LABOR STANDARDS ACT [See entire ACT]
CHAPTER Ⅴ Females and Minors
- Article 64 (Minimum Age and Employment Permit Certificate)
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(1) A minor under the age of 15 (including any minor under the age of 18 who attends a middle school under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act) shall not be employed at any work: Provided, That this shall not apply to a person with an employment permit certificate issued by the Minister of Employment and Labor according to the standards prescribed by Presidential Decree.
(2) An employment permit certificate referred to in paragraph (1) may be issued only by designating the kind of work at the request of the relevant minor himself/herself, to the extent it does not impede with the compulsory education.
(3) If a person obtains the employment permit certificate provided for in the proviso to paragraph (1) in any false or other wrongful manner, the Minister of Employment and Labor shall revoke the permit.
Enforcement Ordinance
- Article 35 (Issuance, etc. of Employment Permit Certificate)
(1) The person eligible for the employment permit certificate under Article 64 of the Act shall be no less than 13 years old, but less than 15 years old: Provided, That a person who is less than 13 years old may be eligible for the employment permit certificate, if it is for participation in art performance.
(2) A person who desires to obtain an employment permit certificate under paragraph (1) shall file an application with the Minister of Employment and Labor as prescribed by Ordinance of the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
(3) The application under paragraph (2) shall be jointly signed by the head of a school (limited to a person subject to compulsory education and a person attending a school), a person having parental authority or a guardian, and the prospective employer.
Enforcement Ordinance
- Article 36 (Delivery of Employment Permit Certificates)
(1) The Minister of Employment and Labor shall, when he/she permits employment upon an application under Article 35 (2), designate the job classification in the employment permit certificate prescribed by Ordinance of the Ministry of Employment and Labor and deliver it to an applicant and a prospective employer.
(2) Where an employer who employes a person under the age of 15 is keeping an employment permit certificate, he/she shall be deemed to keep a certificate of family relationships records and a written consent of a person with parent authority or a guardian referred to in Article 66 of the Act.
Enforcement Ordinance
- Article 37 (Jobs Prohibited from Employment Permit)
The Minister of Employment and Labor may not issue an employment permit certificate for any job specified in Article 40.
- Article 65 (Prohibition of Employment)
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(1) An employer shall not employ women in pregnancy or women for whom one year has not passed after childbirth (hereinafter referred to as the "pregnant women and nursing mothers") and those under the age of 18 in any work detrimental to morality or health or any dangerous work.
(2) An employer shall not employ women of 18 years or over who are not pregnant women and nursing mothers in any work harmful and dangerous to the function of pregnancy or delivery from among those detrimental or dangerous to health under paragraph (1).
(3) The prohibited kinds of work under paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be prescribed by Presidential Decree.
- Article 66 (Minor Certificate)
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For each minor employee under the age of 18, the employer shall keep at his/her workplace a certificate of family relationships records verifying the minor's age and a written consent of the person with parent authority or the guardian.
Enforcement Ordinance
- Article 38 Deleted
Deleted.
Enforcement Ordinance
- Article 39 (Re-issuance of Employment Permit Certificate)
Any employer or an employee of less than 15 years old shall, when the employment permit certificate is mutilated or lost, apply for re-issuance of the employment permit certificate without delay, as prescribed by Ordinance of the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
Enforcement Ordinance
- Article 40 (Jobs Prohibited from Employment of Pregnant Women and Nursing Mothers)
The scope of the jobs prohibited from employment of pregnant women, women of 18 years of age or older who are not either pregnant women or nursing mothers, and women of less than 18 years of age under Article 65 of the Act shall be as specified in attached Table 4.
- Article 67 (Labor Contract)
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(1) Neither a person with parent authority nor a guardian may enter into a labor contract on behalf of a minor.
(2) A person with parent authority or guardian of a minor, or the Minister of Employment and Labor may terminate a labor contract henceforward, if deemed disadvantageous to the minor.
(3) Where an employer enters into a labor contract with a person under 18 years of age, he/she shall deliver a document(including "electronic document" stipulated in subparagraph 1 of Article 2 of FRAMEWORK ACT ON ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS AND TRANSACTIONS) to such person, specifying the terms and conditions of employment under Article 17.
- Article 68 (Claim for Wages)
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A minor may claim his wages in his own right.
- Article 69 (Work Hours)
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The work hours of a person aged between 15 and less than 18 shall not exceed seven hours per day and 35 hours per week: Provided, That the work hours may only be extended by up to one hour per day and five hours per week by a mutual agreement between the parties concerned.
Enforcement Ordinance
- Article 41 (Calculation of Working Hours)
The working hours under Article 69 of the Act and Article 139 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act means actual working hours excluding recess hours.
- Article 70 (Restrictions on Night Work and Holiday Work)
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(1) Where an employer intends to have women of 18 years or over work during the time from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. and on holidays, he/she shall obtain the employees' consent.
(2) An employer shall not have pregnant women and nursing mothers and those under 18 years old work during the time from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. and on holidays: Provided, That this shall not apply to any of the following cases where approval of the Minister of Employment and Labor is obtained:
1. Where there exists a consent of those under 18 years old;
2. Where there exists a consent of women for whom one year has not passed after childbirth;
3. Where a woman in pregnancy makes a clear request.
(3) Before obtaining the approval of the Minister of Employment and Labor in the case of paragraph (2), an employer shall make a faithful consultation with the labor representative of the relevant business or workplace on whether to execute it, its methods, etc., in order to protect the employees' health and maternity.
- Article 71 (Overtime Work)
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No employer shall have any women, for whom one year has not passed after childbirth, work overtime in excess of two hours per day, six hours per week, and 150 hours per year, even if thus provided by a collective agreement.
- Article 72 (Prohibition of Work Inside Pit)
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An employer shall not have a woman or a minor under the age of 18 do any work inside a pit: Provided, That this shall not apply where it is temporarily required for carrying out the affairs as prescribed by Presidential Decree, such as health and medical treatment, the gathering and report of news, etc.
Enforcement Ordinance
- Article 42 (Jobs Permitted for Work Inside of Pits)
The jobs for which women and persons of less than 18 years old may be assigned temporarily to work inside a pit in accordance with Article 72 of the Act shall be as follows:
1. Jobs for public health, medical treatment, and welfare;
2. Jobs for news report and data collection for producing newspaper, publishing, and broadcasting programs, etc.;
3. Surveying for academic researches;
4. Jobs for management and supervision;
5. Practical training in a field related to any job under subparagraphs 1 through 4.
- Article 73 (Monthly Menstrual Leave)
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Every employer shall, when any female employee files a claim for a menstrual leave, grant her one day of menstrual leave per month.
- Article 74 (Protection of Pregnant Women and Nursing Mothers)
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(1) An employer shall grant a pregnant woman a total of a 90-day maternity leave (120-day maternity leave, if she is pregnant with at least two children at a time) before and after childbirth. In such cases, at least 45 days (60 days, if she is pregnant with two or more children at a time) of the leave period after childbirth shall be allowed.
(2) Where a pregnant female employee requests the leave under paragraph (1) due to her experience of miscarriage or other reasons prescribed by Presidential Decree, an employer shall allow her to use the leave at multiple times any time before her childbirth. In such cases, the period of leave after the childbirth shall be at least 45 days (60 days, if she is pregnant with at least two children at a time) consecutively.
(3) Where a pregnant woman has a miscarriage or stillbirth, an employer shall, upon the relevant employee's request, grant her a miscarriage/stillbirth leave, as prescribed by Presidential Decree: Provided, That the same shall not apply to any abortion carried out by artificial termination of pregnancy (excluding cases under Article 14 (1) of the Mother and Child Health Act).
(4) The first 60 days (75 days, if she is pregnant with at least two children at a time) in the period of leave under paragraphs (1) through (3) shall be stipendiary: Provided, That when the leave allowances before and after childbirth, etc. have been paid under Article 18 of the Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act, the payment responsibility shall be exempted within the limit of the relevant amount.
(5) No employer shall order a female employee in pregnancy to engage in overtime work, and, even if there exists a request from the relevant employee, he/she shall transfer her to an easy type of work.
(6) A business owner shall reinstate her to the same work or to the work for which wages of the same level as before leave are paid after the end of a maternity leave under paragraph (1).
(7) Where a female employee who has been pregnant for not more than 12 weeks or for not less than 36 weeks requests the reduction of her work hours by two hours a day, the employer shall permit it: Provided, That he/she may permit to reduce her work hours to six hours if her work hours are shorter than eight hours a day.
(8) No employer shall reduce an employee's wages for reason of reduction of work hours under paragraph (7).
(9) Matters necessary for the methods, procedures, etc. for requesting reduction of work hours under paragraph (7) shall be prescribed by Presidential Decree.
[Enforcement Date] The Amended provisions of Article 74 (7) through (9) shall enter into force on the following dates:
1. A business or workplace in which not less than 300 employees are regularly employed: Six months after the enforcement date of this Act;
2. A business or workplace in which less than 300 employees are regularly employed: Two years after the enforcement date of this Act.
(10)
Application method and procedure for reduction of working hours under Article74 (7) and the application method and procedure for change of start and end time of work under Article (9) shall be prescribed by Presidental Decree.
Enforcement Ordinance
- Article 43 (Request, etc. for Miscarriage or Stillbirth Leave)
(1) “Reasons prescribed by Presidential Decree” under the former part of Article 74 (2) of the Act means any of the following cases:
1. Where a pregnant employee has an experience of miscarriage/stillbirth;
2. Where a pregnant employee is at the age of 40 or more when she applies for a maternity leave;
3. Where a pregnant employee submits a report prepared by a medical institution stating that she has the risk of miscarriage/stillbirth.
(2) Where an employee who suffers from miscarriage or stillbirth requests the miscarriage or stillbirth leave pursuant to Article 74 (3) of the Act, she shall submit to the business owner an application for miscarriage or stillbirth leave, stating the reason for requesting the leave, the date on which miscarriage or stillbirth occurred, the pregnancy period, etc., along with a medical certificate issued by a medical institution.
(3) The the business owner shall give a miscarriage or stillbirth leave according to the following guidelines to any employee who requests a miscarriage or stillbirth leave pursuant to paragraph (2):
1. Where a pregnancy period of the employee who suffers from miscarriage or stillbirth (hereinafter referred to as the "pregnancy period") is not more than 11 weeks: up to five days from the date of miscarriage or stillbirth;
2. Where the pregnancy period is not less than 12 weeks but not more than 15 weeks: up to ten days from the date of miscarriage or stillbirth;
3. Where the pregnancy period is not less than 16 weeks but not more than 21 weeks: up to 30 days from the date of miscarriage or stillbirth;
4. Where the pregnancy period is not less than 22 weeks but not more than 27 weeks: up to 60 days from the date of miscarriage or stillbirth;
5. Where the pregnancy period is not less than 28 weeks: up to 90 days from the date of miscarriage or stillbirth.
Enforcement Ordinance
- Article 43-2 (Requests for Reduction of Work Hours during Pregnancy Period)
A female employee who intends to request a reduction of her work hours under Article 74 (7) of the Act shall submit a document (including electronic documents) in which her pregnancy period, the expected date of the commencement and termination of the reduction of work hours, the time to start and finish her work, etc. are specified by no later than three days before the expected commencement of reduction of work hours to an employer, appending a doctor's medical certificate (excluding cases where a reduction of work hours is requested again for the same pregnancy).
[This Article Newly Inserted by Presidential Decree No. 25631, Sep. 24, 2014]
- Article 74-2 (Permission, etc. for Time for Medical Examination of Unborn Child)
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(1) Where a pregnant employee claims time necessary for a periodical medical examination of pregnant women under Article 10 of the Mother and Child Health Act, an employer shall grant permission for such time.
(2) The employer shall not cut wages of such employee by reason of time for medical examination under paragraph (1).
[This Article Newly Inserted by Act No. 8960, Mar. 21, 2008]
- Article 75 (Nursing Hours)
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An employer shall grant thirty-minute or longer paid nursing time twice a day to those female employees who have infants under the age of one, upon request.
