After the “Five-Day Work Week” plan has been amended, the explanation for rest-day working hours and exchanging rest-day overtime pay for compensatory leaves has come out and taken effect on May 3. For employees exchanging rest-day overtime pay for compensatory leaves, the employers and employees may, without damaging the labor interests and without affecting the employers’ human factors, negotiate for the standards for exchange.

After the “Five-Day Work Week” plan has taken effect, the rest-day overtime pay has increased significantly. However, in the past when employees worked on holidays, employers usually exchanged one compensatory leave for the overtime pay. In the future, after the rest-day overtime pay has increased, it is not proportional if one working rest day exchanges for one compensatory leave. According to the new explanation released today by the Ministry of Labor of the Republic of China (Taiwan), paying the overtime pay on the rest day is the employer’s legal obligation. But, the employer and the employee may, without damaging the labor interests and without affecting the employer’s human factors, agree on the standards for exchange.

According to the explanation, if the employer unilaterally asks the employee to only exchange the rest-day overtime for compensatory leave, it violates the rules of the Labor Standards Act.

The Ministry of Labor has explained that according to the spirit of the explanation, in principle, working overtime on rest days must be based on employer paying the overtime pay. Only under the agreement of the employee that the overtime pay can be exchanged for a compensatory leave. Whether the exchanging standards are 1-day-to-1-day or 1-day-to-2-days, it can be agreed between the employer and the employee. If the employee believes that the exchanging ratio is unreasonable, the employee can refuse to exchange, and as a result, according to law the employer will need to pay the overtime pay.