What should you compare after a shutdown notice?
A request from your employer to stay home does not make a simple percentage of monthly take-home pay the correct allowance calculation.
Article 46 of the Korean Labor Standards Act uses average wage and ordinary wage, with employer responsibility and workplace coverage checked first.
This Korea-specific 2026 calculator helps employees and households prepare a payroll inquiry and understand the general reference amount for full-day shutdowns.
Enter verified daily wages, eligible full days and shutdown allowance already paid for those days.
The calculation shows the average-wage adjustment, the 70% amount, the ordinary-wage alternative, the period total and any shortfall.
It is a comparison under your stated assumptions, not a payment order, an adjudicated arrears amount or an approval of eligibility.
Check coverage before using the amount
Within the general calculation
The workplace has at least five regular employees, the person is an employee and neither the family-only business nor domestic-worker exclusion applies.
The shutdown is attributable to the employer and consists of full days.
There is no Commission reduction approval or partial wage payment, and the wage bases and eligible days have been verified.
Cases needing further review
An unconfirmed condition or a case outside that scope withholds the monetary result.
A withheld result is not a finding of zero entitlement.
Contractual payment terms or other wage-claim grounds may still matter even when this general Article 46 comparison cannot be used.
Regular employee count is not the number who attended work on the shutdown date.
Use the legally assessed count based on workplace records.
The tool does not classify employer responsibility from labels such as falling sales or equipment problems; the underlying facts and employment relationship need review.
Prepare comparable daily wage figures
Average daily wage from records
Article 2(1)(6) generally divides wages paid during the three months before the calculation event by the total days in that period.
The provision also addresses employment lasting less than three months.
Total days are not simply days attended, and Decree Article 2 requires review of excluded periods and the wages paid during them.
Do not substitute three payslips of net take-home pay for a verified gross-wage calculation.
Verified ordinary daily wage
Ordinary wage requires review of compensation for contractual work and regular, uniform payment conditions.
Decree Article 6 converts the hourly ordinary wage into a daily amount using the applicable daily contractual hours.
Do not automatically divide monthly salary by 30.
Use the ordinary hourly wage calculator and payroll records to review the inputs where needed.
Employer-attributable shutdown, maternity leave and occupational injury or illness leave can affect the average-wage reference period.
Avoid excluding a period without also reviewing its wages, or excluding wages without the corresponding period.
This tool does not reconstruct individual wage components or excluded dates: it compares daily amounts you have already checked for the same worker and conditions.
Average-wage adjustment and the ordinary-wage alternative
Calculation sequence
- With entered average daily wage A and ordinary daily wage O, adjusted average B = max(A, O).
- Calculate H = B × 0.7, or 70% of the adjusted average.
- The general daily reference is min(H, O).
The ordinary-wage alternative applies when H exceeds O.
- Period reference total = daily reference × verified full shutdown days D.
- Shortfall = max(period reference total − shutdown allowance already paid P, 0).
Article 2(2) requires ordinary wage to be used as average wage when the calculated average is lower.
Multiplying the original low average by 70% would therefore understate this comparison.
The result separately shows the entered average, adjusted average and uplift.
Article 46 normally requires at least 70% of average wage and permits ordinary wage as the alternative when that 70% amount exceeds ordinary wage.
Ordinary wage is not an absolute maximum payment.
A more favorable contract, collective agreement or workplace rule requires separate review, and this general minimum reference does not justify reducing an agreed payment.
Paid shutdown allowance is different from partial wages
The paid-allowance field accepts only shutdown allowance attributable to the same days being compared.
Do not include wages for days actually worked, industrial injury benefits, unemployment benefits or retention subsidies paid to an employer.
If a bank transfer does not identify the payment clearly, ask payroll for its classification and period.
Separate Decree Article 26 calculation
When part of the wages for an employer-attributable shutdown period has been paid, the decree calls for review of at least 70% of average wage minus the wages already paid: (average wage − partial wages) × 70%.
Under the ordinary-wage alternative, the reference is ordinary wage minus wages paid during the shutdown period.
This is different from subtracting partial wages from a previously calculated 70% allowance.
The present calculator therefore withholds these cases for separate review.
The amount paid above the reference is only a comparison with the general benchmark.
It does not establish a repayment obligation or unjust enrichment.
A more favorable agreement or a different payment purpose may explain the difference.
Step-by-step use
- Prepare the shutdown notice and employment contract, then answer the six scope questions.
Leave uncertain answers as Unknown to see what needs checking.
- Enter the verified regular employee count and daily average and ordinary wages.
The maximum input values are software limits, not legal wage caps.
- Enter eligible full days and shutdown allowance already paid for those days.
Confirm how paid holidays are treated; do not assume all calendar dates or scheduled workdays automatically qualify.
- Review the adjustment, comparison branch, total and shortfall.
Empty or out-of-range numeric fields must be corrected before calculation.
- Save the TXT review or print it, then compare it with the employer’s records.
The completed-inquiry checkbox is self-reported and does not contact anyone or submit a claim.
Four worked examples
Illustrative five-day shutdown allowance comparisons, all amounts in KRW| Case | Average/day | Ordinary/day | Paid | Total | Shortfall |
|---|
| Ordinary alternative | 100,000 | 60,000 | 200,000 | 300,000 | 100,000 |
| 70% average | 100,000 | 80,000 | 200,000 | 350,000 | 150,000 |
| Average adjusted | 50,000 | 80,000 | 0 | 280,000 | 280,000 |
| Equal daily figures | 100,000 | 70,000 | 400,000 | 350,000 | 0 |
All four cases assume five eligible full shutdown days and confirmed general coverage at a workplace with at least five regular employees.
In the first, 70% of KRW 100,000 is KRW 70,000, which exceeds the ordinary daily wage of KRW 60,000.
The period reference is KRW 300,000 and the shortfall after KRW 200,000 already paid is KRW 100,000.
In the third case, the entered average of KRW 50,000 is raised to the ordinary wage of KRW 80,000 before applying 70%.
The daily reference is KRW 56,000 and the total is KRW 280,000.
In the last case the daily figures tie; KRW 400,000 paid exceeds the KRW 350,000 reference by KRW 50,000, so the shortfall is zero.
Calculations use no intermediate rounding, and display amounts are rounded to at most two decimals without assuming a statutory payroll rounding rule.
Use the comparison for a specific decision
Preparing household cash flow
Compare the reference amount as the number of eligible days changes, but confirm the actual payment date and amount with the employer.
The result is before deductions and does not calculate tax or social insurance.
If daily wage conditions vary, review each period with consistent conditions separately.
Checking a payroll discrepancy
Identify whether a difference comes from the average-wage denominator, ordinary-wage components, eligible days or payment classification.
Provide the inputs and supporting records with the amount so payroll can compare like with like.
Where facts are disputed, the displayed shortfall is not an established arrears claim.
Limits and practical cautions
- Do not round a partial shutdown day up to one or enter an arbitrary fraction.
Work performed and wages paid during that day need a separate calculation.
- Commission approval requires review of the actual decision, scope and period.
Financial difficulty alone does not mean a reduction has been approved.
- Voluntary unpaid leave, employee-status disputes, resignation, employer responsibility and civil-law wage claims are not automatically decided.
The title of an employer notice alone is insufficient.
- Industrial injury shutdown benefits and employer retention subsidies have different purposes and recipients.
This result is neither their application amount nor an eligibility approval.
Entering zero eligible days produces a zero period reference only when all scope conditions are confirmed.
It does not establish that no actual shutdown occurred.
Keep this distinct from a withheld result, where no monetary conclusion is made.
If the records change, save a new report and compare its assumptions with the earlier version.
Frequently asked questions
Is 70% of monthly salary enough?
Compare verified average and ordinary daily wages.
A simple percentage of monthly or take-home pay can give a different answer.
What if average wage is lower than ordinary wage?
Article 2(2) raises the average to ordinary wage before the 70% calculation.
The result shows the input and the adjustment.
Is ordinary wage the maximum payment?
No.
It is an alternative within the general Article 46 minimum reference.
Review more favorable agreements and other wage-claim grounds separately.
Can I enter partial wages as allowance already paid?
No.
Decree Article 26 may require a different calculation.
Select the partial-wage condition and confirm the payment classification first.
Does a four-person workplace mean no payment rights?
It is outside this general shutdown-allowance calculation.
That does not rule out contractual wages or other grounds.
Should Saturdays and paid holidays count?
Verify eligible days using the contract and shutdown circumstances.
The tool does not automatically treat all calendar dates or scheduled working days alike.
How is Commission approval reflected?
Existing or unknown reduction approval withholds the result.
Check the decision’s covered employees, period and payment terms separately.
Does saving the report send it to my employer?
No.
The file is saved to your device for printing or your own delivery.
The inquiry checkbox records only what you mark after contacting the employer.
Official sources and rule dates
This South Korea 2026 calculation was checked on September 30, 2026 through the National Law Information OPEN API.
The current Labor Standards Act is MST 283457, Act No. 21373, effective August 20, 2026.
Its Enforcement Decree is MST 270551, Presidential Decree No. 35436, effective October 23, 2025.
- Labor Standards Act Article 46: 70% reference, ordinary-wage alternative and Commission reduction approval
- Article 2 and Article 11: average-wage adjustment and coverage
- Decree Article 2, Article 6 and Annex 1: exclusions, daily conversion and provisions for workplaces with four or fewer regular employees
- Decree Article 26: partial wage payments during shutdown
- Ministry of Employment and Labor shutdown guidance and average-wage guidance
Recheck the rules when legislation or ordinary-wage interpretation changes.
Wage components, eligible days, partial wages, reduction approval and more favorable agreements remain dependent on individual records.
Bring both the figures and the assumptions
Prepare the average-wage calculation, shutdown notice and payment records, then enter values for the same period.
Record the adjustment and comparison branch alongside the shortfall to make the employer inquiry specific.
Leave uncertain facts unconfirmed and use the saved review with supporting documents when discussing the calculation with payroll or a labor adviser.
Review the inputs and shutdown allowance comparison