[Edaily Reporter Yun Junghoon ] When does the workday begin? Is it the moment you walk through the company’s entrance, or the moment you sit down at your desk and log in to your work computer?

These seemingly trivial few minutes at the start of the workday have sparked an unexpected debate at LG Uplus(032640). When the company recently announced its criteria for the start of work and attendance management principles—specifying that the time of logging into the cloud PC would be considered the start of the workday—the labor union raised objections, arguing that “preparing for work is also working time.”

Passing Through the Gateway vs. Completing PC Login

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According to industry sources on the 29th, LG Corp. recently provided its employees with guidelines on attendance management standards. The company explained that the purpose was to once again clearly define the criteria for the start of the workday, which could be a source of confusion.

In response, the labor union expressed concern that the time of logging into the cloud PC could effectively be used as the standard for clocking in.

This is because even if an employee arrives at the office on time, a delay in logging in due to PC boot-up or cloud server issues could result in the employee being marked as late. In particular, the union points out the possibility that employees could be held responsible for issues related to company infrastructure, such as server updates or system failures.

An official from the LGU+ Democratic Branch argued, “The preparation time essential for performing company duties—including the process of logging in and booting up the PC—is an extension of work required to carry out the employer’s instructions and should therefore be considered working hours,” adding, “Shifting this responsibility onto the employee is a clear violation of the law and amounts to forcing employees to work for free.”

They also expressed concern that the practice of cross-checking entry logs with login records could lead to employee surveillance.

The company, however, explains that its intent is different. It claims this is a measure for attendance management designed to prevent certain instances, such as employees passing through the gate only to use the on-site cafeteria or leaving their workstations unattended while leaving their computers on.

The company stated, “We have provided guidelines in accordance with the staggered work hours and flexible work systems,” adding, “The intent is that employees must complete their work preparations before the official start time.”

An LGU+ union official said, “We are not denying the LG Corp.’s intent itself,” adding, “However, we are concerned that if the union does not raise these issues in advance, the policy could be implemented unilaterally in the future, potentially creating innocent victims.”

Case law focuses on “supervision and direction,” not “preparation time”

So, how does the court view this? The Supreme Court has ruled that the “time of arrival” and the “start of work” are not the same concept (Case No. 92Do1855). This means it is difficult to consider working hours to have begun simply because an employee has arrived at the company building or passed through the entrance gate.

The Supreme Court (2014Da74254, etc.) and administrative interpretations by the Ministry of Employment and Labor hold that even if an activity occurs before the start of work, it can be recognized as working hours if it is a preparatory act essential for performing the job and failure to perform it results in personnel or wage-related disadvantages.

In other words, the key issue is not the act of logging in itself, but whether the company effectively treats the completion of the login process as the benchmark for clocking in.

For example, if a company treats employees as late if they do not complete logging into the cloud PC by 9:00 a.m., employees must arrive earlier to turn on their computers and prepare for login in order to avoid adverse consequences. In this case, the preparation time is also highly likely to be recognized as working hours under the employer’s direction and supervision.

Conversely, the situation changes if the company uses the login time merely as a reference or refrains from imposing penalties by sufficiently accounting for system failures and connection delays. In such cases, the need to recognize the preparation time as working hours is relatively lower.

In other words, the key issue from the court’s perspective is not the time of passing through the gate or logging in, but whether the company effectively used that time as a standard for controlling employees’ arrival. If being late to log in results in being marked as late or facing disciplinary action, the preparatory time leading up to that point is more likely to be recognized as working hours; if not, the legal judgment may differ. In short, this lends more weight to the union’s argument.

Legal experts also advise that a “significant time difference” between the time of passing through the gate and the login time must be distinguished to determine whether work was actually performed.

Cho Seok-young, an attorney at Seorin Law Firm, explained, “Basically, if an employee arrives at the workplace by the start time specified in the employment contract or work rules, it can be presumed that work has begun.”

He continued, “If an employee passes through the gate at 8:59 a.m. and logs in around 9:05 a.m. by accessing their PC, it is reasonable to consider this a normal start to the workday.” However, he advised, “If the employee arrived early and spent personal time—such as using the company cafeteria—then whether actual work was performed must be examined; therefore, the actual circumstances between passing through the gate and logging in must be assessed on a case-by-case basis.”

The telecommunications industry is becoming more flexible… and the criteria for clocking in are changing

The industry views this controversy as a new challenge brought about by changes in the digital work environment.

In fact, it is reported that competing telecom companies, such as SKTelecom(017670)and KTCorporation(030200), recognize certain actions—such as the time of passing through the office access gate, connecting a work phone, or logging into a mobile collaboration system—as the start of the workday, depending on organizational and job-specific characteristics. However, operational practices vary by workplace and organization.

An industry official stated, “As flexible work arrangements become more established, mutual trust between labor and management and a stable work infrastructure will become more important than comparing minute-by-minute records,” adding, “Finding a balance between attendance management and the protection of working hours will be a key challenge for companies going forward.”