| ** labor law for foreigners |
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contact PETER,- no. 156 consultant,
if you need english speaking labour specialist
call 060 600 7889
after narration, press 2 and then press 156
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1. Insolvency payment
- Insolvency payment is money that the government pays on behalf of the employer for overdue wage of employees whose employment has ended due to company bankruptcy on the condition that the government is reimbursed later by the employer.
2. Unemployment benefits
- Unemployment benefits are paid to unemployed persons who satisfy the following criteria;
① employees who had to leave a job involuntarily for reasons such as dismissal for managerial reasons, expiration of contract period.
② unemployed person who are actively seeking to become reemployed
- The unemployment benefit is 60% of the average wage prior to separation within the range of 120 to 270 days in accordance with the age and insured period.
3. Paid weekly holiday
- An employer shall grant a weekly holiday with pay at least once a week on average, provided that the employee concerned has worked all of the contractual working day for the preceding week. It is advisable that weekly holidays should be stated in the rules of employment or other forms of company rules.
4. Minimum wage(9,160won/hour, 1,914,440won/month in 2022.)
- The minimum wage system is the nation intervening in the decision-making process between employer and employee, designed to protect employee earning low wage by stipulating and legally requiring employers to pay minimum wage levels or higher. According to the current minimum wage system in Korea, one minimum wage is applied at all workplaces, without distinction as to the type of industry or region, and all employers are obligated to pay at least minimun wage. The minimum wage act also apply to foreign workers.
5. Average wage
- Average wage mean the actual wage paid for actual work provided and calculated into the daily wage rate. Average wage is the amount calculated by dividing the total amount of wage paid to the relevant worker during three calendar months prior to the date of calculation by the total number of calendar days during those three calendar months.
6. Ordinary wage
- Ordinary wage means hourly wage, daily wage, weekly wage, monthly wage, or subcontract wage determined to be paid in periodic or lump sums to the worker for prescribed or whole labor. It is determined to be paid periodically and uniformly within a specific period, regardless of the number of actual work provisions or the amount received as remuneration for quality or quantity of the labor.
7. Severance pay system
- The Labor Standards Act is applicable to foreign migrant employees, unless there are special reasons otherwise. Accordingly, the rules of severance pay apply to illegal migrant employees. The employee shall serve continuously for at least one year. Severance pay shall be 30 days or more of average wage for each year of consecutive service.
8. Unfair dismissal
- When a worker, without justifiable cause, is dismissed, laid off, suspended, transferred has his/her wages reduced or receive any other punitive action, he/she may request remedial action from the Labor Relations Commission(LRC). Such applications for remedy shall be made within 3 months from the date of the allegedly unfair act in question. If the LRC determines the dismissal is unfair, it may order the employer concerned to restore the dismissed worker to the previous job or pay monetary compensation to the worker.
9. Workplace harassment
- Under the existing legal system, the measures that a victim of harassment in the workplace could take against an employer include ① submitting a claim for damages based on liability of the perpetrator of the illegal acts, ② begin a suit for damages, or ③ submitting a complaint to the National Human Rights Commission.
10. Prohibition against discrimination
- As foreign workers have the right to a decent work environment, the same labor standards apply to them as to Korean workers. Discrimination against foreign workers, visiting overseas Korean workers, and illegal workers without Korean nationality may occur. Discrimination based on nationality shall fall under the provision in Article 6 of the Labor Standards Act, “No discriminatory treatment of working conditions on the grounds of nationality shall be made” and related penalties.
11. Sexual harassment
- “Sexual harassment at work” refers to a situation where an employer, a senior, or an employee sexually humiliates or offends another employee with sexually charged behavior or language using status at work or in relation to work, or gives disadvantages in employment on account of a failure respond positively to sexual advances or other sexual requests.
- Types of sexual harassment : Physical behaviors, Verbal behaviors, Visual behaviors, Other language or behavior which makes other workers feel sexually humiliated or offended as a social accepted notion
12. Industrial accident compensation insurance
- Industrial accident compensation insurance is a social insurance system in which the government provides occupationally ill and injured employees with compensation to be paid by his/her employer under the Labor Standards Act. Under this system, individual employers are obligated to make a given rate of contribution to the insurance fund and, in return, are exempted from paying compensation for occupationally ill or injured employees. The government uses this fund to compensate employees for work-related injuries and illnesses.
13. Employment contract
- Article 17 of the Labor Standards Acdt requires employers to specify certain items in employment contracts, and hand them out to new hires to sign. It should be issued again when changes are made. Such items include wages, contractual working hours, holidays, annual paid leave, matters concerning the place of employment and the work expected. s
14. Overtime, Nighttime, and holiday work
- Overtime refers to working hours that exceed the standard working hours specified in the Labor Standards Act. Adult employees may extend their hours up to 12 hours per week through mutual agreement by the parties concerned, with no limit on daily working hours.
- Night working hours range from 10 pm to 6 am the following day.
- Employers shall pay an additional 50% of ordinary wage for overtime, night, and holiday work. 150% of the ordinary wage shall be paid for up to eight hours of holiday work, and 200% shall be paid for hours of holiday work over eight hours. |
