work on all the workdays set in your contract (소정근로일, contracted workdays) in one week, you get one day's pay for your day off too (usually Sunday).
- There are only two conditions: ① your contract says 15 hours or more of work per week, and ② you have perfect attendance (개근) on that week's contracted workdays.
- If the company sends you home early or gives you a day off because there is no work, that is not an absence. You still get the 주휴수당 for that week. For the hours you could not work, you also get a separate 휴업수당 (shutdown allowance) of 70%.
- Coming in late or leaving early still counts as going to work, so you still have perfect attendance. If you are sick and miss one day, you do not get 주휴수당 for that week. (If you use annual leave, that day counts as a workday.)
- With a 40-hour weekly contract, 주휴수당 is 8 hours × 10,320원 = 82,560원. A monthly salary of 2,156,880원 already includes it. With hourly or daily pay, you must get it as a separate payment.
- Under the law, the weekly paid day off does not apply to agriculture, livestock and fisheries. (If your contract includes it, follow the contract.)
When does this apply to you?
- Your contract uses hourly pay, and the company says "You did not reach 40 hours, so there is no Sunday money."
- The company has no work, makes you work only 5–6 hours a day, sends you home, and then takes away your 주휴수당.
- Your 급여명세서 (payslip) has no 주휴수당 line, or it shows 0원.
- Your contract has no "allowance (수당)" items at all.
- You are on a monthly salary, but the company "counts only the days you worked" and pays less than your monthly salary.
Conditions for getting 주휴수당
1. Contracted working hours of 15 hours or more per week 소정근로시간 (contracted working hours) means the hours written in your contract. It is not the hours you actually worked. If your contract says 40 hours a week (8 hours a day × 5 days), your contracted hours are 40 hours, even if the company made you work only 30 hours in some week. Most E-9 standard employment contracts are 40 hours a week or more, so almost everyone meets this condition.
2. Perfect attendance on that week's contracted workdays If you go to work on every day your contract says you work, you have perfect attendance.
- If you came to work, being late or leaving early still counts as perfect attendance.
- A day when the company said "No work today, go home" is not an absence, because you did not choose to stay away.
- A day when you used annual leave counts as a workday.
- A day when you were sick, only told the company, and did not go (unpaid absence) is an absence. You do not get 주휴수당 for that week. See Your pay when you are sick and take a day off.
How to calculate the amount
주휴수당 = contracted hours per day × hourly wage
| Contract | Contracted hours per day | Weekly 주휴수당 (2026 minimum hourly wage 10,320원) |
|---|---|---|
| 40 hours a week (8 hours × 5 days) | 8 hours | 82,560원 |
| 30 hours a week (6 hours × 5 days) | 6 hours | 61,920원 |
| 20 hours a week (4 hours × 5 days) | 4 hours | 41,280원 |
| 14 hours a week or less | – | None (under 15 hours) |
Even if your contracted hours are more than 8 hours a day, 주휴수당 is at most 8 hours' pay.
Monthly salary: 2,156,880원 per month is based on 209 hours. 209 hours = (40 hours a week + 8 hours of weekly holiday) × 52 weeks ÷ 12 months. So your monthly salary already includes 주휴수당. If you have a monthly salary contract and the company cuts your pay by saying "We only count the days you worked," that is not a 주휴수당 problem. It is a breach of your monthly salary contract. See The contract said monthly salary, but in Korea they pay by the hour.
Hourly or daily pay: On top of hours worked × hourly wage, the company must add 주휴수당 as a separate amount. Your 급여명세서 should have a "주휴수당" line. If it does not, the money is missing.
A week when the company gave you less work: you get two payments
Example: hourly wage 10,320원, contract of 8 hours a day × 5 days. This week, because of the company's situation, you worked only 5 hours each day and then went home.
| Item | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Pay for hours worked | 5 hours × 5 days × 10,320원 | 258,000원 |
| 휴업수당 (3 hours not worked × 5 days, 70%) | 15 hours × 10,320원 × 70% | 108,360원 |
| 주휴수당 (perfect attendance) | 8 hours × 10,320원 | 82,560원 |
| Weekly total (minimum) | 448,920원 |
To be exact, 휴업수당 is based on your average wage, so the amount may be a little different. But the structure is the same. "You did not reach 40 hours, so there is no Sunday money" is not correct, because you did not reach 40 hours due to the company's situation. See Shutdown allowance of 70% even if they send you home for no work and If your pay went down because the company gave you less work.
Steps: if you did not get it
- Check your 급여명세서. If you are on hourly pay and there is no 주휴수당 line, it is missing. If the company does not give you a payslip, ask for it by text message. See When they do not give you a payslip.
- Keep a record of your work hours. Every day, write down or take a photo of the time you start and finish work. On a day when the company sends you home early, send a text that same day, for example: "The boss said there is no work and told me to go home."
- Calculate the amount and ask for it by text message. "주휴수당 of ○○원 for month ○ is missing. Please pay it — 지급해 주세요 (jigeuphae juseyo)." Save the reply.
- If they do not pay, file a 임금체불 진정 (unpaid wage complaint). 주휴수당 is also wages. Follow How to report unpaid wages. You can claim up to 3 years back.
- If the company keeps breaking the contract, it can be a reason to change workplaces (the employer's fault). 고용센터 (Employment Center) decides.
What to prepare
- 근로계약서 (employment contract) — the part that shows your contracted working hours
- All your 급여명세서
- Records of your work hours (notes, photos, fingerprint or card records)
- Text or KakaoTalk messages from days when the company sent you home early
- Bank deposit records
Be careful
- "Your contract has no allowance items" is not a valid reason. 주휴수당 comes from the law. You get it even if it is not in your contract.
- 주휴수당 also applies at companies with fewer than 5 workers. See Rules for workplaces with fewer than 5 workers.
- Agriculture, livestock and fisheries are different. Under 근로기준법 (Labor Standards Act) Article 63, the holiday rules do not apply, so under the law there is no 주휴수당. If your contract says you have a paid holiday, you get it as the contract says. See Working conditions for E-9 workers in agriculture and livestock.
- In a week when you missed a day of work, the basic rule is that there is no 주휴수당. In this case, the company is right. If you ask to use annual leave before you miss the day, it may be counted as perfect attendance.
- Do not confuse 주휴수당 with "pay for working on Sunday." If you actually worked on Sunday (your weekly holiday), you get that day's pay + an extra 50% for holiday work, as a separate payment. See How to calculate overtime, night and holiday pay.
Frequently asked questions
Q. The company says, "If you work less than 40 hours a week, there is no 주휴수당." Is that right? A. The condition is not "40 hours." It is "15 hours or more in the contract + perfect attendance." If you did not reach 40 hours because of the company's situation, that is not your absence, so you still get 주휴수당.
Q. I work every Saturday too. Do I get 주휴수당 twice? A. No. The weekly holiday is 1 day per week. Saturday work is paid as overtime pay or holiday work pay, depending on your contract.
Q. My monthly salary is 2,156,880원. Where is the 주휴수당? A. It is included in that amount. About 35 of the 209 hours (8 hours a week × 52 weeks ÷ 12) are weekly holiday hours. With a monthly salary, you do not get it separately.
Q. I get daily pay (90,000원 per day). What about 주휴수당? A. Daily pay works the same as hourly pay. If you have perfect attendance for the week, you must get one more day's pay (for your contracted hours) as a separate payment. If the company says 주휴수당 is included in your daily pay, check that your contract says so and that your pay per hour is at least the minimum wage.
Where to get help
| Organization | Phone | What they help with |
|---|---|---|
| 고용노동부 (Ministry of Employment and Labor) Customer Center | 1350 | Calculating 주휴수당, unpaid wage complaints |
| 외국인력상담센터 (Foreign Worker Counseling Center) | 1577-0071 | Many languages including Nepali, 3-way calls, 365 days 09:00~18:00 (staff on duty on Saturdays and public holidays) |
| 대한법률구조공단 (Korea Legal Aid Corporation) | 132 | Free legal advice |
| My pay calculator | /ne/tools/pay | Calculate minimum wage and allowances |