Annual leave by the hour — effective 10 June 2027 | scope set by decree
From 10 June 2027, workers can split statutory paid annual leave into hourly units. If a worker requests it split by the hour, the employer must grant it. This is a new statutory right, and the hourly unit and the share of days it can cover are left to a presidential decree. How the leave days themselves are calculated does not change: 15 days for a year with 80%-or-more attendance, same as now.
Conditions used in the video
- Effective date
- 2027-06-10
- What changes
- the unit for taking leave, days → hours
- Leave days
- 15 days for a year with 80%+ attendance (unchanged)
- Hourly unit and day-range
- set by presidential decree (not yet issued)
- Covered workplaces
- 5 or more regular employees
Results
- Effective date
- 10 June 2027
- Unit used
- days → hours
- Leave days
- 15 days, unchanged
- Hourly unit and day-range
- set by the decree
- Coverage
- workplaces with 5+ regular employees
Why it works this way
Right now, annual leave is taken in whole days. Half-days or hourly leave are not in the statute, so without company policy allowing it a worker cannot take it. Where companies have allowed it, that has been a company benefit, not a statutory right.
From 10 June 2027, that becomes a statutory right. A new Article 60(5) is added to the Labor Standards Act: if a worker requests leave split into hourly units, the employer must grant it.
Labor Standards Act Article 60(5) (new, effective 2027-06-10).
- Leave days15 days for a year with 80%+ attendance (unchanged)
- Unit useddays → requested split into hourly units
- Hourly unit and day-rangeset by presidential decree
Leave is not increasing. The same 15 days can now be taken in smaller pieces.
How leave days are calculated does not change. A year with 80%-or-more attendance still gives 15 days. Only the unit used to take it gets smaller.
The article does not fix how many hours make up a unit, or how many of the 15 days can be taken by the hour. That is delegated to a presidential decree, and it is only confirmed once the decree is issued. This page updates when the decree appears.
Labor Standards Act Article 11(1).
- Workplaces with 5+ regular employeesannual leave (Art. 60) applies → hourly split also applies
- Workplaces with under 5 regular employeesthe annual leave article itself does not apply
Since annual leave itself is a rule for workplaces of 5 or more, the hourly split only matters within that same scope.
This video and explainer cover a rule that has been promulgated but is not yet in force. Details may change through decrees or notices, and the effective date could shift.
In short: from 10 June 2027, taking annual leave by the hour becomes a statutory right, the 15 days of leave stay the same, and the hourly unit and day-range are set by the decree.
The legal basis
Drawn from government announcements and the statutes themselves as primary sources, covering only the relevant part.
Labor Standards Act Article 60(5) (new, hourly split of paid annual leave)
In force Effective 2027-06-10
If a worker requests paid annual leave split into the hourly unit and within the range of days set by presidential decree, the employer must grant it.
What this means
🔴 Hourly leave that used to depend on company permission becomes a statutory right. The hourly unit and how many days it can cover are left to the decree.
Labor Standards Act Article 60(1) (paid annual leave)
In force In force
An employer must grant 15 days of paid leave to a worker who has attended 80 percent or more of the year.
What this means
This provision does not change. Leave days stay at 15; only the unit used to take it splits.
Labor Standards Act Article 11(1) (scope)
In force In force
This Act applies to any business or workplace regularly employing 5 or more workers.
What this means
Since the annual leave article applies to workplaces of 5 or more, the hourly split applies there too.
Run it on your own numbers
The calculator opens with these conditions already filled in. Change the figures and your own case comes straight out.
Open the Overtime, Night & Holiday Pay, Annual Leave
Frequently asked
Does annual leave increase?
No. How leave days are calculated does not change. A year with 80%-or-more attendance still gives 15 days; only the unit used to take it moves from days to hours.
How many hours make up a unit?
The article does not say. The hourly unit and the range of days are delegated to a presidential decree, and it is only confirmed once that decree is issued.
Can all 15 days be taken by the hour?
The range of days that can be split into hourly units is also set by the decree. Whether it covers all 15 days or only part of them will only be known once the decree is out.
My company already gives half-days. Does anything change?
Today's half-day is a company policy. From 10 June 2027, a worker's request to split leave by the hour becomes a statutory right the employer must grant, so it applies within the decree's range even without company permission.
Does this apply to workplaces with under 5 employees?
The paid annual leave article (Art. 60) applies to workplaces with 5 or more regular employees (Art. 11(1)). Under 5, annual leave itself is not a statutory duty, so the hourly split does not apply either.
Results are estimates based on the inputs and on the rules as at the stated date. They may differ from a lender's actual assessment, and the rules change often. Take professional advice before any decision that matters.