연차휴가제도에 관한 연구

Abstract

근로관계에서의 휴식은 전통적으로 일간·주간 근로시간 규제를 통하여 소극적으로 확보되어 왔다. 그러나 최근 근로시간 탄력화·유연화 요구에 따른 ‘근로시간 규제의 완화’라는 입법 경향과 장시간 노동이 만연한 국내 현실에서는 ‘보편적인 최소 휴식’을 보장하기 위한 적극적인 휴식제도의 수립이 필요하다. 휴가는 일·주 단위 근로시간 규제를 통해 확보될 수 없는 비정기적인 휴식제도로서, 휴식의 일반적 원칙인 ‘자유로운 이용’의 보장과 함께 휴식 시기를 ‘근로자의 선택’으로 정할 수 있다는 데 그 특징이 있다. 그러나 휴가는 근로관계 존속 중에 사용자에 대하여 권리가 행사되어야 하기 때문에 노동관계법령에서 권리 행사 방법을 명확하게 보호할 필요가 있다. 특히 산전후휴가와 같은 보장적 성격의 휴가는 ‘법적 요건 사실의 증명’이라는 방식을 통하여 권리 행사가 명확한 반면, 그 목적에 제한이 없는 보상적 성격의 연차휴가는 휴가일수의 취득, 휴가권의 행사, 휴가 미사용과 금전보상까지 전반적인 내용에 관하여 명확하게 규정되어야만 실질적인 휴가권 행사가 가능하다. 한편 연차휴가에 관한 국제기준에서는 연차휴가를 ‘보편적 최소 휴식’으로 인식하고, 휴가의 취득과 행사를 보장적으로 규정하고 있음에 반해,「근로기준법」상 연차휴가는 ‘취득 요건’에 따른 보상적 휴가로 규정하고 있는데, 이는 ‘보편적 근로조건으로 근로자의 선택에 의한 휴식’이라는 연차휴가의 의의를 반영하는데 한계가 있다. 그러므로 연차휴가의 의의를 고려한「근로기준법」의 해석론적 검토를 바탕으로 입법적 보완이 이루어져야 한다. 1953년 제정「근로기준법」에서 ‘1년간의 개근’을 원칙으로 규정하였던 ‘출근 요건’은 현재 ‘8할 이상 출근’으로 규정되어 있다. 그러나 ‘8할 이상 출근’이란 요건이 ‘근로자의 기여도’를 실질적으로 판단할 수 있는 기준이라고 할 수 없다. 원래 ‘출근 요건’은 실질적으로 근로제공을 하지 않은 결근을 기준으로 ‘근로자의 기여도’를 판단하기 위한 것이지만, 현재 ‘8할’의 출근은 쟁의행위 기간, 휴직 기간, 징계 기간 등 특정 기간의 해석에 따라 좌우되고 있기 때문이다. 그러므로 연차휴가를 보편적 근로조건으로서 ‘근로관계 존속’에 대하여 부여하고자 하는 국제기준의 취지를 고려하여, ‘근로자 기여도 판단 기능’을 상실한 연차휴가 취득 요건을 폐지하고, 연차휴가 일수를 합리적으로 조정하는 것이 보편적 근로조건이라는 연차휴가의 의의에 부합된다. 연차휴가는 ‘근로자의 선택에 의한 휴식’으로, 근로자에게 휴가 시기의 주도권이 있다는 점에서 다른 휴가 및 휴식제도들과 구분된다.「근로기준법」은 사용자의 시기변경권을 ‘사업운영에 막대한 지장이 있는 경우’로 제한하고 있지만, 그 실효성을 담보하기 위한 규정이 없기 때문에 사용자의 위법한 출근지시와 시기변경권의 행사를 사법심사 이전 단계에서 구별할 수 없다. 그러므로 시기변경권을 서면으로 행사하도록 규정하는 등 그 형식과 절차에 대한 제한이 필요하다. 그리고 시기변경권의 사유가 ‘사업’, ‘막대한 지장’과 같이 정확한 개념과 범위를 확정하기 어려운 표현들로 구성되어 있어 자의적인 해석이 발생할 가능성이 있다. 따라서 ‘경영상의 필요’ 내지 ‘경영상의 긴급성’과 같이 그 범위와 한계가 분명하게 나타날 수 있는 방향으로 입법적인 개선이 필요하다. 연차휴가에 관한 판례는 연차휴가 취득 요건을 충족함으로써 근로면제에 대한 휴가청구권과 휴가일의 임금에 대한 임금청구권이 발생한다고 하는 이중의 권리로 논리를 구성하고 있다. 그러나 연차휴가가 본질적으로 휴가권과 임금청구권으로 구분된다고 하는 판례 법리는「근로기준법」상 규정과 부합되지 않으므로, 현행「근로기준법」의 제도인 ‘연차휴가 사용촉진제도’를 중심으로 한 연차휴가와 임금 법리가 구축되어야 한다. 더 나아가 연차휴가가 실질적인 휴식으로 활용되기 위해서는 국제기준과 같이 ‘금전으로 환가될 수 없는 권리’라는 점에 근거하여 연차휴가 금전보상을 제한하는 입법적 개선이 필요하다. 그리고 이러한 입법적 개선을 바탕으로 하여 ‘유상근로의 종사’와 같이 사실상의 금전보상과 동가치로 평가될 수 있는 행위를 제한하는 입법적 보완을 통해, ‘휴식으로서의 연차휴가’라는 취지를 반영할 수 있는 방향으로 나아가야 할 것이다.|The traditional method to ensure rest in employment is the regulation of working hours. However, it has become useless ways in modern industrial societies, on account of the flexible working hour systems introduced to increase efficiency in an workforce by adjusting the length of working time according to seasonal, monthly, or daily fluctuations in a heavy workload. In these circumstances, it is necessary to re-examining legal rights in 'Rest System' and to find a way to improve legislative means. Annual Leave is a part of 'Rest System' in employment relations including break, daily rest and weekly rest and so on. The best feature of the annual leave is paid time for rest to be granted for time-decision initiative to a employee. But the Employment Standard Act(ESA) in Korea provides requirement of annual leave entitlement, this legislative system is very unique compared with international labour standard and EU directive, and other countries. In addition, annual leave in the ESA states that it should be gradually increased in proportion to the number of years of continuous service. These compensatory legal requirement in annual leave makes it especially hard to be interpreted as general working condition protected by law to establish minimum rest periods to secure "the dignity of human" in employment relations. ESA shall grant 15 days of paid leave to an employee who has a workplace attendance rate of 80 percent or higher over the preceding year. When an employee has not used the leave days saved within the year, he/she shall be paid for the unused days of leave at average or ordinary wages, as prescribed in the rules of employment. However, if the employees have not used their annual leave despite the employer strongly promoting use of annual leave, the employer is exempted from the obligation to provide monetary compensation for the unused annual leave. This legislative regulation seems to consider annual leave in connection with compensatory rewards, but the legal nature of annual leave is irreplaceable right into compensation to ensure general rest in employment relations. So as to confirm legal significance of annual leave, it requires to be interpret in deference to the characteristic of annual leave and to reform the rule of the right to annual leave in ESA relating to legal requirement and compensation. I think the requirement of annual leave in ESA should be abolished preferentially to resolve complex interpretation of acquirement to annual leave in the light of its nature. It is necessary to be regulated in ultimately that the minimum period of paid annual leave may not be replaced by an allowance in lieu, except where the employment relationship is terminated. An employer shall grant his/her employee annual leave on the days that the employee wants to use his/her annual leave. However, when the employer believes that allowing the use of annual leave on the days wanted would go 'great harm' to his/her business, he/she shall reschedule the timing of annual leave. An employer may have his/her employee take a day off on an particular working day in lieu of an annual leave day with pay, as long as he/she and the employee representative have reached a written agreement to do so. In principle, a employer can not control employee's intention for taking leave, but in fact, "Permission" or "Approval" to annual leave is in general use in workplace rules. To reinforce effectiveness of regulation of employee's claim for annual leave, it bring a legal system that an employer who want to reschedule the timing of annual leave should give a written notice as to the cause of it, the duration of prohibition, etc. This reinforcement of time-decision initiative will promote to come into annual leave as actual rest.; The traditional method to ensure rest in employment is the regulation of working hours. However, it has become useless ways in modern industrial societies, on account of the flexible working hour systems introduced to increase efficiency in an workforce by adjusting the length of working time according to seasonal, monthly, or daily fluctuations in a heavy workload. In these circumstances, it is necessary to re-examining legal rights in 'Rest System' and to find a way to improve legislative means. Annual Leave is a part of 'Rest System' in employment relations including break, daily rest and weekly rest and so on. The best feature of the annual leave is paid time for rest to be granted for time-decision initiative to a employee. But the Employment Standard Act(ESA) in Korea provides requirement of annual leave entitlement, this legislative system is very unique compared with international labour standard and EU directive, and other countries. In addition, annual leave in the ESA states that it should be gradually increased in proportion to the number of years of continuous service. These compensatory legal requirement in annual leave makes it especially hard to be interpreted as general working condition protected by law to establish minimum rest periods to secure "the dignity of human" in employment relations. ESA shall grant 15 days of paid leave to an employee who has a workplace attendance rate of 80 percent or higher over the preceding year. When an employee has not used the leave days saved within the year, he/she shall be paid for the unused days of leave at average or ordinary wages, as prescribed in the rules of employment. However, if the employees have not used their annual leave despite the employer strongly promoting use of annual leave, the employer is exempted from the obligation to provide monetary compensation for the unused annual leave. This legislative regulation seems to consider annual leave in connection with compensatory rewards, but the legal nature of annual leave is irreplaceable right into compensation to ensure general rest in employment relations. So as to confirm legal significance of annual leave, it requires to be interpret in deference to the characteristic of annual leave and to reform the rule of the right to annual leave in ESA relating to legal requirement and compensation. I think the requirement of annual leave in ESA should be abolished preferentially to resolve complex interpretation of acquirement to annual leave in the light of its nature. It is necessary to be regulated in ultimately that the minimum period of paid annual leave may not be replaced by an allowance in lieu, except where the employment relationship is terminated. An employer shall grant his/her employee annual leave on the days that the employee wants to use his/her annual leave. However, when the employer believes that allowing the use of annual leave on the days wanted would go 'great harm' to his/her business, he/she shall reschedule the timing of annual leave. An employer may have his/her employee take a day off on an particular working day in lieu of an annual leave day with pay, as long as he/she and the employee representative have reached a written agreement to do so. In principle, a employer can not control employee's intention for taking leave, but in fact, "Permission" or "Approval" to annual leave is in general use in workplace rules. To reinforce effectiveness of regulation of employee's claim for annual leave, it bring a legal system that an employer who want to reschedule the timing of annual leave should give a written notice as to the cause of it, the duration of prohibition, etc. This reinforcement of time-decision initiative will promote to come into annual leave as actual rest.