Section 1: Parties and Need for Remedy
Chapter 1: Employees
1. Overview
1.3 Whether or Not Payments Made to Employees are Considered as Remuneration for Work in Determining the Existence of Employee Status
| Daegu District Court Decision on August 21,2015, Case 2015na301869 | |||||
| * Plaintiff, Appellee: Park ○○ et al. (3 others)
* Defendant, Appellant: ○○ Metropolitan City 1. Facts a. The defendant, ○○ Metropolitan City, announced recruitment for volunteer patrols on various school websites it operates. Following this, the plaintiffs applied and were selected as school patrol volunteers. b. As volunteer school patrols, the plaintiffs engaged in activities such as escorting students to and from school, providing traffic safety guidance, patrolling inside and outside school premises, leading efforts against school violence, and protecting victims of such violence. They received activity fees of 20,000 to 30,000 KRW per day from each school and an additional operational fee up to 100,000 KRW per month (up to 50,000 KRW until 2009). They were not enrolled in workers' compensation insurance or employment insurance, and they did not raise any objections during their activity period. c. Under the supervision of each school principal, the plaintiffs worked from 08:00 to 16:00, performing duties such as escorting students, providing traffic safety guidance, and patrolling. Despite being termed 'volunteer school patrols,' the reality was that they provided labor in a subordinate relationship with the intent of earning wages. Thus, the defendant was argued to owe them the difference between the minimum wage and the actual wages paid, annual paid leave allowance, overtime and holiday work allowance, unpaid severance pay, and delay damages for each. 2. Court Judgment a. 'Volunteer activity' is defined by the Volunteer Activities Act (Article 3(1)) as an act in which individuals or groups voluntarily contribute time and effort without compensation for the benefit of the community, nation, or humanity, guided by principles of no compensation, voluntariness, and public benefit (Article 2(2) of the same Act). Although the principle is no compensation, minor gratuities from beneficiaries as thanks, or reimbursements for economic losses incurred during volunteer activities (Article 10(2)(b) of the Regulation on the Volunteer Activities Act), or as part of the promotion of volunteer activities, may be given. However, such payments are not considered compensation for labor provided and are distinct from wages paid to workers. b. In such Case s, whether the provision of certain activities (labor) is linked to the receipt of money and thus considered a compensation relationship depends entirely on the intent of the parties involvedwhether the activity provider participated primarily for the internal satisfaction or fulfillment derived from contributing to the public good or whether the primary goal was the financial compensation associated with the activity. The expectations of the counterpart, the reasons for the payment, and whether the parties perceived it as a natural compensation for the activities provided must be evaluated to interpret this intent. If the expressed intent is unclear, various objective circumstances such as the appropriateness of the payment amount relative to the market value of the activity (labor), the public interest outcomes achieved through the activity, the degree of supervision and control between the parties during the activity, the freedom to opt out of the activity relationship, the legal obligations imposed, and the consequences of breaching such duties must be considered collectively to infer the intent. c. In a Case where the plaintiffs, appointed as 'school patrol volunteers' in schools operated by the defendant (○○ Metropolitan City), claimed payment for the difference between the minimum wage and the actual wages paid, annual paid leave allowance, overtime and holiday work allowances, and unpaid severance, the court dismissed the plaintiffs' claims because the 'school patrol volunteers' participated in the activities as part of volunteer work, not as workers providing labor in a subordinate relationship for the purpose of earning wages. |
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