Kang Nam Labor Law Firm

This manual explains the labor law regulations and protections related to non-regular workers, and then additionally describes, in a separate chapter, the criteria for determining “worker” status in detail. Since the Worker Dispatch Act was enacted in 1998, the use of non-regular workers has been very wide, so legislation restricting this was introduced in 2007. The Act on the Protection of Non-regular Workers prohibits their use beyond two years and also prohibits unjustifiable discrimination against them during those two years. Nevertheless, in order to maintain profitability and employment flexibility, companies continue to use irregular workers, disguising their use as if they were subcontractors or dispatch employees. This is explained in detail herein, and examples provided.
This manual also explains in detail the judicial determination of worker status which has become an issue recently. For example, if an employer hires a person, but the person hired is not an employee, the employer can avoid the obligation under labor law to protect that person’s basic labor rights. This manual points out the risk of this behavior, presents objective criteria for determining worker status, and provides actual cases of how status has been determined by the courts.
It is my hope that through this manual, HR managers will understand what constitutes illegal dispatch and disguised outsourcing in relation to non-regular workers, understand that actual employment relationship is key in determining worker status, and otherwise find this manual of great use in practice.